4 Billionaires In North Carolina Make Elite Forbes List (2024)

The 33rd annual Forbes list of the world's billionaires includes four residents from North Carolina. Here's what they're worth.

Posted Tue, Mar 5, 2019 at 1:51 pm ET

In North Carolina, those making the list are:

• James Goodnight, Cary, NC, software, net worth of $8.9 billion

• John Sall, Cary, NC, software, net worth of $4.4 billion

• Tim Sweeney, Cary, NC, video games, net worth of $2 billion

• Dennis Gillings, Durham, NC, drug testing, net worth of $1.7 billion

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, who is worth about $131 billion, topped the list for the second year in a row, followed by software magnate and philanthropist Bill Gates ($96.5 billion) and Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett ($82.5 billion).

Both the number of billionaires and their combined net worth is down this year, according to Forbes. Last year, 2,208 people made the list and had a combined wealth of $9.1 trillion. Forbes said this represents the first decrease in billionaires and their combined wealth since 2016, and only the second decrease in a decade.

A record 994 billionaires are worth less than they were a year ago, but last year, only 360 members of the elite class got poorer. The average net worth of this year’s billionaires is $4 billion, down from $4.1 billion in 2018. Of the total, 1,450 members are self-made.

“The billionaire ranks prove that even the world’s richest are not immune to economic forces and the volatility of world markets. Yet, even with strong headwinds, resourceful and relentless entrepreneurs find new ways to get rich,” Luisa Kroll, assistant managing editor of wealth at Forbes said in a news release.

Kerry A, Dolan, also an assistant managing editor of wealth at Forbes, noted regional trends.

“Of note this year was the large number of drop-offs in China, and the weakening of the euro vs. the dollar, which pushed down the dollar value of European fortunes,” Dolan said in the release.

In the United States, Bezos’ net worth increased from $19 billion, and Gates, who had been the wealthiest person in the world for the longest period of time, increased his fortune by $6.5 billion, from $90 billion in 2018. The gap between the No. 1 and No. 2 billionaires grew due to an increase in Amazon stock prices. Buffett’s net worth fell by $1.5 billion.

Rounding out the top five were Bernard Arnault of France and Carlos Slim Helu of Mexico, with net worths of $76 billion and $64 billion, respectively.

President Donald Trump’s net worth is listed at $3.1 billion by Forbes, which placed him at No 715 on the list. Trump is the first billionaire president of the United States, and the core of his fortune is tied up in a half-dozen buildings in and around midtown Manhattan in New York City, according to Forbes.

New to the list is Kylie Jenner, 21, who is the youngest billionaire in the world and the youngest self-made billionaire of all time. Jenner, who ranked 2,057 on the list, owns 100 percent of Kylie Cosmetics, a company she founded three years ago and which did $360 million in sales last year. Most of the company’s revenue comes from e-commerce, but Kylie Cosmetics also has a deal with Ulta to put its products in the makeup retailer’s 1,163 U.S. stores.

Other Americans in the Top 20 were:

• Larry Ellison, software magnate, No. 7 with a net worth of $62.5 billion (up from 2018);
• Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder, No 8, with a net worth of $62.3 billion (down from 2018);
• Michael Bloomberg, Bloomberg LP, No. 9, with a net worth of $55.5 billion (up from 2018);
• Larry Page, Google, No. 10, with a net worth of $50.8 billion (up from 2018);
• Charles Koch and David Koch, Koch Industries, No. 11, with a net worth of $50.5 billion (down from 2018);
• Sergey Brin, Google, No. 14, with a net worth of $49.8 billion (up from 2018);
• Jim Walton, Walmart, No. 16, with a net worth of $44.6 billion (down from 2018);
• Alice Walton, Walmart, No. 17, with a net worth of $44.4 billion (down from 2018);
• S. Robson Walton, Walmart, No 18, with a net worth of $44.3 billion (down from 2018);
• Steve Ballmer, Microsoft, No. 19, with a net worth of $41.2 billion (up from 2018).

The Top 20 billionaires have a combined net worth of $1.2 trillion, which is unchanged from last year. Their aggregate wealth represents about 14 percent of all billionaires. The minimum net worth in the Top 20 was $3.38 billion, $200 million less than 2018.

Go here to view the complete list.

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