At least 57 billionaires have strong residential ties to Palm Beach, according to a Palm Beach Daily News analysis of the 2023 Forbes list of the world’s wealthiest people.
Palm Beach gained two more billionaires over the past year, with at least 57 of the world’s wealthiest people now confirmed to have strong residential ties to the island, according to a Palm Beach Daily News analysis of just-released data from Forbes.com. That’s a new Palm Beach record.
The majority of the Palm Beach billionaires — 24 in all — saw their estimated net worth rise over the past year, while 22 lost money, including former President Donald Trump. Another nine saw their their wealth remain flat, and two new to were new to the overall Forbes list. (See the complete Palm Beach list below.)
In all, the Palm Beach billionaires’ personal fortunes total $444.5 billion, the analysis showed.
Trump — Palm Beach’s most famous resident — saw his wealth drop from $3 billion in April 2022 to $2.5 billion on the latest Forbes list. Trump was not at his Mar-a-Lago Club on Tuesday morning to mull the news, as he was in New York City for his arraignment on criminal charges related to hush-money payments made several years ago to porn actress Stormy Daniels and two others. Trump denies any wrongdoing.
The raise-the-bar number of uber-rich Palm Beachers was gleaned from Forbes’ annual list of the world’s wealthiest billionaires, which was released Tuesday.
Last year, the Daily News identified 54 billionaires in town, up from 47 the year before, based on Forbes data.
How did they rank last year?Palm Beach sees hike in billionaires, analysis of 2022 Forbes data shows
World’s richest:Forbes list shows Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Trump lost money as Jimmy Buffett, Tiger Woods make the cut
America’s wealthiest in 2022:Trump back on Forbes 400 and is among list’s 34 Palm Beach billionaires
This year, Forbes named 2,640 people across the globe whose wealth hit the $1 billion mark, down from 2,668 last year. And “nearly half” of those saw a drop in their personal fortunes, thanks to “falling stocks, wounded unicorns and rising interest rates,” over the past year, as Forbes put it.
Billionaires landed on the Palm Beach list if they own real estate in town, whether primary homes, vacation houses or investment properties.
Fashion designer Tom Ford among new Palm Beach billionaires
Palm Beach gained at least five new billionaires — but lost two — since the Forbes published its last list.
The island’s new billionaire homeowners include fashion icon Tom Ford, who last year sold his eponymous company for a reported $2.8 billion to Estee Lauder Cos. The income from that deal ostensibly vaulted Ford into a spot among the world’s wealthiest, with a net worth estimated at $2.5 billion. In December, he paid $51 million for his Palm Beach home in the Estate Section.
Other new-to-the-Palm-Beach-list billionaires who recently bought properties included:
- Gina Rinehart, widely said to be Australia’s wealthiest woman with a mining fortune estimated at $27 billion, who was linked to the purchase of two North End seaside homes for a combined price recorded at $101 million in December and January.
- Dr. Herbert Wertheim, an optometrist and investor with a net worth estimated at $4 billion, who bought a Midtown condominium for a recorded $17.9 million in February.
- Private equity tycoon Robert F. Smith, with a fortune estimated estimated at $8 billion, in December paid a recorded $23 million for an investment home in the Estate Section.
- Longtime resident and Margaritaville singer Jimmy Buffett was new to the global Forbes list this year. With homes on Root Trail, Buffett has a fortune estimated at $1 billion.
The two billionaires removed from the Palm Beach list this year were financier Thomas Lee, who died Feb. 23 at age 78; and private-equity specialist Josh Harris, who sold Rinehart his house on Via Las Incas in December. The Palm Beach Daily News has been unable to confirm if Harris has another home in town.
There likely are other billionaires who own real estate in Palm Beach. But their identities have so far remained cloaked behind the entities they used to buy their properties.
Julia Koch and her family again lead the list of Palm Beach billionaires
Once again, the family at the top of the Palm Beach list is Julia Koch’s, with an estimated net worth of $59 billion, down from $60 billion a year ago. Her late husband, David Koch of Koch Industries, had for years been identified as Palm Beach’s wealthiest billionaire until his death in 2019.
Taking the second spot on the new Palm Beach list is hedge-fund titan Ken Griffin, whose fortune has grown from $27.2 billion a year ago to $35 billion. Ranked third was private-equity titan Stephen Schwarzman, who saw his year-over-year wealth drop from $34.8 billion last year to $27.8 billion this year, as reported by Forbes.
On the new global list, French fashion and cosmetics mogul Bernard Arnault and his family landed for the first time at the top of the pack. They bumped Tesla and Space X founder Elon Musk — and his $180-billion net worth — to the No. 2 slot. Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, with a $114 billion fortune, was ranked No. 3. Taking the fourth spot was Oracle Corp. software tycoon Larry Ellison, with $107 billion.
Last year, Ellison set a Florida residential real estate record when he paid a recorded $173 million for an ocean-to-lake estate in Manalapan, the wealthy town just south of Palm Beach.
Investments guru Warren Buffet of Berkshire Hathaway, with a fortune of $106 billion, ranked fifth on the global list, followed in sixth place by Microsoft founder and Wellington property owner Bill Gates, with $104 billion.
Palm Beach list: Here are the local billionaires on the 2023 Forbes’ rankings of the world’s wealthiest
Here is the Palm Beach Daily News’ list of Palm Beach billionaires ranked by Forbes among the world’s 2,640 richest people. All of the billionaires on this list are American unless otherwise noted. The list includes each billionaire’s rank on the global list, in descending order, and compares 2023 net-worth estimates to the ones Forbes published last year.
- Julia Koch, 60 (widow of industrialist David Koch), and family, tied in 17th place, with $59 billion, down from $60 billion in 2022.
- Hedge fund manager Kenneth C. Griffin, 54, in 35th place, with $35 billion, up from $27.2 billion.
- Private equity titan Stephen Schwarzman, 76, tied in 50th place, with $27.8 billion, down from $34.8 billion.
- Australian mining mogul Gina Rinehart, 69, in 52th place, with $27 billion, down from $30.2 billion.
- Discount broker pioneer Thomas Peterffy, 78, in 57th place, with $25.3 billion, up from $20.1 billion.
- Investments/finance executive Abigail Johnson, 61, in 72nd place, with $21.6 billion, up from $21.2 billion.
- Cosmetics executive Leonard Lauder, 90, in 77th place, with $21 billion, down from $23.1 billion.
- Hedge fund manager and NFL’s Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper, 65, in 89th place, with $18.5 billion, up from $16.7 billion.
- Mortgage loan magnate and NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert, 61, in 92nd place with $18 billion, down from $22 billion.
- Real estate developer and NFL’s Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross, 82, tied in 147th place, with $11.6 billion, up from $8.2 billion.
- Businessman and NFL’s New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, 81, tied in 165th place, with $10.6 billion, up from $8.3 billion.
- Discount brokerage pioneer Charles Schwab, 85, tied in 208th place, with $9.2 billion, down from $12.2 billion.
- Hedge fund manager Chase Coleman III, 47, tied in 239th place, with $8.5 billion, down from $10.3 billion.
- Investments mogul Robert F. Smith, 60, in 261st place, with $8 billion, up from $6.7 billion.
- Financier Henry Kravis, 79, tied in 299th place, with $7.5 billion, down from $7.7 billion.
- Hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones II, 68, tied in 299th place, with $7.5 billion, up from $7.3 billion.
- Real estate investor Jeff Greene, 68, tied in 317th place with $7.2 billion, up from $5.1 billion.
- Medical equipment heiress Ronda Stryker, 68, tied in 344th place, with $6.9 billion, up from $6.8 billion.
- Real estate mogul Neil Bluhm, 85, tied in 425th place with $6 billion, up from $5.5 billion.
- Media and automotive heiress Katharine “Kathy” Rayner, 78, tied for 466th place with $5.5 billion, up from $5.2 billion.
- Media and automotive heiress Margaretta Taylor, 80, tied for 466th place with $5.5 billion, up from $5.2 billion.
- Money manager Charles B. Johnson, 89, tied in 523rd place, with $5.1 billion, unchanged from 2022.
- Money manager Ron Baron, 79, tied in 534th place with $5 billion, up from $4.5 billion.
- Cosmetics executive Jane Lauder, 50, tied in 534th place with $5 billion, down from $5.5 billion.
- Cosmetics executive Ronald Lauder, 79, tied for 591st place with $4.6 billion, down from $5 billion.
- Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie and family, 71, tied in 624th place with $4.4 billion, up from $3.5 billion.
- Investments tycoon, inventor and optometrist Dr. Herbert Wertheim, 83, in 636th place, with $4.3 billion, up from $4 billion.
- Marvel Entertainment owner Isaac Perlmutter, 81, tied in 699th place with $4 billion, down from $5.1 billion.
- Real estate mogul Charles Cohen, 71, tied in 766th place, with $3.7 billion, up from $3.6 billion.
- Logistics entrepreneur Bradley Jacobs, 67, tied in 766th place with $3.7 billion, unchanged from 2022.
- Private-equity specialist Scott Shleifer, 45, tied in 818th place with $3.5 billion, down from $5 billion.
- Cosmetics executive William Lauder, 62, tied in 852nd place with $3.4 billion, down from $3.7 billion.
- Philadelphia Phillies co-owner and tobacco heir John Middleton, 68, tied in 852nd place with $3.4 billion, unchanged from 2022.
- Casino and resort mogul Steve Wynn, 81, tied for 905th place with $3.2 billion, down from $3.3 billion.
- Cosmetics executive Aerin Lauder, 52, tied in 949th place with $3.1 billion, down from $3.5 billion.
- Hedge fund manager John Paulson, 67, tied in 982nd place with $3 billion, down from $4 billion.
- Hedge fund manager Glenn Dubin, 65, tied in 1,104th place with $2.7 billion, up from $2 billion.
- Investor C. Dean Metropolous, 76, tied in 1,164th place with $2.6 billion, down from $2.7 billion.
- SlimFast founder S. Daniel Abraham, 98, tied in 1,217th place with $2.5 billion, up from $2 billion.
- Canadian liquor magnate Charles Bronfman, 91, tied in 1,217th place with $2.5 billion, unchanged from 2022.
- Real estate developer and former President Donald Trump, 76, tied for 1,217th place with $2.5 billion, down from $3 billion.
- Fashion designer Tom Ford, 61, tied in 1,368th place, with $2.2 billion (new to 2023 list).
- Real estate asset manager Jane Goldman, 67, tied in 1,434th place with $2.1 billion, down from $2.9 billion.
- Hedge fund manager James G. Dinan, 85, tied in 1,575th place with $1.9 billion, unchanged from 2021.
- Real estate magnate Dwight C. Schar, 81, tied in 1,575th place with $1.9 billion, unchanged from 2022.
- Money manager Mario Gabelli, 81, tied in 1,725th place with $1.7 billion, down from $1.9 billion.
- Homebuilder Paul Saville, 67, tied in 1,725th place with $1.7 billion, up from $1.6 billion.
- Insurance magnate and New York Giants co-owner Jonathan Tisch, 69, tied in 1,725th place with $1.7 billion, up from $1.5 billion.
- Industrialist, investor and education entrepreneur William “Bill” Koch, 82, tied in 1,804th place with $1.6 billion, unchanged from 2022.
- Investor Nelson Peltz, 80, tied in 1,905th place with $1.5 billion, down from $1.7 billion.
- Beer distributor Duke Reyes, 66, tied in 1,905th place with $1.5 billion, up from $1.2 billion.
- Private-equity specialist J. Christopher Flowers, 65, tied in 2,020th place with $1.4 billion, up from $1.2 billion.
- Industrial equipment heir Mitchell Jacobson, 72, tied in 2,133rd place, with $1.3 billion, unchanged from 2022.
- Cosmetics executive Gary Lauder, 60, tied in 2,133rd place with $1.3 billion, down from $1.4 billion.
- Canadian financier Gerald Schwartz, 81, tied in 2,259th place with $1.2 billion, down from $1.6 billion.
- Reebok founder Paul Fireman, 80, tied in 2,405th place, with $1.1 billion, unchanged from 2022.
- “Margaritaville” singer and businessman Jimmy Buffett, 76, with $1 billion, ranked in 2,540th place (new to the 2023 list)
Methodology: Forbes based the list on data collected on March 10, 2023. Forbes.com updates the list in real time, based on a variety of factors contributing to the billionaires’ net worth, including stocks and other assets. As a result, the list provides a single snapshot of the billionaires’ wealth. See the complete list at Forbes.com.