Forbes has just released their 2015 list of the 400 wealthiest people in America.
“Surging tech stocks upended ranks near the stratosphere of The Forbes 400 list of the Richest Americans this year. Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg both zoomed into the top 10 richest for the first time. Bezos, the biggest gainer on the list, up $16.5 billion in one year, is now the fourth richest American, worth $47 billion. Zuckerberg is number seven, with a net worth of $40.3 billion. A rise in Nike shares lifted founder Phil Knight, age 77, back into the top 20 for the first time in 18 years,” reports Forbes.com.
Among this elite list are a few people you might recognize:
Thomas Frist, Jr. & family (#54)
Net Worth $8.7 Billion
More insured patients has meant more hospital admissions–good news for hospital operator HCA Holdings. Tom Frist Jr., a former Air Force flight surgeon, founded Hospital Corp. of America with his father in 1968 and took it public for the third time in 2011 after two management buyouts. His brother Bill Frist was Senate majority leader. Frist Jr. doesn’t have an executive position at HCA, but his sons Thomas III and William are board members.HCA owns and operates 166 hospitals and 113 freestanding surgery centers in 20 U.S. states and London, England. This year Frist Jr. ventured into new territory: China Healthcare Corporation, which he cofounded in 2008, opened a 500-bed hospital in a joint venture with the city of Cixi, China, located roughly 100 miles south of Shanghai.
Martha Ingram & family (#129)
Net Worth $4.3 Billion
Martha Ingram took over as chairman of her family’s distribution conglomerate, Ingram Industries, in 1995 after her husband’s death. She spun-off the computer distribution unit (into publicly traded Ingram Micro in 1996) and then led Ingram Industries until 2008. Sons Orrin and John now steer it. One part of the business, Ingram Content, provides physical, on-demand printing and digital services to big players in the books and publishing industry, like Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, O’Reilly Media, Taschen, Kaplan University and Random House. Ingram Marine operates 5,000 barges and more than 140 towboats on America’s inland waterways. Another son, David, runs the separate Ingram Entertainment. Ingram sits on the boards of various cultural institutions in Nashville, Tennessee.
Jimmy Haslam (#234)
Net Worth $2.8 Billion
Jimmy Haslam’s truck stop company Pilot Flying J has been cruising since it settled a fraud case with the Department of Justice for $92 million in July 2014. Volatile oil prices mean bigger margins for gas stations, boosting Pilot’s profits 25% in the last year. That’s especially welcome news for a company whose reputation suffered after a federal investigation revealed that the company had promised its customers big rebates and then never paid up. The company admitted wrongdoing, but its settlement with the feds offered no protection from future personal charges against individuals. Haslam has denied knowledge of the scheme. His father started the company in 1958. His brother Bill, also a billionaire, served as president of Pilot until 1999 and was elected governor of Tennessee in 2010. Jimmy lived a relatively quiet life until he bought the Cleveland Browns in 2012.
Bill Haslam (#327)
Net Worth $2.1 Billion
Tennessee governor Bill Haslam is America’s richest elected official. Haslam, an heir to truck stop chain Pilot Flying J along with brother Jimmy, stepped down as the company’s president in 1999 and then ran Saks’ e-commerce business. It was on a bike ride with pal Bob Corker (then Chattanooga mayor, now U.S. senator) that Haslam first got the idea to run for office. He was elected Knoxville mayor in 2003, then earned a key to the governor’s mansion in 2010 and won reelection in a landslide. Over the years Haslam has fended off inquiries about his personal finances, especially after his first executive order as governor eliminated the state requirement that he and his top officials disclose their annual incomes. A loyal party man, Haslam has so far donated to 11 different Republican senators but hasn’t disclosed any giving to presidential candidates.
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