Forbes list: Southwest Florida has a new billionaire, others move up
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The latest Forbes list of the richest people on the planet includes one more billionaire in Southwest Florida.
His name: Kamal Ghaffarian.
The space tycoon – who lives in Naples – is ranked No. 1,435 in the world for his wealth.
His net worth: $2.1 billion.
Net worth is based on the value of a person's assets, including stakes in private and public companies, real estate, art and more – as best determined by Forbes.
'Frankly, I was surprised': Naples resident David Hoffmann moves up on 2023 Forbes list of billionaires
In an online profile, here's what Forbes shares about Southwest Florida's newest billionaire:
He's a serial entrepreneur
He founded modular nuclear reactor manufacturer X-Energy
He cofounded Intuitive Machines, a maker of moon landers
He cofounded Axiom Space, which is developing the world's first commercial space station, with a planned launch next year
He sold his first company SGT, which became NASA's second-largest engineering services provider, for $355 million
His net worth has swelled since the cut off for this year's rankings. On Thursday, it stood at $3 billion, an increase of more than $18 million.
Born in Iran, Ghaffarian, moved to the United States to attend college at the age of 18.
The self-made billionaire is now 64 years old, and "engaged," according to Forbes.
He became a billionaire after his company, Intuitive Machines, went public in February, through a business combination.
At the time, he stated: “Intuitive Machines is playing a critical role in America’s return to the moon by providing technologies and services to establish long-term lunar infrastructure and commerce. This merger accelerates and strengthens Intuitive Machines’ strategic plan to help expedite a thriving commercial ecosystem for space for the benefit of human civilization.”
With the addition of Ghaffarian, there are now seven billionaires hailing from Southwest Florida on the Forbes list. They all live in Naples.
Shahid Khan, others on Forbes billionaire list
Shahid Khan, 72, has kept his long-running crown as the richest person in Naples and the region.
He rose in the ranks this year to land at No. 144 in the world, with a value of $12.1 billion.
Last year, he stood at No. 313, with a net worth of $7.6 billion.
According to Forbes: An engineer by trade, Khan still owns auto parts supplier Flex-N-Gate, the National Football League's Jacksonville Jaguars and the United Kingdom's Fulham football club.
The basis for Khan's success: A one-piece truck bumper.
Flex-N-Gate now has nearly 70 plants globally, with more than 26,000 employees.
More: World’s richest people: Hoffmann joins list of billionaires in Southwest Florida
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Here are the others making a return to the Forbes global list of billionaires in 2023:
Reinhold Schmieding, 68, came in at No. 282, up from 330. His net worth has grown from $7.2 billion to $7.7 billion
In 1981, Schmieding, a Naples resident and Michigan native, founded Arthrex, an orthopedic surgical tools company, in Munich, Germany. His company, now headquartered in North Naples, has developed thousands of products used in shoulder, hip and other joint surgeries.
Tom Golisano, 81, weighed in at No. 552, falling from No. 490. His net worth dropped from $5.4 billion to $4.9 billion.
He founded payroll firm Paychex, a publicly-traded company, "with just $3,000 and a credit card," according to Forbes.
He served as CEO of the company until 2004 and remains a director.
Scott Kapnick, 64, registered in at No. 1,515, rising from No. 2,076. His net worth grew from $1.4 billion to $1.9 billion.
According to Forbes, Kapnick, founder and CEO of HPS Investment Partners, one of the world's biggest alternative credit managers with more than $60 billion in assets, spent more than 20 years at Goldman Sachs, rising to become co-head of investment and banking and co-CEO of Goldman Sachs International.
David Hoffmann, 70, stood at No. 1,804, up from No. 2,190. His net worth grew from $1.3 billion to $1.6 billion.
His early fortune came from an executive search firm, DHR International, which he still owns. He's the founder of the Hoffmann Family of Companies, headquartered in Naples, with more than 100 brands and dozens of locations around the globe. He's the largest owner of commercial real estate in Naples, with more than 40 properties.
Richard Schulze, 82, landed at No. 766, down from No. 665. His net worth dropped from $4.3 billion to $3.7 billion.
While he's still listed as a Bonita Springs resident by Forbes, he's relocated to Naples.
Schulze founded Sound of Music in 1966, which eventually morphed into Best Buy. He served as Best Buy's CEO from 1983 to 2002 and stepped down as chairman in 2012. He rejoined the company as chairman emeritus in 2013 after his attempts to take over the electronics retailer and turn it private failed. He's still its largest individual shareholder, according to Forbes.
Forbes also reports that Schulze "aims to give away $1 billion of his fortune in his lifetime, through his family foundation."
In all, the 2023 list of of the world's billionaires includes 92 from Florida. That's up from 79 in 2022.
Digital trading pioneer Thomas Peterffy of Palm Beach no longer sits at the top of the state's rankings, although he's moved up to No. 57 from No. 80 worldwide, with a net worth of $25.3 billion.
He's been bested by Ken Griffin, who ranks at No. 35 in the world, with a value of $35 billion, making him the richest man in Florida. He's the founder of Citadel, a Miami-based hedge fund firm, with nearly $60 billion in assets under management.
According to Forbes, Griffin, who now lives in Miami, started trading from his Harvard dorm in 1987, putting a satellite dish on the roof to get real-time stock quotes.
The latest list includes 2,640 billionaires. At the top is Bernard Arnault, 74, head of luxury goods giant LVMH, from France, with a value of $211 billion.
He toppled American business icon Elon Musk, founder of Tesla and SpaceX.
More: Elon Musk slips to No. 2 on Forbes billionaires list as Bernard Arnault takes top spot
Musk's fortune fell from $219 billion last year to $180 billion this year. Forbes noted Tesla's steep stock decline since his acquisition of Twitter in April 2022.
The United States still has the most billionaires, with 735 listed, worth a whopping total of $4.5 trillion.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Naples gains space tycoon billionaire; others move up on Forbes list
