Forbes names just one Kentuckian to its annual billionaires list. She’s at No. 307

Aaron Mudd
·2 min read
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Tamara Gustavson, the daughter of the late business titan B. Wayne Hughes and co-owner of Lexington’s prestigious Spendthrift horse farm, has once again been recognized by Forbes as the richest person in Kentucky.

Every year, Forbes publishes its list of the richest people on the planet, called the “World’s Billionaires List.”

Gustavson, whose father was a self-storage industry magnate before he died in 2021, has a net worth of more than $7 billion. As of Wednesday, her real-time net worth was $7.3 billion, making her the 307th richest person on the planet, according to Forbes.

This Forbes profile of Tamara Gustavson, of Lexington, Ky., includes her real-time net worth, as calculated by the publication each year for its list of the world’s billionaires.
This Forbes profile of Tamara Gustavson, of Lexington, Ky., includes her real-time net worth, as calculated by the publication each year for its list of the world’s billionaires.

The business magazine credits Gustavson as the largest shareholder of Public Storage, the company her father cofounded in 1972. All told, she owns a 10% stake in the company, where she worked from 1983 to 2003. Gustavson has been a member of its board since 2008, according to Forbes magazine.

Gustavson is also a notable horse breeder. The business executive and billionaire co-owns Spendthrift Farm with her husband, Eric. The Thoroughbred farm has produced 10 Kentucky Derby winners.

The farm bears the name of the great-grandsire of Man-O-War, widely regarded as the best racehorse of all time. The horse ran 21 races and lost only one. In 1920, his owner kept him out of running the Kentucky Derby, but Man O’ War won the other two legs of the Triple Crown: the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes.

According to Fayette County property records, the property is listed at as having a fair market value of $2.54 million.

Richest people in the world

Here are the 10 richest people in the world, according to the Forbes 2023 report:

  1. Bernard Arnault and family, net worth $211 billion

  2. Elon Musk, $180 billion

  3. Jeff Bezos, $114

  4. Larry Ellison, $107 billion

  5. Warren Buffett, $106 billion

  6. Bill Gates, $104 billion

  7. Michael Bloomberg, $94.5 billion

  8. Carlos Slim Helu and family, $93 billion

  9. Mukesh Ambani, $83.4 billion

  10. Steve Ballmer, $80.7 billion

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