Who are the richest people in NC? These entrepreneurs made Forbes’ billionaire list
SAS Institute co-founder and CEO James H. Goodnight remains the richest person in North Carolina, according to Forbes magazine’s annual analysis of the world’s richest individuals.
Goodnight, who founded the analytics giant SAS in 1976, has a net worth of $6.5 billion, as of April, Forbes reported this week.
That makes him the 404th richest person in the world, according to the Forbes rankings that’s topped by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. His net worth is $177 billion, Forbes reports.
The global rankings include everyone from Elon Musk (No. 2) and Bill Gates (No. 4) to members of Walmart’s Walton family (No. 17-19) and even Kim Kardashian West (No. 2674), who is a newcomer to the list with a net worth of $1 billion.
Goodnight isn’t the only billionaire with North Carolina ties on the Forbes list. It also includes Epic Games founder and CEO Tim Sweeney; SAS co-founder John Sall; Charlotte Hornets owner Michael Jordan and Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper.
Billionaires, in general, got wealthier during pandemic-stricken 2020, as the stock market soared in the past year, The Washington Post reported. And the number of total billionaires grew by 660 to 2,755, according to Forbes.
That growth stands in contrast to many in the country who have seen their jobs and wealth suffer because of the pandemic, especially those working in the retail and food industries.
Tech and health care companies, however, were well positioned to continue thriving during the pandemic, with many workers easily able to do their jobs from home.
Here is a look at North Carolina billionaires and their rankings on the Forbes list.
SAS billionaires
Goodnight’s net worth represents a $400 million increase from 2020, when the business publication reported his net worth at $6.1 billion.
But Goodnight, 78, fell in the overall billionaire rankings, dropping from No. 253 in 2020 to No. 404 this year.
Goodnight’s overall net worth has been on a downward trend in recent years, having been at a recent high of $9.4 billion in 2017.
Despite fears that COVID-19 might prevent SAS from making a profit for the first time since it was founded, the company still made money during the coronavirus pandemic. Revenues at the company declined, however, by around 2% to 3%, a company spokeswoman told The News & Observer in January.
Sall, who co-founded SAS with Goodnight, is the third North Carolinian on the list.
He has a net worth of $3.2 billion, according to Forbes, making him the 956th richest person in the world at the moment.
Sall, 73, and Goodnight met while they were both in graduate school at North Carolina State University.
Epic Games CEO
Sweeney currently posts a net worth of $4.7 billion, according to Forbes, which makes him the 608th richest person in the world. He had a net worth of $4.5 billion last year, making him No. 2 on our list of North Carolina billionaires.
Sweeney’s wealth has been super-charged by the growth of his video game company Epic Games in recent years following the release of “Fortnite.”
As “Fortnite” became one of the most popular games in the world, investors poured billions of dollars into the company.
Epic raised $1.78 billion from investors last year, The News & Observer reported. At the time, Epic was valued at $17.3 billion, a figure that the N&O reported made it the most valuable venture-backed company in the state.
The company plans to transform the old Cary Towne Center mall into a new headquarters, after it bought the mall for $95 million earlier this year.
Locally, Sweeney’s immense wealth mainly has been seen through his conservation efforts. He has become one of the largest private land holders in the state, and has conveyed tens of thousands of acres of land to conservation organizations in the state.
IQVIA founder
Another Triangle entrepreneur to make the Forbes list is Dennis Gillings, the founder of the clinical research firm Quintiles, now known as IQVIA.
Gillings, 76, has a net worth of $2.1 billion and resides in Durham. He came in at No. 1580 in the world.
Forbes put his net worth in 2020 at $1.4 billion.
Sports CEOs
The owners of two of North Carolina’s major sports teams also appeared on this list.
Jordan, who lives in Florida, owns the Charlotte Hornets basketball team. He now boasts a net worth of $1.6 billion, according to Forbes.
Jordan, 58, ranks No. 1,931 in the world. He’s one of the few Black Americans who have become billionaires, according to Forbes.
David Tepper, the owner of the Carolina Panthers and Charlotte F.C., now has a net worth of $14.5 billion, according to Forbes. That’s an increase of $2 billion from last year, despite the pandemic.
Tepper, 63, made his money from his hedge fund Appaloosa Management and claims his residence as New Jersey.
Tepper is the wealthiest North Carolina-related individual on the list, coming in at No. 142.
Tiger Management founder
North Carolina native Julian Robertson Jr. came in at No. 638 on the list, with a net worth of $4.5 billion.
The 88-year-old Robertson is credited with helping create the modern day hedge fund industry, and he started the firm Tiger Management.
Robertson, who now resides in New York, went to UNC-Chapel Hill and the school’s Robertson Scholars program was founded by him.
Forbes billionaires with North Carolina ties
The following people on Forbes billionaire rankings have North Carolina connections.
142: David Tepper, owner of the Carolina Panthers and Charlotte F.C., $14.5 billion,
404: James H. Goodnight, SAS Institute co-founder and CEO, $6.5 billion
608: Tim Sweeney, Epic Games founder and CEO, $4.7 billion
638: Julian Robertson Jr., Tiger Management founder, $4.5 billion
956: John Sall, SAS Institute co-founder, $3.2 billion
1,580: Dennis Gillings, IQVIA founder, $2.1 billion
1,931: Michael Jordan, Charlotte Hornets owner, $1.6 billion
This story was produced with financial support from a coalition of partners led by Innovate Raleigh as part of an independent journalism fellowship program. The N&O maintains full editorial control of the work. Learn more; go to bit.ly/newsinnovate
