Meet The 22 Newcomers To The 2016 Forbes 400

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It isn’t easy to reach the ranks of the 400 richest Americans – the minimum needed was $1.7 billion in 2016 – but 22 new billionaires joined The Forbes 400 club this year. More than two-thirds of them lucked into it, inheriting at least some of their wealth. Seven hit the jackpot on their own, selling everything from plastics to beverages to hair care products. Others owed their fortunes to familiar brands such as Facebook, Publix, Cargill and U-Haul.
Two of the newcomers immigrated to the U.S. and later became American citizens. Rakesh Gangwal, who debuts on The Forbes 400 with an estimated $2.2 billion net worth, was born in India and got his M.B.A. at Wharton in the 1970s. He cofounded IndiGo near Delhi with one aircraft a decade ago. Now it’s India’s largest budget airline by market share, and its parent company, InterGlobe Aviation, went public in November 2015 in India.

Jen-Hsun Huang, cofounder of graphics chipmaker Nvidia, was among 22 newcomers to the 2016 Forbes 400. (Photo: Jacob Kepler/Bloomberg)

Jen-Hsun Huang was born in Taiwan, grew up in Thailand and moved to the U.S. to live with his aunt and uncle in 1973. Instead of a prep school, they accidentally sent him to a boarding school for
troubled youth, where he scrubbed bathrooms. He eventually went to Stanford University and in 1993 cofounded graphics chipmaker Nvidia, which has a $36.6 billion market capitalization. FORBES estimates his net worth at $1.7 billion.
Todd Christopher came from humble beginnings. Hailing from a family of hairdressers, he started selling ProVitamin hair treatment capsules out of his car in 1987. In June 2016, he sold a 51% stake in his Vogue International, which owns OGX, Proganix and other hair care brands, to Johnson & Johnson for $3.3 billion in cash, leaving him with an estimated $2 billion net worth.

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Forbes 400: Notable Newcomers 2016

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Consumers’ insatiable thirst for LaCroix sparkling water lifted Nick Caporella’s 74% stake in National Beverage to a value of $2.1 billion on The Forbes 400. (His net worth fell to $1.8 billion last week after a report accusing him of manipulating earnings results depressed the company’s stock. In a statement, National Beverage called the report “false and defamatory,” and said the allegations are based on a failed 2012 lawsuit from a former associate.)
Better late than never, Jeff Rothschild was 50 years old when he joined Facebook, then a young startup, in 2005. He helped the social network grow as vice president of infrastructure engineering before departing last year. The company’s rising shares have finally lifted him into The FORBES 400 with an estimated net worth of $2.2 billion.
Read More: Billionaires’ Secrets to Building Wealth
Jane Goldman, one of nine newcomers who are women, didn’t create her own fortune, but she’s been expanding it — literally. She and three other heirs of Sol Goldman (d. 1987) – Allan Goldman, Amy Goldman and Diane Kemper – once New York City’s biggest landlord, debut on the list with an estimated $3 billion apiece. Jane is America’s only female billionaire to run a real-estate firm. The family’s privately held company owns at least 400 New York City properties, including the Cartier mansion and the Peninsula Hotel.
John Tyson, chairman of meat processing giant Tyson, has also helped fatten up the family business. In 2015 its sales rose to $41.4 billion, up 29% from 5 years earlier. The Arkansas company, now publicly traded, was founded by Tyson’s grandfather in 1935, and John was CEO from 2000 to 2006. He joins The Forbes 400 with a $2.2 billion fortune.

Charles Cohen started out on the family path, but later went his own way. In 1979 he joined the family’s Cohen Brothers Realty in New York, then bought out his father and uncle and quadrupled the business to 12 million square feet. That helped earn him an estimated $2.8 billion fortune and freed him up to pursue his boyhood dream of working in film: He produced the 2008 Oscar-nominated film Frozen River, has distributed 52 films and acquired the rights to another 800.
Here’s a full list of the 22 new members of the 2016 Forbes 400:
1. James Chambers
Net worth: $7.2 billion
Source of wealth: media
2. Katharine Rayner
Net worth: $7.2 billion
Source of wealth: media
3. Margaretta Taylor
Net worth: $7.2 billion
Source of wealth: media
4. Allan Goldman
Net worth: $3 billion
Source of wealth: real estate
5. Amy Goldman Fowler
Net worth: $3 billion
Source of wealth: real estate
6. Jane Goldman
Net worth: $3 billion
Source of wealth: real estate
7. Diane Kemper
Net worth: $3 billion
Source of wealth: real estate
8. Charles Cohen
Net worth: $2.8 billion
Source of wealth: real estate
9. E. Joe Shoen
Net worth: $2.3 billion
Source of wealth: U-Haul
10. Jim Davis
Net worth: $2.2 billion
Source of wealth: staffing & recruiting
11. Rakesh Gangwal
Net worth: $2.2 billion
Source of wealth: airline
12. Jeff Rothschild
Net worth: $2.2 billion
Source of wealth: Facebook

13. John Tyson
Net worth: $2.2 billion
Source of wealth: food processing

14. Nick Caporella
Net worth: $2.1 billion
Source of wealth: beverages

15. William Young
Net worth: $2.1 billion
Source of wealth: plastics

16. Todd Christopher
Net worth: $2 billion
Source of wealth: hair care products

17. Alexandra Daitch
Net worth: $1.8 billion
Source of wealth: Cargill

18. Sarah MacMillan
Net worth: $1.8 billion
Source of wealth: Cargill

19. Lucy Stitzer
Net worth: $1.8 billion
Source of wealth: Cargill

20. Katherine Tanner
Net worth: $1.8 billion
Source of wealth: Cargill

21. Carol Jenkins Barnett
Net worth: $1.7 billion
Source of wealth: Publix supermarkets

22. Jen-Hsun Huang
Net worth: $1.7 billion
Source of wealth: semiconductors

Katia Savchuk ,  

Forbes Staff  

source - forbes