5 of New York’s richest billionaires – net worths, ranked: from Michael Bloomberg – who once ran for president – to Julia Koch, but who’s the maths whizz who once worked as a codebreaker?
New York is known for its fast-paced, glamorous life, but all that glitz comes with a rather hefty price tag. After all, this is a major financial capital and one of the world’s most expensive cities. It also boasts a rep as the kind of place where hard work, some business savvy and a little luck can go a long way – which is why so many people are driven to move here and chase their dreams.
So it’s no surprise that the Big Apple is home to the largest concentration of billionaires – 110 to be exact, according to Forbes – who have reached the upper echelons of their industries. These billion-dollar moguls consistently top global rich lists thanks to their business brilliance and philanthropic achievements, and live the high life while they’re at it.
Here are five of New York’s richest, according to Forbes.
5. Rupert Murdoch and family
Estimated net worth: US$19.6 billion
Born in Melbourne, Australia, in 1931, Murdoch’s meteoric rise in the media world began with family: his father, Sir Keith Murdoch, left the family a controlling share in Adelaide News.
Returning from Britain after his father’s death, Murdoch used the tabloid as a foundation to grow his media empire, buying various papers in quick succession, per BBC.
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Murdoch focused on scandalous content and outspoken op-eds, according to his bio on Britannica. He and News Corp have faced controversy over the years, including allegations that they illegally hacked phones, and disregarded press ethics and accuracy, per NBC News.
4. Jim Simons
Estimated net worth: US$31.4 billion
The father of three began his career in trading in 1982, when he launched Renaissance Technologies. The New York-based hedge fund is famous for its signature Medallion Fund, a US$10 billion black-box strategy open only to its staff and owners. Per Bloomberg, he has received about US$12 billion from the fund, which has delivered about 40 per cent in returns since 1988.
His experience includes working as a codebreaker in the US Army during the Vietnam war, and he’s known as a mathematical wizard.
His philanthropic efforts take the form of the Simons Foundation, which offers grants in four areas: mathematics and physical sciences, life sciences, autism and neuroscience, and science, society and culture.
3. Stephen Schwarzman
Estimated net worth: US$38.1 billion
Stephen Schwarzman is the CEO of Blackstone, an alternative investment management company that, according to Forbes, handles over US$1 trillion in assets on behalf of private individuals and companies. Schwarzman founded Blackstone in 1985 with Peterson; the two grew the company into the world’s largest buyout firm.
Schwarzman graduated from Yale University and received an MBA from Harvard Business School. He worked at the now-defunct Lehman Brothers and eventually became the firm’s chairman.
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In 2020, he pledged to give most of his wealth to philanthropic causes by signing The Giving Pledge. Schwarzman’s charitable efforts also include establishing the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing and gifting Yale University US$150 million. He is married to Christine Hearst and has two children from a previous marriage.
2. Julia Koch and family
Estimated net worth: US$65.7 billion
When he died in 2019, businessman and philanthropist David Koch left a 42 per cent take in his business, Koch Industries, to his wife, Julia, and their three children. The company has various interests, including fertilisers, energy solutions and medical equipment. The company has annual revenues of US$125 billion, per Bloomberg.
Per Forbes, Koch gave US$75 million to the Julia Koch Family Ambulatory Care Center this year, for use in West Palm Beach.
1. Michael Bloomberg
Estimated net worth: US$106.2 billion
Bloomberg’s interest in business began at a young age, when he became one of the youngest Eagle Scouts in history at age 12, according to his bio on his website. He was born in Boston and, after graduating high school, attended Johns Hopkins University and Harvard Business School. Financial services firm Salomon Brothers then hired him in an entry-level role, and he rose through the ranks until he was let go after the company was bought out.
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Immediately afterwards, he decided to found Bloomberg with the aim to make financial trading more transparent, also according to his bio. According to Harvard Business School, Bloomberg also offers analytics and financial information. Today, the company has revenues of more than US$13 billion.
Per Forbes, he has donated more than US$17 billion to causes like gun safety, climate change and education.
- New York is home to the most billionaires in the world, including an ex-mayor worth over US$100 billion … many got ahead by shrewdly navigating the tech and finance worlds
- They may be rich as Croesus, but many have a philanthropic bent and put their dollars to causes close to their heart; one’s pledged to leave most of his US$38.1 billion fortune to charity