While it’s not a bad thing to be a billionaire, it was a rough year for many of those in the ten-figure club.
Due to the fallout from the pandemic, higher interest rates and a shaky stock market, nearly half of all the world’s billionaires are less wealthy than they were just a year ago, according to Forbes, which released its list of the richest people on the planet.
U.S. real estate, as always, was well-represented, and many of the industry’s biggest names ended up adding to their fortunes this year. Donald Bren, chair of Southern California-based Irvine Company, is the wealthiest American real estate titan, just cracking the top 100 (#97) with a $17.4 billion fortune, an increase of $1.2 billion from last year.
Also making the cut is Related Companies founder Stephen Ross (#147), whose net worth shot up to $11.6 billion from $8.2 billion, and retail mogul Jeff Sutton (#1217), who Forbes pegged to be worth $2.5 billion, down from $3.1 billion.
And despite the WeWork debacle, the company’s audacious co-founder made out like a bandit. Adam Neumann maintained a spot on the list (#1368) with a net worth of $2.2 billion, up considerably from $1.4 billion last year.
Other industry household names on the list include Leonard Stern ($7.6 billion), Igor Olenicoff ($6.9 billion), Neil Bluhm ($6 billion), Sam Zell ($5.2 billion), Jay Paul ($4.3 billion), Donald Sterling ($4.1 billion), Charles Cohen ($3.7 billion), Jerry Speyer ($3.6 billion), Herb Simon ($3.4 billion), Donald R. Horton ($2.9 billion), Ben Ashkenazy ($2.6 billion), and David Walentas ($2.4 billion).
It wasn’t just the usual suspects on the list. Newcomers to the billionaire club include Annette Lerner ($6.4 billion), Greystar co-founder Bob Faith ($5.2 billion), L.A.-based apartment developer and landlord Geoffrey Palmer ($3.2 billion), New York real estate scion Stefan Soloviev ($2.3 billion), Carroll Companies founder Roy Carroll II ($2.9 billion), and Richard Kurtz ($1 billion).
And, of course, former president Donald Trump, (#1,217) who saw his fortune decrease to $2.5 billion from $3 billion.