Optometrist, sandwich king add to South Florida’s stack of billionaires
One founded a small sandwich shop in Illinois that’s now one of the fastest-growing fast-food chains in the U.S. The other is an optometrist by training who created one of the largest eyeglass tint companies in the world.
Together, they helped push South Florida’s billionaire count a bit higher in 2018, according to Forbes.
In the magazine’s latest ranking of the world’s wealthiest people, Jimmy John Liautaud, founder of the Jimmy John’s sandwich shop company, and Herbert Wertheim, founder of Brain Power Inc., each saw his estimated wealth climb above 10 figures.
According to Forbes, Liautaud, who grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, now calls Key Largo home for part of the year. His wife Leslie says on her website that the pair now split their time between Chicago and Key Largo.
Wertheim, meanwhile, has long been a Coral Gables resident. In February, Forbes called him, “The world’s happiest billionaire.”
A spokesperson for Forbes declined to reveal how the magazine calculated the net worths of the listed individuals, many of whom own private companies.
“The Forbes Billionaires list is a snapshot of wealth using stock prices and exchange rates from Feb. 8, 2019,” the magazine said in a statement.
The rest of South Florida’s billionaires, in order of estimated wealth, are as follows:
- Thomas Peterffy, founder of Interactive Brokers trading platform, is now worth an estimated $17.1 billion. (Forbes rank: 63.) He lives in Palm Beach, according to Forbes.
- David Tepper of Miami Beach, founder of Appaloosa Management fund management company, is now worth an estimated $11.6 billion. (Forbes rank: 118.)
- Micky Arison of Bal Harbour, chairman of Carnival Corp. and owner of the Miami Heat, is now worth an estimated $8.9 billion. (Forbes rank: 162.)
- Paul Tudor Jones of Palm Beach, founder of Tudor Investment Corp., is now worth an estimated $5.1 billion. (Forbes rank: 343.)
- Charles B. Johnson of Palm Beach, former chairman of Franklin Templeton Investments, the financial firm founded by his father Rupert, is now worth an estimated $5 billion. (Forbes rank: 355.)
- Jude Reyes of Palm Beach, co-founder of Reyes Holdings, among McDonald’s largest food distributors, is now worth an estimated $4.9 billion. (Forbes rank: 355.)
- Robert “Bob” Rich of Islamorada, chairman of frozen foods company Rich Products Corp., is now worth an estimated $4.8 billion. (Forbes rank: 379.)
- Dirk Ziff of North Palm Beach, co-founder of financial group Ziff Brothers Investments, is now worth an estimated $4.8 billion. (Forbes rank: 379.)
- Terrence “Terry” Pegula of Boca Raton, who made his fortune in natural gas before buying the Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres, is now worth an estimated $4.5 billion (Forbes rank: 424.)
- Isaac Perlmutter of Palm Beach, chairman and former CEO of Marvel Entertainment, is now worth an estimated $4.3 billion. (Forbes rank: 452.)
- Russ Weiner of Delray Beach, founder of energy drink company Rockstar, is now worth an estimated $4.1 billion. (Forbes rank: 478.)
- Igor Olenicoff of Lighthouse Point, founder and CEO of development group Olen Properties, is now worth an estimated $4 billion (Forbes rank: 504.)
- Jeff Greene of Palm Beach, a former Wall Street trader and current real estate executive, is now worth an estimated $3.4 billion. (Forbes rank: 645).
- Rakesh Gangwal of Miami Beach, former chairman and CEO of U.S. Airways, is now worth an estimated $2.9 billion. (Forbes rank: 775.)
- Nick Caporella of Plantation, founder of La Croix sparkling water maker National Beverage Co., is now worth an estimated $2.9 billion. (Forbes rank: 775.).
- Willieam “Beau” Wrigley of North Palm Beach, former president and CEO of candy maker Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co., is now worth an estimated $2.8 billion. (Forbes rank: 804.)
- John Henry of Boca Raton, a former Wall Street executive, former owner of the then-Florida Marlins, and current owner of the Boston Red Sox, is now worth an estimated $2.7 billion. (Forbes rank: 838.)
- Jorge Perez of Miami, chairman and CEO of developer Related Group, is now worth an estimated $2.6 billion. (Forbes rank: 877.)
- Herbert Wertheim of Coral Gables, founder and president of optical tints manufacturer Brain Power Inc., is now worth an estimated $2.4 billion. (Forbes rank: 962.)
- Norman Braman of Indian Creek, an auto dealer magnate, is now worth an estimated $2.4 billion (Forbes rank: 962.)
- C. Dean Metropoulos of Palm Beach, founder of private equity firm Metropoulos & Co., which is known for holding brands like Hostess and Pabst Blue Ribbon, is now worth an estimated $2.4 billion (Forbes rank: 962.)
- James Clark, co-founder of web browser Netscape, is now worth an estimated $2.1 billion. (Forbes rank: 1,116.) He recently sold his home in Palm Beach, according to the Palm Beach Daily News.
- Phillip Frost of Miami Beach, chairman and CEO of drugmaker OPKO Health, is now worth an estimated $2 billion. (Forbes rank: 1,168.)
- S. Daniel Abraham of Palm Beach, founder of Thompson Medical, best known as maker of Slim-Fast weight-loss drink, is now worth an estimated $2 billion. (Forbes rank: 1,168).
- Katherine MacMillan Tanner of Marathon, who inherited equity in food giant Cargill and is involved in philanthropy, is now worth an estimated $1.9 billion. (Forbes rank: 1227.)
- Michael Jordan of Jupiter, basketball superstar and current owner of the Charlotte Hornets, is now worth an estimated $1.8 billion (Forbes rank: 1281.)
- Christopher Cline of North Miami Beach, a coal mining magnate, is now worth an estimated $1.8 billion. (Forbes rank: 1,281.)
- William Koch of Palm Beach, chairman and CEO of petroleum and coal byproduct company Oxbow Carbon LLC and brother to Koch Industries owners David and Charles Koch, is now worth an estimated $1.8 billion. (Forbes rank: 1,281.)
- Catherine Lozick of Fort Lauderdale, a philanthropist who inherited equity in Swagelock, a valvemaker, is now worth an estimated $1.7 billion. (Forbes rank: 1,349).
- Jimmy John Liautaud of Key Largo, founder of Jimmy John’s sandwich chain, is now worth an estimated $1.7 billion. (Forbes rank: 1,349.)
- Bharat Desai of Fisher Island, founder of IT consulting and outsourcing company Syntel , is now worth an estimated $1.4 billion. (Forbes rank: 1,605.)
- Edmund Ansin of Miami Beach, owner of Sunbeam Television, the parent company of station Fox-WSVN Miami, is now worth an estimated $1.4 billion (Forbes rank: 1,605.)
- Edward Lampert of Indian Creek, former chairman and CEO of Sears and founder of hedge fund ESL Investments, is now worth an estimated $1 billion (Forbes rank: 2,057).
This story was originally published March 6, 2019 at 1:43 PM.
