Illinois' Richest Person Worth $8 Billion

CHICAGO, IL — Worth an estimated $8 billion, Chicago hedge fund manager Ken Griffin is the richest person in Illinois, according to Forbes' most recent ranking of the wealthiest individuals in each state. The self-made billionaire is the founder of Citadel Securities. Although he founded Citadel in 1990, he started trading from his Harvard dorm room three years earlier, putting a satellite dish on the roof to get real-time stock quotes, according to Forbes.

Griffin's fortune is impressive, but it pales in comparison with the wealth accumulated by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, who is not only Washington state’s richest resident but also the richest person in the world with a fortune estimated at $88.9 billion, according to Forbes. Gates is about $12.9 billion richer this year than last, largely due to the rising stock market, Forbes said. Amazon CEO and fellow Washington resident Jeff Bezos is close on Gates' heels, with a net worth of $83.3 billion thanks to a nearly 50 percent bump in the online retailer's stock prices this year, according to Forbes.

In other states, it’s not even close. Warren Buffett, the second-richest person on the list, is 20 times wealthier than Walter Scott Jr., Nebraska’s second-wealthiest individual. Both made their fortunes at Berkshire Hathaway.

Read the full list of the richest people in every state. Together, the 52 people on the new Forbes list (there were ties in two states) are worth $747 billion. Forbes said that in all but one case, those on the list are wealthier than they were in the 2016 rankings, their fortunes rising by $1.74 billion on average.

The list is separate from Forbes' annual list of the world's billionaires, released in March. Sixteen Illinois residents — including Griffin, who was the richest billionaire in Illinois and ranked at No. 166 overall on the list — made the cut. In October 2016, Griffin also made the Forbes 400, a list of the wealthiest billionaires in the United States. At that time, Forbes put Griffin's net worth at $7.5 billion, so he's seen a half-a-billion bump since then.

Beth Dalbey (Patch National Staff) contributed to this report

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