These MA Billionaires Are Among World’s Richest: Forbes 2022 List

MASSACHUSETTS — The billionaires of the world still worth $12.7 trillion— even though their fortunes fell by more than $400 billion, as sanctions target Russian oligarchs following Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and the pandemic continues to cause economic difficulties, according to the recently released Forbes World's Billionaires List.

In Massachusetts, 11 billionaires saw their wealth decrease, including Jim Koch and Herb Chambers. But eight of the state's billionaires, including its two richest (Abigail Johnson and Robert Kraft), saw their fortunes rise.

More than 1,000 billionaires are richer than they were a year ago. And more than 200 people became billionaires over the past year as ordinary Americans grapple with record gas prices and rising food costs at the grocery store.

A total of 24 billionaires on this year’s list hail from Massachusetts. Abigail Johnson is at the top, with a net worth of $21.2 billion. She amassed her wealth through Fidelity Investments and serves as CEO. Johnson's grandfather Edward Johnson II founded the company.

Other Massachusetts billionaires on the list include:

• Robert Kraft, Owner of New England Patriots, $8.3 billion
• Edward Johnson IV, money management, $6.5 billion
• Jim Davis, New Balance, $5.4 billion
• Elizabeth Johnson, money management, $5.1 billion
• Stéphane Bancel, Moderna, $4.6 billion
• Amos Hostetter, cable television, $3.8 billion
• Robert Hale, Granite Telecommunications, $3.2 billion
• Alan Trefler, software, $2.9 billion
• Bill Alfond, Dexter Shoe Company, $2.8 billion
• Ted Alfond, Dexter Shoe COmpany, $2.8 billion
• Frank Laukien, Bruker Corp., $2.3 billion
• Timothy Springer, Harvard Medical School and previously Moderna, $2.1 billion
• Herb Chambers, Herb Chambers, $2 billion
• Phillip T. Ragon, InterSystems, $1.9 billion
• Noubar Afeyan, Flagship Pioneering, $1.7 billion
• Patrizio Vinciarelli, Vicor Corp., $1.7 billion
• Jim Koch, Samuel Adams, $1.6 billion
• Robert Langer, MIT/Moderna, $1.6 billion
• George Sakellaris, Ameresco, $1.6 billion
• Niraj Shah, Wayfair, $1.6 billion
• Steve Conine, Wayfair, $1.5 billion
• Seth Klarman, Baupost, $1.5 billion
• Paul Fireman, Reebok and Liberty National Golf Course, $1.1 billion

The number of billionaires on this year’s list slipped to 2,668 — 87 fewer than last year. Still, there's a massive wealth divide in Massachusetts and across the U.S. between billionaires and working class people.

Across Massachusetts, the average income among the top 20 percent of households by earnings stands at $299,188, according to U.S. Federal Reserve data. That cohort makes up more than half of all income earned in Massachusetts.

Meanwhile, the average income among the bottom 20 percent of households by earnings is $16,450, making up just 2.8 percent of all earnings statewide.

To compile this year’s list, Forbes used a snapshot of its real-time billionaires rankings by analyzing stock prices and exchange rates for March 11.

The United States still leads the world with 735 billionaires worth a collective $4.7 trillion. This includes Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who tops the World’s Billionaires List for the first time.

Former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos fell to the second spot on this year’s list. Bezos, who founded the e-commerce giant out of his garage in Seattle, Washington, stepped down as CEO in 2021 and is now executive chairman of the company.

Meanwhile, France’s Bernard Arnault of LVMH remains at No. 3, followed by Bill Gates of Microsoft at No. 4. Rounding out this year’s top five is Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway.

U.S. billionaires could surrender more wealth should Congress pass a “Billionaire Minimum Tax” proposed in President Joe Biden’s fiscal year 2023 budget proposal. (link to previous localized billionaire tax story)

Under the proposal, households worth more than $100 million would pay at least 20 percent in taxes on both income and “unrealized gains,” or the increase in an unsold investment’s value. Many wealthy people hold onto these investments for decades, meaning they’re never taxed, the administration said.

However, the bill’s prospects seem grim after Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin spoke out against it.

“You can’t tax something that’s not earned. Earned income is what we’re based on,” Manchin told The Hill. “There’s other ways to do it. Everybody has to pay their fair share.”

See the full 2022 Forbes Billionaires List.