Forbes Ranks 18 Billionaires In MA, All $64 Billion Worth

Despite ongoing legal and image trouble, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft sits as the third-richest person in Massachusetts.

Kraft, who pleaded not guilty to two misdemeanor counts of soliciting another to commit prostitution stemming from visiting a Florida day spa the weekend of the AFC Championship Game, has a net worth of $6.5 billion, according to the latest Forbes ranking of the world's billionaires.

Kraft is behind Abigail Johnson and Edward Johnson III, who made their vast fortunes in Fidelity Investments. Abigail Johnson, the company's CEO, is worth $15.6 billion, double what her father Edward Johnson III is worth at $7.8 billion. Abigail Johnson placed at No. 71 on the Forbes list.

New Balance owner Jim Davis was third on the Massachusetts list at $5.6 billion. Edward Johnson IV and Elizabeth Johnson were tied for fifth at $3.5 billion apiece.

All in all, there were 18 Massachusetts billionaires ranked by Forbes. They are worth a total of $64 billion - less than half of what the world's richest man, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, is worth. You can see the full list below.

Bezos, who is worth about $131 billion, topped the list for the second year in a row, followed by software magnate and philanthropist Bill Gates ($96.5 billion) and Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett ($82.5 billion).

Both the number of billionaires and their combined net worth is down this year, according to Forbes. Last year, 2,208 people made the list and had a combined wealth of $9.1 trillion. Forbes said this represents the first decrease in billionaires and their combined wealth since 2016, and only the second decrease in a decade.

A record 994 billionaires are worth less than they were a year ago, but last year, only 360 members of the elite class got poorer. The average net worth of this year’s billionaires is $4 billion, down from $4.1 billion in 2018. Of the total, 1,450 members are self-made.

“The billionaire ranks prove that even the world’s richest are not immune to economic forces and the volatility of world markets. Yet, even with strong headwinds, resourceful and relentless entrepreneurs find new ways to get rich,” Luisa Kroll, assistant managing editor of wealth at Forbes said in a news release.

Kerry A, Dolan, also an assistant managing editor of wealth at Forbes, noted regional trends.

“Of note this year was the large number of drop-offs in China, and the weakening of the euro vs. the dollar, which pushed down the dollar value of European fortunes,” Dolan said in the release.

In the United States, Bezos’ net worth increased from $19 billion, and Gates, who had been the wealthiest person in the world for the longest period of time, increased his fortune by $6.5 billion, from $90 billion in 2018. The gap between the No. 1 and No. 2 billionaires grew due to an increase in Amazon stock prices. Buffett’s net worth fell by $1.5 billion.

Rounding out the top five were Bernard Arnault of France and Carlos Slim Helu of Mexico, with net worths of $76 billion and $64 billion, respectively.

President Trump was No. 715 on the list, checking in at $3.1 billion.

New to the list is Kylie Jenner, 21, who is the youngest billionaire in the world and the youngest self-made billionaire of all time. Jenner, who ranked 2,057 on the list, owns 100 percent of Kylie Cosmetics, a company she founded three years ago and which did $360 million in sales last year. Most of the company’s revenue comes from e-commerce, but Kylie Cosmetics also has a deal with Ulta to put its products in the makeup retailer’s 1,163 U.S. stores.

Other Americans in the Top 20 were:

• Larry Ellison, software magnate, No. 7 with a net worth of $62.5 billion (up from 2018);
• Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder, No 8, with a net worth of $62.3 billion (down from 2018);
• Michael Bloomberg, Bloomberg LP, No. 9, with a net worth of $55.5 billion (up from 2018);
• Larry Page, Google, No. 10, with a net worth of $50.8 billion (up from 2018);
• Charles Koch and David Koch, Koch Industries, No. 11, with a net worth of $50.5 billion (down from 2018);
• Sergey Brin, Google, No. 14, with a net worth of $49.8 billion (up from 2018);
• Jim Walton, Walmart, No. 16, with a net worth of $44.6 billion (down from 2018);
• Alice Walton, Walmart, No. 17, with a net worth of $44.4 billion (down from 2018);
• S. Robson Walton, Walmart, No 18, with a net worth of $44.3 billion (down from 2018);
• Steve Ballmer, Microsoft, No. 19, with a net worth of $41.2 billion (up from 2018).

The Top 20 billionaires have a combined net worth of $1.2 trillion, which is unchanged from last year. Their aggregate wealth represents about 14 percent of all billionaires. The minimum net worth in the Top 20 was $3.38 billion, $200 million less than 2018.

Here is the full Massachusetts list:

• 71. Abigail Johnson, 57, Milton: $15.6 billion, money management
• 187. Edward Johnson III, 88, Boston: $7.8 billion, money management
• 244. Robert Kraft, 77, Brookline: $6.5 billion, New England Patriots
• 311. Jim Davis, 75, Newton: $5.6 billion, New Balance
• 617. Edward Johnson IV, 54, Boston: $3.5 billion, money management; Elizabeth Johnson, 55, Boston, $3.5 billion, money management
• 667. Amos Hostetter Jr., 82, Boston: $3.3 billion, cable television
• 1008. Alan Trefler, 62, Brookline: $2.3 billion, software
• 1057. Phillip T. Ragon, 69, Boston: $2.2 billion, health IT
• 1168. Steve Conine, 46, Boston: $2 billion, online retail; Niraj Shah, 44, Boston: $2 billion, online retail
• 1281. Valentin Gapontsev & family, 80, Worcester: $1.8 billion, lasers
• 1425: Ted Alfond, 74, Weston: $1.6 billion, shoes
• 1511. Seth Klarman, 61, Chestnut Hill: $1.5 billion, investments
• 1605. Herb Chambers, 77, Boston: $1.4 billion, car dealerships
• 1818. Frank Laukien, 59, Boston: $1.2 billion, scientific equipment
• 1941. Paul Fireman, 75, Brookline: $1.1 billion, Reebok; Jim Koch, 69, Newton: $1.1 billion, beer

Go here to view the complete list.