Trio Of Millburn-Short Hills Men On Forbes Billionaires List

MILLBURN, NJ - New Jersey is home to eight billionaires, according to Forbes’ 33rd annual ranking of the world’s billionaires released Tuesday and three of them reside in Millburn-Short Hills.

The ranking includes 2,153 people who have a combined wealth of $8.7 trillion. First on the list in New Jersey, and 247 overall is John Overdeck from Millburn. His worth was reported at $6.1 billion in money made running a hedge fund.

Overdeck and his wife Laura live in Millburn with their three children. In 2011, they founded Overdeck Family Foundation. According to their website, the Foundation is designed to celebrate the life-changing power of education while challenging the status quo of today’s systems.

To accomplish the mission, they fund work that enhances each stage of learning, from birth to graduation. Approximately one-third of the funding supports research efforts that drive the field forward and the remaining two-thirds supports organizations that bring ideas into the field.

Short Hills resident Peter Kellogg comes in a 645 on the overall list due to the $3.4 billion he made in his brokerage house. He also founded the Peter R. & Cynthia K. Kellogg Foundation.

According to Inside Philanthropy, the Kellogg foundation has supported places like American Camellia Society, American Forest Foundation, American Salmon Foundation, American Tree Farm System, Appalachian Trail Conservancy, Audubon Society - South Carolina, Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions, Friends of Hudson River Park, and New Jersey Conservation Foundation.

Short Hills resident Leon G. Cooperman is the CEO of Omega Advisors and is on the list at 745 with $3 billion. He founded the Leon and Toby Cooperman Family Foundation. According to Inside Philanthropy, Leon Cooperman has pledged at least half of his wealth to charity, prioritizing Jewish charities, as well as Columbia Business School; however, the couple also support work in health research, and in other areas.

Cooperman was also charged insider trading, by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2016. According to the SEC, in May 2017 Cooperman's firm agreed to a $4.9 million settlement with the SEC. As part of the agreement, Omega Advisers admitted no wrongdoing.

Beyond New Jersey, Amazon CEO Jeff 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 Donald Trump’s net worth is listed at $3.1 billion by Forbes, which placed him at No 715 on the list. Trump is the first billionaire president of the United States, and the core of his fortune is tied up in a half-dozen buildings in and around midtown Manhattan in New York City, according to Forbes.

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.

Go here to view the complete list.

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