Meet Rhode Island's Lone Billionaire

Forbes Magazine released its annual list of the world's billionaires Monday, which featured one Rhode Island man.

The publication's 2017 edition featured a record 2,043 billionaires worldwide. Massachusetts had 11 10-figure earners - ranging from high-profile ones like New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft to behind-the-scenes head honchos like New Balance Chairman Jim Davis - but the Ocean State had just one.

Jonathan Nelson, the 1,030th person on the billionaires list, represented Rhode Island. The 60-year-old CEO of Providence Equity Partners is worth $2 billion. Here's what Forbes had to say about him:

"Jonathan Nelson is CEO of Providence Equity Partners, the $50 billion (assets under management) private equity firm he founded in 1989. Providence sold the Ironman triathlon series for $900 million in the fall of 2015, quadrupling its initial investment. Nelson studied economics at Brown, then got his MBA at Harvard. Today he is a member of Brown's governing board. In January 2016, he announced a $25 million gift to launch the school's Jonathan M. Nelson Center for Entrepreneurship, which opened in the fall of 2016. He has also served on the board of directors of the Newport, Rhode Island Jazz Festival."

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In general, not a bad a year to have money.

"It was a record year for the richest people on earth, as the number of billionaires jumped 13 percent to 2,043 from 1,810 last year, the first time ever that Forbes has pinned down more than 2,000 ten-figure-fortunes," according to Forbes. "Their total net worth rose by 18% to $7.67 trillion, also a record. The change in the number of billionaires — up 233 since the 2016 list — was the biggest in the 31 years that Forbes has been tracking billionaires globally."

The complete Forbes billionaires list can be found here.

Photo credit: DodgertonSkillhause via morgue.file.com.