Thirty-five U.S. healthcare leaders made Forbes' 35th annual list of the world's richest people in 2021, which saw an "unprecedented" number of newcomers. Eight of the 493 newcomers were in U.S. healthcare, according to Forbes.
For the list, Forbes calculated net worth by using stock prices and exchange rates from March 5. View the full methodology here.
These healthcare industry leaders are listed below with their net worth, as determined by Forbes. The newcomers are bolded.
- Thomas Frist Jr., MD. Founder of Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare: $15.7 billion
- Carl Cook. CEO of Cook Group: $9.9 billion
- Patrick Soon-Shiong, MD. Inventor of Abraxane: $7.5 billion
- Reinhold Schmieding. Founder and CEO of Arthrex: $6.7 billion
- Ronda Stryker. Inherited, director of Stryker: $6.5 billion
- Judy Faulkner. Founder and CEO of Epic: $6 billion
- Hansjoerg Wyss. Sold medical device company to Johnson & Johnson: $6 billion
- John Brown. Former CEO and chair of Stryker: $5.2 billion
- Stéphane Bancel. CEO of Moderna: $4.3 billion
- Jon Stryker. Inherited Stryker: $4.1 billion
- Pat Stryker. Inherited Stryker: $3 billion
- Osman Kibar, PhD. Founder and CEO of Samumed: $2.9 billion
- Phillip Frost, MD. Inventor and founder of Opko Health: $2.5 billion
- Alice Schwartz. Founder of Bio-Rad Laboratories: $2.4 billion
- Stewart Rahr. Inherited and expanded Kinray: $2.3 billion
- Randal Kirk. Chair of Third Security: $2.2 billion
- Phillip (Terry) Ragon. Founder and CEO of InterSystems: $2.2 billion
- Timothy Springer, PhD. Immunologist and professor of biological chemistry and molecular pharmacology at Boston-based Harvard Medical School: $2.2 billion
- Dennis Gillings, PhD. Founder and former CEO and chair of Quintiles Transnational, now IQVIA: $2 billion
- Amy Wyss. Daughter of Swiss billionaire Hansjoerg Wyss, founder of Synthes, where Ms. Wyss worked for years: $2 billion
- Noubar Afeyan, PhD. Founder and CEO of Flagship Pioneering: $1.9 billion
- Robert Duggan. Entrepreneur who led the sale of Pharmacyclics to AbbVie: $1.8 billion
- Leonard Schleifer, MD, PhD. Co-founder and CEO of Regeneron: $1.8 billion
- Gary Michelson, MD. Retired orthopedic and spinal surgeon with more than 340 U.S. patents: $1.7 billion
- Robert Langer, MD. Scientist and professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge: $1.6 billion
- David Paul. Founder and executive chair of Globus Medical: $1.6 billion
- James Leininger, MD. Founder of Kinetic Concepts: $1.5 billion
- August Troendle, MD. President and CEO of Medpace: $1.5 billion
- Keith Dunleavy, MD. Founder of Inovalon: $1.4 billion
- Alan Miller. Founder of King of Prussia, Pa.-based Universal Health Services: $1.3 billion
- Ming Hsieh. Founder, president, CEO and chair of Fulgent Genetics: $1.1 billion
- John Martin, PhD. Former CEO and chair of Gilead Sciences: $1.1 billion
- Forrest Preston. Founder of Life Care Centers of America: $1.1 billion
- Jack Schuler. Healthcare investor and philanthropist: $1.1 billion
- George Yancopoulos, PhD. Chief scientific officer of Regeneron: $1.1 billion
Read the full list here.
Editor's note: This article was updated to include two billionaires in the health IT space.