Forbes' 37th annual list of the world's richest people in 2023 includes 35 entrepreneurs, heirs, inventors and leaders from healthcare.
It was a difficult year for nearly half of the world's billionaires, whose net worth decreased compared to one year ago, Forbes reported. Fourteen of the 35 U.S. healthcare billionaires saw their net worth fall in a year and 12 saw their net worth increase. The others either remained flat or are new to the list.
The wealthiest person in the world for 2023 is Bernard Arnault, the founder, chairman and CEO of the world's largest luxury goods company LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton. The net worth for Mr. Arnault and his family is $211 billion.
Below are billionaires from the Forbes list of 2,640 organized by the healthcare industry and the U.S. territory. (Find the complete listing here.)
Thomas Frist Jr., MD, and family
Overall rank: 81
Net worth in 2023: $20.2 billion
Net worth in 2022: $21.8 billion
Dr. Frist, Jr. co-founded Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare with his father in 1968.
Carl Cook
Overall rank: 171
Net worth in 2023: $10.2 billion
Net worth in 2022: $11.1 billion
Mr. Cook is the CEO of Cook Group, a medical device manufacturer co-founded by his parents in 1963.
Reinhold Schmieding
Overall rank: 282
Net worth in 2023: $7.7 billion
Net worth in 2022: $7.2 billion
Mr. Schmieding founded Arthrex, a global medical device company, in 1981.
Ronda Stryker
Overall rank: 344
Net worth in 2023: $6.9 billion
Net worth in 2022: $6.8 billion
Ms. Stryker is a director of Stryker Corp., the medical equipment company founded by her grandfather, Homer Stryker.
Patrick Soon-Shiong, MD
Overall rank: 442
Net worth in 2023: $5.8 billion
Net worth in 2022: $7.3 billion
Dr. Soon-Shiong is the founder of NantWorks, a network of healthcare, biotech and artificial intelligence startups, and inventor of cancer drug Abraxane.
John Brown
Overall rank: 445
Net worth in 2023: $5.7 billion
Net worth in 2022: $5.4 billion
Mr. Brown ran Stryker Corp., a medical device and software company, for 32 years before he retired as chair emeritus in 2010.
Li Ge, PhD
Overall rank: 455
Net worth in 2023: $5.6 billion
Net worth in 2022: $8.8 billion
Dr. Ge co-founded WuXi AppTec, a global research and development and manufacturing services company, in 2000 and serves as chair and CEO of the firm.
Jon Stryker
Overall rank: 636
Net worth in 2023: $4.3 billion
Net worth in 2022: $4.2 billion
Mr. Stryker is the founder and president of Arcus Foundation, which primarily supports great ape conservation efforts and LGBT social justice. He is the grandson of Homer Stryker, who founded Stryker Corp. in 1941.
Pat Stryker
Overall rank: 905
Net worth in 2023: $3.2 billion
Net worth in 2022: $3.1 billion
Ms. Stryker is the founder of Bohemian Foundation, which supports music, community, global and civic programs. She is the granddaughter of Homer Stryker, who founded Stryker Corp. in 1941.
Stewart Rahr
Overall rank: 1,067
Net worth in 2023: $2.8 billion
Net worth in 2022: $2.5 billion
Mr. Rahr expanded Kinray, a pharmaceutical distributor his father founded in 1944, and sold it to Cardinal Health in 2010 for $1.3 billion.
Wayne Rothbaum
Overall rank: 1,104
Net worth in 2023: $2.7 billion
Net worth in 2021: n/a; Mr. Rothbaum is new to the Forbes list
Wayne Rothbaum founded investment firm Quogue Capital in 2001 and is an investor in biotech, deploying only his own funds in developers like Acerta Pharma and Iovance.
Leonard Schleifer, MD, PhD
Overall rank: 1,164
Net worth in 2023: $2.6 billion
Net worth in 2022: $1.2 billion
Dr. Schleifer is the co-founder and CEO of biotechnology company Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, which he established in 1988.
Hao Hong, PhD
Overall rank: 1,368 (tied)
Net worth in 2023: $2.2 billion
Net worth in 2022: $4 billion
Dr. Hong is the CEO and chair of Asymchem Laboratories, which provides pharmaceutical outsourcing services. He founded the company in 1999.
Alice Schwartz
Overall rank: 1,368 (tied)
Net worth in 2023: $2.2 billion
Net worth in 2022: $2.1 billion
Ms. Schwartz and her husband founded life sciences research company Bio-Rad Laboratories in 1952.
Timothy Springer, PhD
Overall rank: 1,434 (tied)
Net worth in 2023: $2.1 billion
Net worth in 2022: $2.1 billion
Dr. Springer is an immunologist and professor of biological chemistry and molecular pharmacology at Boston-based Harvard Medical School and an investor in biotech and pharmaceutical companies. When Moderna Therapeutics launched its initial public offering in 2018, Dr. Springer became the company's fourth-largest shareholder.
Robert Duggan
Overall rank: 1,647 (tied)
Net worth in 2023: $1.8 billion
Net worth in 2022: $2 billion
Mr. Duggan is a serial entrepreneur. He led the 2015 sale of biotech firm Pharmacyclics to AbbVie for $21 billion in cash and stock.
Phillip Frost, MD
Overall rank: 1,647 (tied)
Net worth in 2023: $1.8 billion
Net worth in 2022: $2.2 billion
A longtime healthcare investor, inventor and founder, Dr. Frost now serves as CEO and chair of Opko Health, a medical test and medication company focused on diagnostics and pharmaceuticals.
Gary Michelson, MD
Overall rank: 1,647 (tied)
Net worth in 2023: $1.8 billion
Net worth in 2022: $1.8 billion
Dr. Michelson is a retired orthopedic and spinal surgeon who holds over 340 U.S. patents for orthopedic and spinal surgery instruments.
Amy Wyss
Overall rank: 1,647 (tied)
Net worth in 2023: $1.8 billion
Net worth in 2022: $2.1 billion
Ms. Wyss' father, Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss, founded medical equipment firm Synthes USA in 1977. The company was sold in 2021 to Johnson & Johnson for $19.7 billion in cash and stock.
Keith Dunleavy, MD, and family
Overall rank: 1,725 (tied)
Net worth in 2023: $1.7 billion
Net worth in 2022: $1.7 billion
Dr. Dunleavy is the founder and CEO of Inovalon, a cloud-based healthcare data analytics company.
Osman Kibar, PhD
Overall rank: 1,725 (tied)
Net worth in 2023: $1.7 billion
Net worth in 2022: $2.3 billion
Dr. Kibar is the founder and CEO of biotech firm Samumed.
James Leininger, MD
Overall rank: 1,725 (tied)
Net worth in 2023: $1.7 billion
Net worth in 2022: $1.7 billion
Dr. Leininger founded medical devices company Kinetic Concepts in 1976.
Noubar Afeyan, PhD
Overall rank: 1,804 (tied)
Net worth in 2023: $1.6 billion
Net worth in 2022: $1.7 billion
Dr. Afeyan founded life sciences innovation firm Flagship Pioneering in 2000 and serves as the company's CEO.
Randal Kirk
Overall rank: 1,804 (tied)
Net worth in 2023: $1.6 billion
Net worth in 2022: $1.6 billion
Mr. Kirk, a former practicing attorney, is a former CEO of biotech company Intrexon, now named Precigen, and serves as CEO and chair of life-sciences investment firm Third Security.
Robert Langer, ScD
Overall rank: 1,804 (tied)
Net worth in 2023: $1.6 billion
Net worth in 2022: $1.6 billion
Dr. Langer is a scientist and professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, where he leads the eponymous Langer Lab.
August Troendle, MD
Overall rank: 1,804 (tied)
Net worth in 2023: $1.6 billion
Net worth in 2022: $1.3 billion
Dr. Troendle is the president and CEO of Medpace, a clinical research company he founded in 1992.
George Yancopoulos, MD, PhD
Overall rank: 1,804 (tied)
Net worth in 2023: $1.6 billion
Net worth in 2022: $1.4 billion
Dr. Yancopoulos is the co-founder, president and chief scientific officer of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals.
Jeff Tangney
Overall rank: 1,905
Net worth in 2023: $1.5 billion
Net worth in 2022: $2.4 billion
Jeff Tangney co-founded Doximity, known as the "LinkedIn for Doctors," in 2010.
David Paul
Overall rank: 2,020
Net worth in 2023: $1.4 billion
Net worth in 2022: $1.8 billion
Mr. Paul founded Globus Medical, a medical device manufacturer, in 2003 and serves as executive chair.
Joe Kiani
Overall rank: 2,133 (tied)
Net worth in 2023: $1.3 billion
Net worth in 2022: n/a; Mr. Kiani is new to the Forbes list
Mr. Kiani founded and serves as chairman and CEO of Masimo, a global medical technology company that develops and manufactures non-invasive patient-monitoring tools.
John Oyler
Overall rank: 2,133 (tied)
Net worth in 2023: $1.3 billion
Net worth in 2022: $1.1 billion
Mr. Oyler is the co-founder and CEO of BeiGene, a biotech company specializing in the development of drugs for cancer treatment.
Alan Miller and family
Overall rank: 2,259 (tied)
Net worth in 2023: $1.2 billion
Net worth in 2022: $1.5 billion
Mr. Miller founded Universal Health Services in 1979.
Forrest Preston
Overall rank: 2,259 (tied)
Net worth in 2023: $1.2 billion
Net worth in 2022: $1.3 billion
Mr. Preston is the founder, owner, chair and CEO of Life Care Centers of America, a long-term care company for older adults he established in 1970.
Ning Zhao, PhD
Overall rank: 2,259
Net worth in 2023: $1.2 billion
Net worth in 2021: n/a; Dr. Zhao is new to the Forbes list
Dr. Zhao is a co-founder and director of pharmaceutical research firm WuXi Apptec.
Editor's note: This list was updated from 34 to 35 individuals April 10 to include Judy Faulkner, who is organized in the Forbes categorization under the technology industry.