LONG ISLAND, NY – The coronavirus has wreaked havoc on the U.S. economy, but billionaires on Long Island and around the world are significantly richer than they were a year ago, according to the recently released Forbes World List of Billionaires.
The number of billionaires on Forbes’ 35th annual list has risen to 2,575 people unprecedentedly, 660 more than a year ago. In total, they are worth $ 13.1 trillion, compared to $ 8 trillion in 2020. Among those on the list, 86 percent are richer today than a year ago.
Long Island’s richest man, Jim Simons, has a net worth of $ 24.6 billion, up $ 3 billion from a year ago.
Simons, from East Setauket, founded Renaissance Technologies, a hedge fund firm that manages about $ 55 billion. Simons is the former chair of the Department of Mathematics at Stony Brook University. In 2011, the Simons Foundation presented a $ 150 million donation to Stony Brook, which is still the largest donation ever given to a SUNY school.
The $ 3 billion Simons made over the past year is $ 8.3 million a day. Assuming a 40-hour workweek, that’s $ 1.4 million an hour. It takes the average Long Islander more than 20 years to earn what Simons earned every hour last year.
The numbers are likely to provoke outrage, writes Forbes chief executive Randall Lane. “There can be no combined $ 5 trillion boom during a pandemic, when most of the world feels scared, sick and besieged,” he wrote in an extensive essay entitled ‘Operation Wealth Speed.’
Here are the 11 Long Islanders on the list:
- No. 68 – Jim Simons, East Setauket; net worth: $ 24.6 billion
- 432-Margaretta Taylor, Southampton, and Katharine Rayner, East Hampton; net worth: 6.2 billion
- No. 440- Charles Dolan and family, Oyster Bay; net worth: $ 5.6 billion
- No. 608- Ken Langone, Sands Point; net worth: $ 4.7 billion
- No. 638- Julian Robertson, Jr., Locust Valley. net worth: $ 4.5 billion.
- 775-Don Vultaggio & Family, Port Washington; net worth: $ 3.8 billion
- No. 1,064- Pablo Legorreta, Sag Harbor; net worth: $ 2.9 billion
- No. 2.141- Louis Bacon, Oyster Bay; net worth: $ 1.4 billion
- No. 2,524- Mitchell Jacobson, Locust Valley; net worth: $ 1.1 billion
- No. 2,674- Axel Stawski, Sagaponack; net worth: $ 1 billion
To compile this year’s list, Forbes used a snapshot of its position of billionaires in real time by analyzing the March 5 share prices and exchange rates.
A record 493 people made their debut on this year’s list. Another 250 people who fell in the past have reappeared, according to Forbes. This year contains a record 328 female billionaires, compared to 241 in 2020.
Former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos retains the top spot on this year’s list for the fourth consecutive year. Bezos, who founded the e-commerce giant from his garage in Seattle, Washington, will retire at the end of this year.
Meanwhile, Elon Musk rose to No. 2 spot, up from 31 in last year’s rankings. Bernard Arnault of LVMH remains at no. 3, followed by Bill Gates at no. 4. Finishing off the top five this year is Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook.
See the full list of 2021 Forbes billionaires.