There may be 87 fewer billionaires on Forbes’ annual ranking of the world’s richest people this year, but healthcare leaders still managed to climb the list.
Thomas Frist Jr., MD, founder of the sprawling, publicly traded health system Hospital Corporation of America (HCA), topped the U.S. healthcare billionaires on the list, followed by Carl Cook, CEO of the medical device manufacturer Cook Group, and Li Ge, PhD, co-founder and chair of WuXi AppTec, the R&D and manufacturing services company.
Internationally, Frist was second to Cyrus Poonawalla, PhD, chair of the Poonawalla Group that includes the Serum Institute of India, the “world’s largest vaccine maker (by doses),” according to Forbes. Poonawalla ranked 56th on the overall list with a net worth of $24.3 billion.
Others in the vaccine market also did well, such as Jiang Rensheng of China, chair of Chongqing ZFSW Biological Products (net worth $17.7 billion), and twins Andreas and Thomas Struengmann, who were early backers of BioNTech that partnered with Pfizer on a COVID-19 vaccine (net worth $11.9 billion).
Forbes stated that the “war, pandemic and sluggish markets,” affected billionaires, but there were still 2,668 of them on the 36th installment of the “World’s Billionaires List.” Outside of healthcare, Elon Musk, of Tesla and SpaceX, topped the list for the first time, with a staggering net worth of $219 billion.
Here are the top U.S. billionaires in the healthcare industry, and their ranking on the Forbes list.
73. Thomas Frist Jr., MD, and Family
HCA owns and operates nearly 200 hospitals in the U.S. and U.K. Frist Jr., age 83, owns more than 20% of the company, although he doesn’t currently hold an executive position at HCA (sons Thomas and William are board members). He is a former U.S. Air Force flight surgeon.
2022 net worth: $21.8 billion versus $15.7 billion in 2021
177. Carl Cook
Cook runs medical device manufacturer, Cook Group. The company was started by Cook’s parents in their apartment in Bloomington, Indiana in 1963. Cook, age 59, took over as CEO after his father’s death in 2011, Forbes reported. He currently serves as president of Cook MyoSite, a division developing a cell therapy to treat urinary incontinence.
2022 net worth: $11.1 billion versus $9.9 billion in 2021
235. Li Ge, PhD
WuXi AppTec supports the pharmaceutical and medical device industries. Li, age 55, holds a doctorate in organic chemistry from Columbia University in New York City.
2022 net worth: $8.8 billion versus $10.1 billion in 2021
324. Patrick Soon-Shiong, MD
Soon-Shiong, age 69, developed the blockbuster cancer drug paclitaxel (Abraxane). He sold his drug companies American Pharmaceutical Partners and Abraxis in 2008 and 2010, respectively, for a combined $9.1 billion. Soon-Shiong took the immunotherapy developer NantKwest (valued at about $4 billion), and biotech start-up NantHealth, public in 2015 and 2016, respectively. More recently, his company ImmunityBio took part in “Operation Warp Speed” to develop COVID-19 vaccines. Soon-Shiong made headlines in other fields when he purchased the Los Angeles Times and San Diego Tribune newspapers for $500 million in 2018, and in 2011 when he bought Magic Johnson’s share of the L.A. Lakers for an undisclosed amount.
2022 net worth: $7.3 billion versus $7.5 billion in 2021
330. Reinhold Schmieding
Schmieding, age 67, is a native of Michigan who started the orthopedic surgical tools company Arthrex in Munich in 1981. The company is now based in Naples, Florida, and has developed more than 13,000 products used in orthopedic surgeries.
2022 net worth: $7.2 billion versus $6.7 billion in 2021
363. Ronda Stryker
Stryker, age 67, is a director of Stryker, the medical equipment company founded by her grandfather and orthopedic surgeon Homer Stryker, MD. She owns about 6% of the company via inheritance, and is the only one of her siblings to serve on the company’s board.
2022 net worth: $6.8 billion versus $6.5 billion in 2021
490. John Brown
Brown, age 87, held several top-tier positions at Stryker until his 2009 retirement. Under his leadership, the company’s revenues rose from $17 million to $6.7 billion. Brown is board chairman emeritus and owns a little more then 5% of the company.
2022 net worth: $5.4 billion versus $5.2 billion in 2021
687. John Stryker
Stryker, age 63, is the grandson of Homer Stryker. He inherited a stake in the company, but is not employed by Stryker. He is president and founder of the Arcus Foundation, which aims to support the advancement of LGBTQ, human rights, and other social causes.
2022 net worth: $4.2 billion versus $4.1 billion in 2021
728. Hao Hong, PhD
Hao, age 66, is CEO and chair of Asymchem Laboratories, a pharmaceutical outsourcing services provider. The company was founded in 1995.
2022 net worth: $4 billion versus $3.1 billion in 2021
984. Pat Stryker
Another grandchild of Homer Stryker, she is also a “healthcare heir.” Stryker, age 66, is the founder of the Bohemian Foundation that supports music, community, global, and civic programs.
2022 net worth: $3.1 billion versus $3 billion in 2021
Source: MedicalNewsToday.com
