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In 1991, John Werner Kluge of Metromedia Co. - not Bill Gates - qualified as America's wealthiest. Thirteen years later, some folks have grown a lot richer than others.
Now Kluge, 89 and worth $10.5-billion, must settle for the lesser title of Florida's wealthiest billionaire. He ranks No. 26 among a record 587 billionaires worldwide, a number - thanks to an improved global economy - that is up a lot from the 476 billionaires in 2003. So says the new Forbes magazine's annual ranking of the ultrarich.
Including Kluge, Florida boasts 16 billionaires whose combined net worth is a shade more than $40-billion. That's still less than the net worth of either of the world's two richest men: No. 1 Bill Gates, Microsoft's co-founder with $46.4-billion, or No. 2 (and gaining rapidly) Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway, with $42.9-billion.
While most Florida billionaires cluster in Palm Beach, two reside in the Tampa Bay area. Bill Morean, 48, whose net worth Forbes estimates at $1.3-billion, is chairman of St. Petersburg contract electronics manufacturer Jabil Circuit. And Tampa's Edward DeBartolo, 57, the former owner of pro football's San Francisco 49ers, has a net worth of $1.2-billion, mostly in shopping centers.
Another Florida billionaire worth $1.1-billion, Malcolm Glazer, lives in Palm Beach but happens to own the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Glazer considered a bid last year for the Los Angeles Dodgers but is now building a sizable stake in the English soccer club Manchester United.
What do we know about Florida's 16 billionaires?
Most of them are entrepreneurs or inherited family businesses that they grew. Two of the 16 are women. The oldest, at 90, is Palm Beach's Robert Rich Sr., who struck a gold mine (net worth $1.9-billion) with nondairy coffee creamer in 1960.
The youngest is Shari Arison, sister of Micky Arison, who heads Miami's Carnival Cruise Lines, the world's largest cruise ship company. With $5.9-billion, Micky is No. 2 in the state behind Kluge. Sister Shari, Israel's richest citizen, took some heat for financial woes at her Bank Hapoalim, and has since relocated from Israel to Miami, says Forbes. That makes her Florida's No. 3 billionaire with $4.6-billion.
Here's a quick look at Florida's other billionaires:
- No. 4 is Ted Turner with $2.4-billion. The former CNN and Atlanta Braves owner still owns a big chunk of Time Warner and happens to be America's biggest private landowner. He shifted his residence not long ago to his Florida plantation near Tallahassee and pursues, among other things, the expansion of his bison burger restaurant chain called Montana Grill.
- No. 5 is Rich. Who thought nondairy creamer would be such a hit?
- No. 6 is Wayne Huizenga with $1.8-billion. He made huge successes of Waste Management, then Blockbuster, then AutoNation and other ventures. As the original owner of the Florida Marlins, he annoyed Tampa Bay in its efforts to win a baseball franchise. He sold the Marlins but still owns the Miami Dolphins.
- No. 7 (tied with Huizenga) is S. Daniel Abraham with $1.8-billion. He sold his Slim-Fast nutrition drinks to Unilever in 2000 for $2.3-billion.
- No. 8 is term life insurance magnate Arthur Williams Jr. with $1.5-billion. We know him best as the former and frustrated owner of the Tampa Bay Lightning hockey franchise.
- No. 9 is James Moran with $1.4-billion. His JM Family Enterprises controls the world's largest privately held Toyota distributorship.
- No. 10 is Morean of Jabil Circuit.
- No. 11 is real estate investor DeBartolo of Tampa.
- No. 12 is George Lindemann and family with $1.2-billion attained in businesses including contact lenses, cable and gas.
- No. 13 and 14 are brothers James and William France, each with $1.2-billion. They control major NASCAR racing properties, including the Winston Cup, now called the Nextel Cup.
- No. 15 is Charlotte Colket Weber with $1.1-billion, inherited from her grandfather, the founder of Campbell Soup.
- No. 16 is Bucs owner Malcolm Glazer.
Other billionaires outside Florida still make their mark in the Sunshine State.
Consider three senior Michigan billionaires. William Davidson ($1.9-billion) owns the Tampa Bay Lightning, along with the Detroit Pistons basketball team. Richard DeVos ($2.4-billion) helped start Amway, now called Alticor, and owns the Orlando Magic. Alfred Taubman ($1-billion) built a shopping mall empire, but was briefly sent to prison as chairman of Sotheby's auction house for fixing prices.
Let's not forget Walt Disney's nephew, Roy Disney ($1-billion), who has launched a full-scale assault on Disney CEO Michael Eisner for his poor recent performance. There's also Barry Diller ($1.4-billion), whose InterActiveCorp owns St. Petersburg's Home Shopping Network. And don't forget tough corporate takeover artist Carl Icahn - he's got $7.6-billion, after all - whose recent stakes range from Las Vegas casinos to a piece of Tampa's struggling clothing maker, Tropical Sportswear Int'l Corp.
So is the economy really better for the ultrarich?
Sixteen Florida billionaires are worth just over $40-billion in the latest Forbes survey. A year ago, Florida could tally only 10 billionaires, whose total net worth was a mere $15.3-billion.
Not a bad year for the superwealthy. Pass the Grey Poupon.
- Robert Trigaux can be reached at trigaux@sptimes.com or 727 893-8405.