Georgia billionaires, and their net worth
No. 80: Anne Cox Chambers, a principal owner of Cox Enterprises, owner of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, $12 billion.
No. 198: Jim Kennedy, chairman of Cox Enterprises, $6 billion.
No. 308: S. Truett Cathy, founder of Chick-fil-A, $4.2 billion.
No. 437: Bernie Marcus, Home Depot co-founder and Georgia Aquarium benefactor, $3.1 billion.
No. 736: Ted Turner, Turner Broadcasting and CNN founder, $2 billion.
No. 931: Arthur Blank, Home Depot co-founder and owner of the Atlanta Falcons, $1.6 billion.
No. 1,250: Jeffrey Lorberbaum, chairman and CEO of Mohawk Industries, $1.15 billion.
No. 1,268: Edir Macedo, religious leader and owner of Brazil broadcaster Rede Record, $1.1 billion
No. 1,342: Sara Blakely, founder of undergarment maker Spanx, $1 billion.
Nine Georgia residents were on Forbes’ annual list of billionaires released on Monday.
Forbes said its 27th annual list counts 1,426 billionaires — up by 210 over last year, and including 442 in the U.S. The elite global group’s combined net worth is $5.4 trillion, up from $4.6 trillion a year ago.
Mexican media mogul Carlos Slim retained the top spot for the fourth straight year, with a net worth of $73 billion. Microsoft founder Bill Gates was second at $67 billion, while Amancio Ortega of Spanish retail giant Zara clocked in at $57 billion. The “Oracle of Omaha,” Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett, was fourth at $53.5 billion.
The magazine said soaring asset values helped boost the ranks of the world’s richest people.
Georgia added two new billionaires to this year’s list. Mohawk Industries Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Lorberbaum (No. 1,250) has seen his wealth soar with growth in the Dalton-based flooring manufacturer’s stock price. Controversial religious leader Edir Macedo (No. 1,268), a Brazil citizen (listed by Forbes as an Atlanta resident) who owns the South American country’s second-largest broadcaster Rede Record and Atlanta Telemundo affiliate W67CI, also joined the list.
Macedo, a Pentecostal bishop and founder of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, is a preacher of “prosperity theology.” It holds that good works and loyalty to one’s church will be rewarded with riches.
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