These Georgia Billionaires Are Among Richest In U.S.: Forbes

GEORGIA — The coronavirus has wreaked havoc on the U.S. economy, yet billionaires in Georgia and across the globe are significantly wealthier than they were a year ago, according to this year’s recently released Forbes World's Billionaires List.

The number of billionaires on Forbes’ 35th annual list jumped to an unprecedented 2,755 people, 660 more than a year ago. Altogether, they are worth $13.1 trillion, up from $8 trillion in 2020.

Among those on the list, 86 percent are richer today than they were a year ago.

The wealthiest Georgian is worth 2.5 billion Chick-fil-A sandwiches, when purchased at $3.75 each, or 1.4 billion Chick-fil-A sandwich meals with fries and a sweet tea.

The numbers will likely spark outrage, writes Forbes Chief Content Officer Randall Lane. “There’s no getting around a collective $5 trillion wealth surge during a pandemic, when most of the world felt scared, sick, besieged,” he wrote in a comprehensive essay titled “Operation Wealth Speed."

However, “the underlying trends offer a road map to greater prosperity for all,” he continued. “Like anything else salvaged from a once-a-century plague, we just need to be brave enough to harness it.”

A total of 14 billionaires on this year’s list hail from Georgia. Chairman of Cox Enterprises, Jim Kennedy, 73, of Atlanta, is at the top coming in at No. 247 on the list. Kennedy's worth is $9.40 billion, which is up from his net worth last year by nearly 24 percent.

Other Georgia billionaires on the list include:

• No. 297: Bubba and Dan Cathy
  • Chick-fil-A
  • Net worth: $8.3 billion
• No. 352: Bernard Marcus
  • Home Depot
  • Net worth: $7.2 billion
• No. 432 Arthur Blank
  • Home Depot/Atlanta Falcons
  • Net worth: $6.2 billion
• No. 539 John Brown
  • Medical equipment
  • Net worth: $5.2 billion
• No. 539 Gary Rollins
  • Pest control
  • Net worth: $5.2 billion
• No. 1,008 Ben Chestnut
  • Email marketing
  • Net worth: $3 billion
• No. 1,008 Dan Kurzius
  • Email marketing
  • Net worth: $3 billion
• No. 1,362 Ted Turner
  • Cable television
  • Net worth: $2.3 billion
• No. 1,580 Joe Rogers Jr.
  • Waffle House
  • Net worth: $2 billion
• No. 1,931 David Zalik
  • Financial technology
  • Net worth: $1.6 billion
• No. 2,378 Ronald Clarke
  • Payments technology
  • Net worth: $1.2 billion
• No. 2,674 Tyler Perry
  • Movies, television
  • Net worth: $1 billion

To compile this year’s list, Forbes used a snapshot of its real-time billionaires rankings by analyzing stock prices and exchange rates for March 5.

A record 493 people made their debut on this year’s list. Another 250 who’d fallen off in the past made a reappearance, according to Forbes. This year’s list includes a record 328 female billionaires, up from 241 in 2020.

Soon-to-be-former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos retained the top spot on this year’s list for the fourth consecutive year. Bezos, who founded the e-commerce giant out of his garage in Seattle, Washington, will step down as CEO at the end of this year.

Meanwhile, Elon Musk soared to the No. 2 spot, up from No. 31 on last year’s ranking. Bernard Arnault of LVMH remains at No. 3, followed by Bill Gates at No. 4. Rounding out this year’s top five is Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg.

See the full 2021 Forbes Billionaires List.