Two Montgomery County Billionaires Make Forbes 400 Richest List

Five Pennsylvania billionaires have made Forbes list of the 400 richest people around the world, and four of them are from the southeastern part of the state.

Two of them are owners of major Philadelphia sports franchises.

The richest person in the Keystone State for the second year running, however, is Campbell Soup heiress Mary Alice Durrance Malone.

Malone, of Coatesville, improved on her 190th placing in 2014 to rank 182nd on this year’s list.

She was followed by majority sharehold owner of the Philadelphia Phillies, John Middleton, who made his fortune in the tobacco industry.

Middleton tied for 256th place with fellow Bryn Mawr resident Michael Rubin, who is a part owner of the Philadelphia 76ers and the New Jersey Devils. As an Internet entrepreneur, Rubin also founded Kynetic.

There are no new aces at the top of the country’s billionaire heap: Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, Berkshire Hathaway’s Warren Buffett and Oracle’s Larry Ellison are the leaders. Again.

But making the Forbes 400 was tougher this year.

“Admission to the list starts at a record $1.7 billion, up $150 million from a year ago,” Forbes wrote. “It’s a high bar that 145 U.S. billionaires failed to clear. Still, 25 newcomers debut thanks to hot stocks, big deals and rising property values. And even in a volatile year, these titans climbed higher to a collective $2.34 trillion.

Here is the full list of Pennsylvania billionaires:

182. Mary Alice Dorrance Malone, Coatesville (Campbell’s Soup)

256. John Middleton, Bryn Mawr (Phillies, tobacco)

256. Michael Rubin, Bryn Mawr (76ers, e-commerce)

268. Henry Hillman, Pittsburgh (investments)

392. Richard Yuengling Jr., Pottsville (beer)

Image: “Soupjf” by Ramon F. Velasquez. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons