Three Ohio billionaires make Forbes list of richest Americans

COLUMBUS, Ohio ( WCMH ) – Three Ohioans are among the wealthiest people in the United States, according to a Forbes list of the 400 Richest People in America.

Those included in the annual Forbes list are worth a record $5.4 trillion combined, up nearly $1 trillion from 2023, according to Forbes. A dozen have fortunes of $100 billion or more, which also marks a record.

The list names Les Wexner, 87, of New Albany as the richest person in Ohio, placing at No. 146. The billionaire founded L Brands — a global retail empire that formerly owned Victoria’s Secret — and served as CEO for more than five decades.

Wexner and his family are worth $7.9 billion, according to Forbes. Wexner announced in 2020 that he would step down and sell a majority stake in Victoria’s Secret for $525 million to a private equity firm. Wexner purchased Victoria’s Secret for $1 million in 1982.

The second-richest person in Ohio is Denise York, 73, of Youngstown who placed at No. 184. York, who is worth $6.7 billion, owns over 90% of the San Francisco 49ers, one of the 10 most valuable teams in the NFL, the media company stated.

Also making the list as the only newcomer from the state is 89-year-old Mike Brown. Brown and his family, of Cincinnati, are worth about $3.9 billion. They own the NFL’s Cincinnati Bengals, which is worth about $4 billion.

Mike Brown helped his father, Paul Brown, found the team in 1967 after the elder Brown was fired as the Cleveland Browns coach about four years prior. Several members of the Brown family are now involved with the team, including Mike’s daughter Katie Blackburn, who was the first woman to be named to the NFL’s competition committee.

For the third year in a row, the richest person in America is Elon Musk, with a net worth of $244 billion. Musk has co-founded seven companies, including electric car maker Tesla, rocket producer SpaceX and artificial intelligence startup xAI. Musk was followed on the list by the founder of Amazon Jeff Bezos ($197 billion) and co-founder of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg ($181 billion).

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