
These are the Richest People in America's 10 Biggest Cities
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- It's good to be a big gun in a big city.
Bill Gates, the richest man in America, lives in a tiny town. Medina, Washington, where he resides, has a population of 3,121. The country's second wealthiest individual, Warren Buffett, maintains his home in a much bigger city -- Omaha, Nebraska, population 434,353. But neither has set up shop in a major metropolitan area.
Of course, the biggest cities in the United States aren't lacking in the millionaire -- or billionaire -- department. In fact, major metropolitan areas are often home to rather affluent populations. According to a recent report from consumer data collection and interpretation company FindTheBest, San Francisco, San Jose and Washington, D.C. top the list of the richest cities in the United States.
Who are the richest of the rich in America's metropolitan centers? Here are the wealthiest people residing in each of the country's 10 biggest cities by population.
David Koch, New York
New York City's richest person, David Koch is as recognized for his business acumen as he is for his politics. He controls multinational conglomerate Koch Industries alongside his brother, Charles, and is listed by Forbes as the fourth richest person in the United States. The publication estimates his net worth to be $41.6 billion.
Koch, a self-described libertarian, is a prominent political donor and largely backs Republican candidates and conservative causes. The political network he oversees with his brother plans to spend $889 million on the 2016 elections.
The billionaire is highly active in philanthropy as well. He has made one of the biggest political donations of 2015 -- a $150 million gift to the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York.
Patrick Soon-Shiong, Los Angeles
Patrick Soon-Shiong, Los Angeles' richest person, is a South African-born doctor. He founded pharmaceutical companies American Pharmaceutical Partners and Abraxis BioScience, both of which were acquired in multi-billion-dollar deals. He also invented Abraxane, a cancer treatment that is expected to reach $1 billion in sales by 2016.
Soon-Shiong launched NantWorks, an ecosystem of companies focused on global health information management and pharmaceutical development, in 2011. One of the companies under the NantWorks umbrella, NantHealth, is reported to be headed towards an IPO.
Soon-Shiong is also part owner of basketball team the Los Angeles Lakers, and Forbes estimates his net worth to be $12.5 billion.
Ken Griffin, Chicago
Ken Griffin started trading from his Harvard dorm room in 1987 and in 1990 founded his hedge fund, Citadel, with $4 million. He is the firm's chief executive today and has amassed a personal fortune Forbes estimates to be $6.6 billion. Citadel has about $24 billion in assets under management.
Griffin's divorce from his wife, Anne Dias, has put him in the headlines in recent months, and the couple's city of residence -- Chicago -- appears to be one of the issues at play. Court documents filed in February reveal Dias found the city "unsophisticated" and prior to getting married had requested a line in the couple's prenuptial agreement allowing her to leave the state of Illinois with her children in the event of divorce. She has also requested $1 million a month in child support and claims Griffin makes a net monthly income averaging over $68.5 million.
Earlier this year, Griffin donated $10 million to the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. And in 2014, he gave $150 million to Harvard University to support the school's financial aid program.
Richard Kinder, Houston
Houston's Richard Kinder left Enron in 1996 to build Kinder Morgan (KMI) - Get Report . He launched the energy company the following year alongside William Morgan. Kinder served as chairman of the board and CEO of Kinder Morgan until this year. In June, he was replaced by COO Steven Keen as the firm's chief executive.
As CEO, Kinder made $1 a year in base salary and received no annual bonus -- conditions that will now apply to Kean as well. Kinder owns 11% of Kinder Morgan and has an estimated $10.7 billion net worth.
Kinder also founded the Kinder Foundation, the mission of which is "to support Greater Houston as a model for economic opportunity and quality of life." The organization has granted more than $200 million in gifts and pledges.
Richard Hayne, Philadelphia
Philadelphia's Richard Hayne, the founder of retailer Urban Outfitters (URBN) - Get Report , also makes $1 a year as CEO. His net worth is an estimated $1.47 billion.
Hayne co-founded Urban Outfitters in 1970 and has been the company's chairman and president since its incorporation in 1976. He was the firm's principal executive officer until 2007 and returned to the helm of the company in 2012. Hayne has a more than 17% stake in Urban Outfitters and his wife, Margaret, has a nearly 5% stake of her own.
Brian Roberts, CEO of Comcast (CMCSA) - Get Report , may give Hayne a run for his money for the title of Philadelphia's richest resident. According to Forbes, his net worth is also an estimated $1.47 billion.
Mark Shoen, Phoenix
Mark Shoen is the largest individual shareholder of AMERCO (UHAL) - Get Report , the publicly-traded parent of U-Haul. The do-it-yourself moving company was founded by Shoen's parents in 1945.
Shoen's brothers, Edward and James, continue to handle the company's day-to-day operations, as the former is the chairman of the AMERCO board and the latter is the vice president of subsidiary U-Haul Business Consultants. Mark has retired but still owns 3.8 million AMERCO shares as well as hundreds of self-storage properties across the United States.
Shoen submitted a proposal in the firm's 2015 proxy filing for the company to declare and issue a dividend of seven shares of non-voting common stock to shareholders. "Since June 2010, the stock price for AMERCO common stock has risen from approximately $45.00 per share to $329.30 per share as of July 10, 2015," the proposal says. "It is the Company's understanding that some shareholders believe that this increase in the price of AMERCO common stock makes it difficult for retail investors to purchase AMERCO common stock, and that low trading volume makes it difficult for institutional investors to purchase or sell AMERCO common stock without causing a significant price change."
Forbes estimates Shoen's net worth to be $4.7 billion.
Charles Butt, San Antonio
The chairman and CEO of grocery chain HEB Grocery Company, Charles Butt is San Antonio's richest man. His estimated net worth is $10.4 billion.
Butt's grandmother, Florence, founded the company in 1905, and his father, Howard, took over the business in the 1920s. HEB is now one of the largest independently owned food retailers in the country, with more than 340 stores and 75,000 employees.
Butt is HEB's chairman and CEO and is apparently very well liked among employees. According to careers website Glassdoor, he is among the highest-rated chief executives by employees, falling behind only Larry Page of Google (GOOG) - Get Report GOOGL and Mark Parker of Nike (NKE) - Get Report .
Charles Brandes, San Diego
Charles Brandes founded Brandes Investment Partners in 1974 at the encouragement of Benjamin Graham. The value investing legend went as far as to write a letter to Brandes upon the launch of the firm. "Naturally I am complemented by your statement that the new firm will be operated along 'Graham principles,'" he wrote. "Actually, I believe that this is an excellent time to launch an enterprise of this sort and I'm confident that your partners will be well-pleased with the results."
Brandes Investment Partners, which is headquartered in San Diego, peaked in 2007, managing over $100 billion in assets. It has since shrunk to about $26 billion. Forbes estimates Brandes' net worth to be $1.15 billion.
Andrew Beal, Dallas
Andrew Beal was born and raised in Michigan but has amassed his fortune in Texas.
He founded Beal Bank in Dallas in 1988 and launched Beal Bank USA in 2004. According to Beal's personal website, the banks have combined capital of over $3.2 billion and combined assets of more than $8.1 billion as of June 30, 2014. According to Forbes, his net worth is $12.8 billion.
Beal thrived during the financial crisis, purchasing two failed banks and snatching up distressed assets. He is an avid poker player as well and is said to have won -- and lost -- millions of dollars in high stakes tournaments.
He is also an active philanthropist and sponsors annual science and engineering fairs at Southern Methodist University and the University of Nevada, Los Vegas.
Robert Pera, San Jose
With an estimated net worth of $2.1 billion, Robert Pera is San Jose's wealthiest individual. He started his career at Apple (AAPL) - Get Report but later broke off to start his own entity: Ubiquiti Networks (UBNT) .
Ubiquiti Networks develops high-performance networking technology for service providers and enterprises. It went public in 2011, making Pera a billionaire. He is Ubiquiti's chief executive officer and chairman and still owns nearly 65% of the company's shares.
In 2012, Pera bought a 25% stake in the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies.
This article is commentary by an independent contributor. At the time of publication, the author held no positions in the stocks mentioned.


















