These 11 Billionaires Have Never Missed The Forbes 400 List

Forbes

Making, and staying on, Forbes’ ranking of the richest people in America is no easy feat. Only 11 out of 1,739 have made it every single year since inception.  Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/sarahyoung/2024/10/05/perfect-streaks-these-11-billionaires-have-never-missed-the-forbes-400-list/  Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1  Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:  https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript  Stay Connected Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes More From Forbes:  http://forbes.com  Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.

Transcript

00:00Today on Forbes, perfect streets.

00:04These 11 billionaires have never missed

00:06the Forbes 400 list.

00:09Over the 43 years that Forbes has published the Forbes 400,

00:12a total of 1,739 moguls, heirs, and celebrities

00:17have made the ranking of America's richest people.

00:20Economic booms, busts, good old-fashioned competition,

00:24and, of course, Father Time,

00:26have ensured that the list has never featured

00:28the exact same 400 people two years in a row.

00:32A few flashes in the pan only make the grade for a year.

00:36Many others spend a decade or two in the ranks

00:38before dropping off or passing away.

00:41But a lucky few, the legendary 11, have had staying power,

00:45managing to earn a spot on the Forbes 400

00:47every year since its 1982 inception.

00:51In all, they are worth an estimated $342.3 billion today,

00:56up from $3.8 billion all the way back in 1982

00:59when they first appeared on Forbes' ranking.

01:02That $3.8 billion in 1982 is equivalent

01:05to $12.2 billion in today's dollars.

01:09This means they have grown their wealth by some 8,900%,

01:13more than double the 4,200% growth of the S&P 500.

01:17The average age of the 11 is 88 years old.

01:21When Forbes first published the Forbes 400,

01:24Warren Buffett was the 52-year-old chairman

01:26of a $1.5 billion in assets Berkshire Hathaway.

01:30Back then, Forbes wrote, quote,

01:32"'Lives modestly,' estimated net worth $250 million."

01:38Four decades later, Berkshire's assets

01:40have surpassed $1 trillion,

01:43and Buffett is the fifth richest person in America

01:46and the wealthiest billionaire streaker

01:48never to miss the Forbes 400.

01:50His $150 billion net worth is 187 times his 1982 stash,

01:56even after adjusting for inflation.

01:59He'd be even richer, but for the fact

02:01that he's also America's most generous philanthropist.

02:05Only four of the 11 are self-made.

02:07In addition to Buffett, two retail and fashion tycoons

02:11earned their way onto the lists

02:12thanks to their world-renowned brands,

02:15Nike's Phil Knight and Lex Wexner,

02:18the disgraced L Brands founder behind Victoria's Secret

02:21and Bath & Body Works.

02:23The fourth self-made icon is Donald Brenn,

02:26the richest real estate developer in the nation,

02:28whose Irvine company owns 129 million square feet

02:32of real estate, mostly in Southern California.

02:35The remaining seven all got started

02:38with substantial help from their families,

02:40though all but one were able to turn millions into billions.

02:43Among them, the 17th richest person in America,

02:46Charles Koch, Leonard and Ron Lauder,

02:49sons of Este Lauder, and media giant Donald Newhouse,

02:53whose family has investments in Condé Nast,

02:55Warner Brothers Discovery, and social news site Reddit.

03:00Four other members of the inaugural 1982 ranking

03:02made the list in 2024,

03:04but fell off at least once along the way.

03:07Star Wars billionaire George Lucas dropped off in 1983

03:11due to a divorce settlement, but rejoined in 1996

03:14during the planning stage

03:15of the franchise's prequel trilogy.

03:18Former President Donald Trump disappeared from the ranks

03:21amid his 1990s bankruptcies, and again in 2021 and 2023,

03:26but is back among the top 400 this year,

03:28thanks largely to his truth social platform.

03:32Oil heir Sid Bass didn't make the cut in 2021,

03:35while FedEx founder Fred Smith

03:37spent a total of six years off the list.

03:40Many of the original 1982 Forbes 400 listees

03:43have since died.

03:45That includes comedian Bob Hope, who died in 2003,

03:48and had only made the list once,

03:50mobster Meyer Lansky, who died in 1983,

03:54Steve Jobs, who died in 2011,

03:57and shipping tycoon Daniel Ludwig, who died in 1992.

04:02Ludwig was the richest person in America in 1982,

04:05worth $2 billion, or 6.4 billion in today's dollars.

04:10Others who made the original minimum net worth

04:12of $100 million, which is the equivalent

04:14to $320 million today, including musician Yoko Ono

04:18and heir Timothy Mellon,

04:20have either transferred their fortunes to heirs

04:23or were simply overtaken in worth

04:24by the likes of tech moguls, social media stars,

04:27and crypto bulls.

04:30For full coverage and to see the whole 2024 Forbes 400 list,

04:34which we released last week,

04:36check out Sarah Young's piece on Forbes.com.

04:40This is Kieran Meadows from Forbes.

04:42Thanks for tuning in.

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