Most great New Billionaires Of 2019

Regardless of volatility within the inventory market and a protracted commerce conflict between the U.S. and China, it’s been a profitable yr for brand new billionaires. Greater than 200 individuals all over the world have joined Forbes’ billionaire ranks since January. The new members vary in age from 21 to 90, and constructed fortunes in all the things from electrical automobiles to down jackets.

Forbes picked ten newcomers—most of whom are self-made—who tapped their entrepreneurial expertise to show themselves or their merchandise into family names. 4 created firms in meals and drinks, together with Anthony von Mandl, the person behind fashionable onerous seltzer White Claw, and GT Dave, who hawks greater than $250 million of kombucha a yr. One other newcomer, Herbert Wertheim, went from going through truancy costs to being one of many best buy-and-hold buyers in the USA. And Tatyana Bakalchuk turned the second-ever feminine billionaire in Russia after beginning an e-commerce website whereas on maternity go away.

Hailing from 4 international locations and two continents, listed here are the ten most notable billionaire newcomers in 2019. Internet worths are as of December 12, 2019:
The former English instructor hit an unimaginable milestone this yr: Bakalchuk is simply the second lady in Russia to turn into a billionaire. A mom of 4, she began e-commerce website Wildberries in 2004 whereas she was on maternity go away. Realizing how troublesome it was for moms to buy garments with a new child at dwelling, Bakalchuk first created the net retailer to resell garments she purchased in bulk from a German website. She graduated to working immediately with distributors; her website now sells 15,000 manufacturers and attracts 2 million every day guests in Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan. As founder and CEO, she led the corporate to $1.9 billion in income in 2018.

GT Dave

Net worth: $1 billion

Source: Kombucha

Country: United States

George Thomas Dave, who goes by GT and started brewing and bottling kombucha at his parents’ house after high school, was the first to put the fermented drinks on store shelves in the late 1990s. Today, his company GT’s Living Foods has nabbed around 40% of the U.S. kombucha market, generating an estimated $275 million in annual sales. Dave debuted as a billionaire in May and remains the sole owner of GT’s, a firm conservatively worth over $900 million. Recently, he’s diversified into other drinks like CBD water and coconut kefir

Kylie Jenner

Net worth: $1 billion

Source: Cosmetics

Country: United States

Perhaps the most well known—and divisive—newcomer, Jenner won the title of the youngest self-made billionaire at age 21 earlier this year. In March, Forbes estimated that her ultra-popular Kylie Cosmetics — which she started after her lip kits went viral in 2015 — was worth at least $900 million, fueled in part by an exclusive distribution deal with beauty retailer Ulta. In November, the youngest member of the Kardashian-Jenner clan agreed to sell a 51% stake in her company to fragrance and cosmetic company Coty Inc. for $600 million, valuing her firm at just under $1.2 billion.

Daniel Lubetzky

Net worth: $1.1 billion

Source: KIND Healthy Snacks

Country: United States

When the snack bar billionaire appeared on our March cover earlier this year, it raised the question: Are Kind bars really healthy? One thing is for sure: Daniel Lubetzky has spun his do-gooder rhetoric into a $1.1 billion fortune, despite some nutrition experts contending that Kind bars are not nutritious. In response, Kind has said it is “giving millions of people healthful options with our nutritionally dense snacks.” Lubetzky founded Kind in 2004; ​candy giant Mars Inc. bought a minority stake in the snack bar company in 2017. In October, Kind announced it had acquired Creative Snacks, Co., a North Carolina-based snack manufacturer, for an undisclosed amount. But the billionaire also had to deliver some bad news that month, as he announced that Kind would be laying off 15% of its workforce by year-end.

Jimmy John Liautaud

Net worth: $1.7 billion

Source: Sandwich chain

Country: United States

Though Liautaud opened his first Jimmy John’s sandwich store 35 years ago, he just joined the billionaire ranks this year. He started his sandwich empire using a $25,000 loan from his father and sold the majority of the business in 2016 in a deal that valued the chain at approximately $3 billion. Earlier this year, the Illinois native sold his remaining stake in the company to Inspire Brands, a restaurant group that’s part of Atlanta-based Roark Capital, for an undisclosed amount. Inspire Brands also owns Arby’s, Sonic and Buffalo Wild Wings.

Charles Zhengyao Lu

Net worth: $1.9 billion

Source: Coffee chain

Country: China

After starting a rental car company and a ride-hailing service, Lu set out to overtake Starbucks by backing Luckin Coffee. The popular coffee chain, which opened its first shop in October 2017, now has more than 3,500 locations in China and went public on the Nasdaq in May 2019. Lu, who helped fund the business as an angel investor and now chairs the board, owns about a quarter of the company’s stock. A serial entrepreneur, Lu’s first big win was founding car rental company Car Inc. in 2007. He guided the company to an IPO in 2014, raising over $400 million on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Orlando Bravo

Net worth: $3 billion

Source: Private equity

Country: United States

Wall Street’s hottest dealmaker, Bravo is the first ever Puerto Rican-born billionaire. The former standout junior tennis player runs buyout firm Thoma Bravo, which focuses solely on software deals and has $39 billion in assets under management. The San Francisco-based firm has done 230 software deals worth over $68 billion since 2003. Forbes estimates that Thoma Bravo, which is owned entirely by Bravo and a handful of his partners, is worth $7 billion.

Herbert Wertheim

Net worth: $3.1 billion

Source: Investments

Country: United States

An optometrist from Florida, Wertheim is the epitome of a self-made billionaire. He joined the U.S. Navy at age 17 after facing truancy charges. Wertheim showed his entrepreneurial spirit early as a young NASA engineer at Cape Canaveral, where he designed an automatic dipping machine to make 15-inch, no-drip beeswax candles. He went on to found Brain Power Inc., a manufacturer of optical tints for eyeglasses, in 1970 and made his first million dollars five years later. He has since funneled his profits from Brain Power into a diversified stock portfolio and is the largest individual shareholder of aerospace firm Heico.

Anthony von Mandl

Net worth: $3.5 billion

Source: Alcohol

Country: Canada

This low-profile Canadian is responsible for this summer’s biggest trend: White Claw alcoholic seltzer. Forbes estimates that his U.S.-focused Mark Anthony Brands—which includes White Claw and Mike’s Hard Lemonade—is worth roughly $3.5 billion. He is the sole owner. Von Mandl first got his start in the beverage industry at age 22 as an importer and seller of fine wines. He later opened an award-winning winery in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley, Mission Hill Family Estate, and now has a collection of five wineries. He also owns 100% of Mark Anthony Wine & Spirits, an importer and distributor in Canada.

MacKenzie Bezos

Net worth: $34.5 billion

Source: Amazon

Country: United States

The world’s fourth-richest woman debuted at No. 15 on the 2019 Forbes 400 list after receiving the largest divorce settlement ever—from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. MacKenzie , a “huge contributor” in Amazon’s early days, received 25% of her ex-husband’s Amazon stock after they finalized the divorce over the summer. She signed the Giving Pledge shortly after, which could move her down the ranks in the future. A published author, MacKenzie Bezos and Jeff Bezos both graduated from Princeton (where she studied English). They started dating while working at hedge fund D.E. Shaw in New York.