Rich is the majority owner of Rich Products, a frozen food company. The Buffalo, New York-based business is closely held and has annual sales of about $5.8 billion. It sells products including desserts, pizzas, shrimp, baked goods and beverages to caterers, bakeries and retailers in more than 100 countries.
The majority of Rich's wealth is derived from Rich Products, a Buffalo, New York-based frozen food company his father founded in 1945. He and his four children own a 75% stake in the business, according to Rich's communications director, Kevin Aman.
The closely held business has annual sales of about $5.8 billion and sells products in more than 100 countries, according to its website. An October 2023 update to the revenue figure used in the analysis led to an increase in the calculation of about $2 billion.
It's valued using the average enterprise value-to-sales multiple of three publicly traded peer companies: Nestle, J&J Snack Foods and Kellogg.
The billionaire's other investments include minor league baseball teams, a minor league hockey team, three restaurants and a golf club. Those assets aren't included in his net worth calculation due to a lack of financial information about them.
Kevin Aman, a spokesperson for Rich Products, declined to comment on the billionaire's net worth calculation.
Robert E. Rich Jr was born in Buffalo, New York to Rich Products founder Robert Rich Sr. and his wife, Janet. He graduated from Williams College in 1963 and received an MBA from the University of Rochester's Simon School of Business six years later. After graduating, he played professional hockey for the Buffalo Bisons minor league team as a back-up goalkeeper and tried out for the 1964 U.S. Olympic team. He was unsuccessful, and soon joined the family's frozen food business as president of its Canadian subsidiary.
The company's origins trace to 1945, when Robert Sr. was serving as Michigan's War Food Administrator during World War II. Tipped off about research being done on the different properties of soybeans, he put together a laboratory team and developed "Rich Whip," the first non-dairy whipped topping.
When Rich Jr. joined the business in 1964, the company had expanded to other non-dairy products, such as coffee creamer and a commercial line of frozen eclairs and cream puffs. In 1969, the elder Rich sold the family's dairy farm, Wilber Farms Dairy, to fund the company's expansion. They became the first father-and-son to enter the Frozen Food Industry Hall of Fame in 1996. Rich Sr. died ten years later at the age of 92.
Rich Jr. became president of the company in 1978 and chairman in 2006. In addition to his 75 percent interest in Rich Products, he owns two minor league baseball teams and his former hockey team, the Buffalo Bisons. He's also authored five books, including three on fishing, one novel and a self-help guide to attaining happiness.
The billionaire lives in Florida. Three of his four children work for the family business.