More than 30 Palm Beachers on Forbes’ billionaires list

Big bucks and Palm Beach go hand in hand, as the latest Forbes 400 list once again testifies.

The annual list of the country’s richest, released Wednesday, includes 33 billionaires identified by the Palm Beach Daily News as having strong residential ties to the island.

All of those on the local list have a net worth of at least $2.1 billion, including President Donald Trump. His wealth remains the same as a year ago, at $3.1 billion, but his ranking on the list fell from 259th place last year to 275th place.

For years, those who keep track of the island’s wealthiest residents have been accustomed to seeing one name at the top of the list — the late industrialist and political influencer David Koch, who died Aug. 23 at 79.

Last year, Forbes estimated Koch’s net worth at $53.5 billion, tying him in seventh place with his brother, Charles Koch, with whom he ran Koch Industries. Charles Koch doesn't have a home on the island but businessman Bill Koch — David’s twin — does, although his Forbes-estimated $1.5 billion net worth wasn’t enough to rank him among the nation’s 400 richest people.

David Koch’s family, however, remains at the top of the Palm Beach list. Ranked in 13th place is his widow, Julia Koch, 57, and her three sons, with wealth reported at $41 billion. They inherited a 42 percent stake in Koch Industries.

The next highest-ranking billionaire with Palm Beach ties is Leonard Lauder, 82, whose estimated net worth of $18.8 billion placed him in 25th place in the country overall. Last year he ranked 35th with $13.4 billion. Lauder spent three decades running Estee Lauder, his family’s publicly traded cosmetics company.

The billionaires or their immediate families on the Daily News' list either own property or frequently lease a residence here.

Amazon.com founder and CEO Jeff Bezos has landed for the second consecutive year at the top of the national list with a net worth of $114 billion, down from $160 billion a year ago. In 2018, Bezos moved Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who had dominated the national list for 24 years, out of the top spot. Gates, who owns property in Wellington, was ranked No. 2 on this year’s overall list with a net worth estimated at $106 billion. Bezos, meanwhile, is said to own no property in Palm Beach County.

The total wealth reported on year’s national list is $2.96 trillion, up 2.2 percent over 2018.

>>FROM THE ARCHIVES: Most Palm Beach billionaires on 2018 Forbes 400 list have gotten richer

One tycoon re-joined the Palm Beach list after an absence of a year. Casino and resort magnate Steve Wynn is now tied on the overall list at No. 275th place with an estimated fortune of $3.1 billion. In August, a Wynn-controlled entity paid a recorded $43 million for an ocean-to-lake mansion at 1960 S. Ocean Blvd. on Palm Beach's Billionaires Row.

In July 2018, Wynn sold for $20.27 million a nearly vacant lot he had owned for several years on Billionaires Row. Last year, Wynn also resigned as chairman and chief executive officer of Las Vegas-based Wynn Resorts amid allegations of sexual misconduct, including coercing some female employees into sexual activity, over many years. He has denied the allegations.

>>RELATED: Win some, lose some for Palm Beachers on Forbes’ 2019 world billionaires list

In addition to David Koch, one other billionaire who was a regular on the Palm Beach list died in 2018. Energy mogul and NFL's Houston Texans owner Robert McNair died in November at 81. Last year, his net worth was estimated at $3.8 billion, tying him in 200th place. His widow, Janice McNair, has taken his place on the list with an estimated net worth of $4 billion, tying her at 187th place.

Two other billionaires with Palm Beach homes dropped off the list this year after their fortunes failed to reach the entry threshold: Slim-fast founder S. Daniel Abraham, 95, and hedge-fund manager Glenn Dubin, 62. In 2018, both men were ranked 383rd based on a net worth of $2.1 billion.

The Forbes 400 rankings reflect a "snapshot" of net worth as estimated Sept. 6, based on that day's stock prices and currency-exchange rates, according to the Forbes story, which was edited by Luisa Kroll and Kerry A. Dolan

Forbes.com continually updates the rankings in real time to reflect changes as the value of the billionaires’ stock holdings, investments and other assets change.

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Here are the billionaires with strong ties to Palm Beach on the latest Forbes 400. Their rankings were taken from the national list, and their net worth is based on estimates made Sept. 6.

Industrial heiress Julia Koch (and family), 57, $41 billion (new to the list), in 13th place.

Cosmetics mogul Leonard Lauder, 82, $18.8 billion (up from $13.4 billion last year), in 25th place.

Financier Stephen Schwarzman, 72, $17.7 billion (up from $13.8 billion), in 29th place.

Investor Carl Icahn, 83, $17.6 billion (up from $16.3 billion), in 30th place.

Discount broker Thomas Peterffy, 75, $17.5 billion (down from $20.2 billion), in 31st place.

Money manager Abigail Johnson, 57, $14 billion (down from $17.3 billion), in 34th place.

Hedge fund manager Ken Griffin, 50, $12.7 billion (up from $10 billion), in 38th place.

Leveraged-buyout tycoon Ronald Perelman, 76, $7.7 billion (down from $9.4 billion), tied in 63rd place.

Real estate mogul and Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross, 79, $7.6 billion (unchanged), in 66th place.

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, 78, $6.9 billion (up from $6.6 billion), tied in 82nd place.

Media heiress Katharine Rayner, 74, $6.4 billion (up from $6.2 billion), tied in 95th place.

Media heiress Margaretta Taylor, 74, $6.4 billion (up from $6.2 billion), tied in 95th place.

Medical equipment heir Ronda Stryker, 65, $6.1 billion (up from $5.6 billion), tied in 108th place.

Private equity specialist Henry Kravis, 75, $6 billion (up from $5.8 billion), in 112th place.

Marvel Entertainment owner Isaac Perlmutter, 76, $5.1 billion (up from $4.3 billion), tied in 128th place.

Hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones II, 65, $5 billion (up from $4.5 billion), tied in 131st place.

Money manager Charles B. Johnson, 86, $4.9 billion (down from $5 billion), tied in 140th place.

Cosmetics executive Jane Lauder, 46, $4.3 billion (up from $2.9 billion), tied in 159th place.

Cosmetics executive Ronald Lauder, 75, $4.3 billion (up from $3.9 billion), tied in 159th place.

Energy heiress Janice McNair, 83, $4 billion (new to the list), tied in 187th place.

Real estate and energy investor Jeff Greene, 64, $3.9 billion (up from $3.4 billion), tied in 195th place.

Real estate investor Charles Cohen, 67, $3.5 billion (up from $3.4 billion), tied in 239th place.

Real estate investments manager Jane Goldman, 64, $3.4 billion (up from $3.3 billion), tied in 250th place.

Tobacco tycoon John Middleton, 64, $3.3 billion (up from $3.2 billion), tied in 261st place

President and real estate developer Donald J. Trump, 73, $3.1 billion (unchanged), tied in 275th place.

Resort and casino mogul Steve Wynn, 77, $3.1 billion (up from $3 billion), tied in 275th place

Costmetics executive William Lauder, 59, $2.8 billion (new to list), tied in 306th place

Cosmetics executive Aerin Lauder, 49, $2.7 billion (up from $2.2 billion), tied in 319th place.

Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, 68, $2.7 billion (up from $2.1 billion), tied in 319th place.

Investor C. Dean Metropolous, 73, $2.5 billion (unchanged), tied in 342nd place.

Money manager Ron Baron, 76, $2.4 billion (up from $2.3 billion), tied in 355th place.

Internet pioneer and investor James Clark, 75, $2.1 billion (down from $2.2 billion), tied in 388th place.

Logistics mogul Bradley Jacobs, 63, $2.1 billion (down from $2.7 billion), tied in 388th place

SOURCE: 2019 Forbes 400, Forbes.com.

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Did we miss a billionaire? If you think we missed a billionaire on the 2019 Forbes 400 list with Palm Beach residential ties, please email dhofheinz@pbdailynews.com.

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This story updates a previous version.