Each year, Forbes publishes its list of the 400 richest Americans. Not surprisingly, the 2002 list was headed by Microsoft founder Bill Gates, whose personal wealth as of September 2002 was estimated at $ 43 billion. Second was investment guru Warren Buffet, founder of Berkshire Hathaway, whose wealth was estimated at $ 36 billion.
The list of the ten richest Americans includes two other people who have amassed their wealth from Microsoft’s fortunes (Paul Allen and Steve Ballmer), as well as being five incredible members of the Walton family, whose wealth derives from their Walton heritage. – Mart founder Samuel Walton, who died in 1992.
Locally, ten residents of the Philadelphia / South Jersey metropolitan area were included in the 2002 list. However, since the list was published in September 2002, the richest local resident has died. The Hon. Walter H. Annenberg, philanthropist, patron of the arts, and former ambassador died of pneumonia at his home in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, on October 1, 2002, at the age of 94. Annenberg’s wealth was estimated at $ 4 billion at the time of his death. . He was ranked 39th on the Forbes list of the richest Americans.
Let’s take a brief look at the remaining nine local residents who were included in the 2002 Forbes list of the 400 richest Americans.
Malone, Mary Alice Dorrance (# 139 de Forbes 400)
$ 1.4 billion, 52, married, Coatesville, PA
Granddaughter of Dr. John T. Dorrance, who developed the process for condensing soup. Dorrance bought the Campbell Soup Company from his uncle in 1914. Upon his death, he left half of his fortune to his son John, Jr., and the rest to his 3 daughters. John, Jr. died in 1989, and his children inherited their share. The family still owns about half of the outstanding shares of Campbell’s stock. On her own, Mary Alice Dorrance Malone is a horse breeder.
Lenfest, Harold Fitzgerald (# 256 de Forbes 400)
$ 900 million, 72, married, Huntingdon Valley, PA
Lenfest graduated from Columbia Law School. As Managing Director of Triangle Publications, he took an interest in the burgeoning cable television industry. In 1974 he founded the Philadelphia Area Suburban Cable. He sold the company to Comcast in 2000, his interests currently centered in philanthropy.
Honickman, Harold (# 277 of Forbes 400)
$ 850 million, 68, married, Philadelphia, PA
Honickman made his fortune in the soft drink bottling industry. In 1947, his father persuaded Pepsi to give Harold the bottling / distribution rights for Pepsi in southern New Jersey. In 1957 his wealthy father-in-law built him a state-of-the-art bottling plant. Honickman has since acquired the Canada Dry bottling operations in New York and the suburbs of Philadelphia, as well as the bottling rights of Coors in New York and Snapple in Baltimore, Rhode Island and the suburbs of Philadelphia. The Honickman Organization now has more than $ 1 billion in annual revenue and is one of the largest independent soft drink bottlers in the United States.
West, Alfred P., Jr. (#287 the Forbes 400)
$ 825 million, 59, married, Paoli, PA
West graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania with an MBA. While teaching at Penn in 1968, West conceived the idea of simulated environments (SEIs), which would provide the automation of bank back-office operations. He later founded SEI Investments, a global asset management company dedicated to helping institutions and individuals more effectively manage their investable assets. He remains president and CEO.
SEI now manages $ 77 billion in assets and processes $ 50 billion in transactions annually. In addition to his business responsibilities, Mr. West is an active member of the Wharton Graduate Executive Board; the Chairman of the Board of the SEI Center for Advanced Studies in Management at Wharton; Former Chairman of the National Advisory Board of the Georgia Institute of Technology; a member of the Georgia Tech Foundation Board; a member of the Advisory Committee to the President and Executive Committee of the Philadelphia Council on World Affairs; and Chairman of the Board of the American Business Conference based in Washington.
Kim, James and family (# 313 of Forbes 400)
$ 750 million, 66, married, Gladwyne, PA
Kim received a Master’s Degree in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania. In 1968 he left a teaching position at Villanova University to help run the sales operation of his father’s electronics company, Anam Electronics. He founded Amkor Technology to act as Anam’s sales agent in the United States. Times were tough in the mid-1970s and Kim’s wife, Agnes, was also selling transistor radios and calculators from a newsstand in the King of Prussia Mall. The family fortunes have improved greatly since the 1970s.
James’ company, Amkor, has become the world’s leading independent chip and integrated circuit maker. They provide components for companies such as Texas Instruments, Motorola, Philips, and Toshiba. When Kim’s father retired in 1990, James assumed leadership of his father’s company as president of the Anam group in Seoul while holding the presidency of Amkor Technology in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Agnes’s business became the Electronics Boutique retailer. Electronics Boutique Holdings Corp is today an international chain of consumer electronics stores with more than 800 stores in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, Ireland and Australia.
Hamilton, Dorrance Hill (# 329 de Forbes 400)
$ 740 million, 74, widower, Wayne, PA
Dorrance Hill Hamilton is another granddaughter of Dr. John T. Dorrance, who developed the process for condensing soup. Dorrance bought the Campbell Soup Company from his uncle in 1914. Upon his death, he left half of his fortune to his son John, Jr., and the rest to his 3 daughters. John, Jr. died in 1989, and his children inherited their share. The family still owns about half of the outstanding shares of Campbell’s stock.
Roberts, Brian L. (# 354 from Forbes 400)
$ 650 million, 43, married, Philadelphia, PA
Roberts graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania with an MBA. His father, Ralph J. Roberts, founded Comcast, the world’s largest cable provider. Brian started with Comcast selling cable TV door to door. Brian assumed the presidency in 1990. Under Brian Roberts, Comcast purchased a majority stake in QVC in 1995 and formed Comcast-Spectacor in 1996, owner and operator of NHL Philadelphia Flyers, NBA Philadelphia 76ers, First Union Spectrum, and First Union Center.
Comcast-Spectacor owns and operates NHL Philadelphia Flyers, NBA Philadelphia 76ers, as well as First Union Spectrum and First Union Center. In 1997, Comcast obtained a 40% controlling interest in E! Entertainment television. In 2001, Comcast obtained a majority stake in the golf channel and announced a $ 72 billion acquisition of AT & T’s broadband division. The merger makes Comcast the world’s largest provider of broadband video, voice and data services with annual revenues of $ 19 billion.
Neubauer, Joseph (# 379 de Forbes 400)
$ 580 million, 60, married, Philadelphia, PA
Neubauer is a graduate of the University of Chicago with a Master of Business Administration. His parents fled Nazi Germany in 1938 to start over in Israel, where Joseph was born three years later. At age 14, Neubauer’s parents sent him to the United States, where they felt he had a better chance for a good education and career. At age 27, he was named vice president of Chase Manhattan Bank. He later moved to PepsiCo, where he became the youngest treasurer of a Fortune 500 company. He joined ARA in 1978 as CFO and led a $ 1.2 billion leveraged buyout in 1984.
The company was renamed Aramark. Aramark operates food concessions, child care, healthcare services, and other diversified businesses. It has $ 7.8 billion in annual sales. Aramark became public in 2001. Neubauer remains President and CEO.
Strawbridge, George, Jr. (# 391 for Forbes 400)
$ 550 million, 64, married, Cochranville, PA
This Trinity College Connecticut graduate is the grandson of Dr. John T. Dorrance, who developed the process for condensing soup. Dorrance bought the Campbell Soup Company from his uncle in 1914. Upon his death, he left half of his fortune to his son John, Jr., and the rest to his 3 daughters. John, Jr. died in 1989, and his children inherited their share. The family still owns about half of the outstanding shares of Campbell’s stock. Strawbridge is the principal owner of the country and a prominent breeder of steeplechase horses.
