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By Kent Larsen
Seven Mormons on Forbes List of World's Billionaires
NEW YORK, NEW YORK -- The current issue of Forbes magazine includes its
annual list of the richest people in the world, and at least seven of those
listed are Mormon. Forbes list is based on public records and Forbes'
estimates of the fortunes of the 538 people worldwide who control fortunes
worth more than $1 billion. One Mormon who has appeared on Forbes lists in
the past year fell off the list, a casualty of the decline in tech stocks in
the past year.
Leading the list of Mormons again this year is Jon M. Huntsman, but Forbes
shows that his Fortune has declined by $300 million since its list last Fall
of the 400 Richest Americans, when it estimated Huntsman's fortune at $4.1
billion. Now Huntsman is ranked in a five-way tie for 104th on the list at
$3.8 billion along with well-known billionaires H. Ross Perot and Sid Bass.
The magazine did not indicate why it showed Huntsman's fortune declining,
but in recent years Huntsman has emphasized his philanthropic efforts,
giving at least $100 million to the University of Utah's Huntsman Cancer
Center and making large donations to the University of Pennsylvania's
Wharton School of Business. About 1/3rd of the fortunes on the Forbes list
declined in the last year.
Second on the list is the other Utah billionaire, James L. Sorenson, who is
tied for 124th on the list. Sorenson, whose fortune is valued at $3.4
billion, according to Forbes, which credits Sorenson's fortune to the
medical devices firm he sold in 1980 to Abbott Labs. Sorenson has recently
been active with several new ventures, the most prominent of which is
leading videocompression company Sorenson Media.
Next are three Mormons with fortunes that are roughly the same size, all
tied for 292nd on the Forbes list, and who are all relatively unknown to
most LDS Church members. Californian Jim Jannard is the Chairman and CEO of
his sunglasses and apparel maker, Oakley, Inc., from whose growth he has
amassed a fortune worth $1.7 billion. Richard Taylor Peery is a real estate
investor who happened to buy property in California's silicon valley at just
the right time, giving him a fortune now worth $1.7 billion. Roger W. Sant
is Chairman of giant power plant operator and power distributor AES Corp. of
Middleburg, Virginia. Sant is the only one of the seven that has reportedly
left the LDS Church.
The final two Mormons on the list of billionaires are brothers Richard and
J. Willard (Bill) Marriott, both of whom are based in the Washington, DC
area. Richard, head of Host Marriott Corp., has the larger fortune, $1.5
billion, while Bill Marriott as head of Marriott Corp., has the more visible
position.
Leaving the list is David R. Huber, head of Columbia, Maryland-based
fiber-optics firm Corvis, whose stock price exploded to over $100 a share
last August, making him briefly the most wealthy Mormon. However, the tech
stock decline and investor's realizing the company's true value led to a
decline in the company's stock price of more than 90%. The stock is now
trading at about $3 a share, which still gives Huber a fortune valued at
nearly $300 million.
Here is a list of the Mormons on the Forbes World's Richest People List:
| Name | Rank | Net Worth | Residence |
| Huntsman, Jon M. | 104 | $3,800 mil | Salt Lake City, Utah |
| Sorenson, James L. | 124 | $3,400 mil | Salt Lake City, Utah |
| Jannard, Jim | 292 | $1,700 mil | Foothill Ranch, California |
| Peery, Richard T. | 292 | $1,700 mil | Palo Alto, California |
| Sant, Roger W. | 292 | $1,700 mil | Middleburg, Virginia |
| Marriott, Richard E. | 336 | $1,500 mil | Potomac, Maryland |
| Marriott, J. Willard | 421 | $1,200 mil | Potomac, Maryland |
Sources:
Forbes World's Richest People
Forbes 2Jul01 B2
See also:
Forbes 400 Yields New List of the Richest Mormons
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