Healthcare Tycoons Account for 15 of America's Richest, Forbes Reports
Forbes' annual ranking shows 15 of the 400 wealthiest Americans built their fortunes in healthcare, with a combined net worth exceeding $136 billion. The top healthcare billionaire is Thomas Frist Jr., co-founder of HCA Healthcare, followed by biotech investor Robert Duggan and Medline chairman Charlie Mills. Four physicians are among the list, including surgeon Patrick Soon-Shiong.
The healthcare sector's wealthiest figures trace their fortunes to diverse enterprises, from hospital networks and medical devices to pharmaceutical development and clinical research services. Thomas Frist Jr.'s HCA Healthcare, founded with his father in the 1960s, now encompasses 190 hospitals and 2,400 care sites, while Robert Duggan's 2015 sale of Pharmacyclics to Abbvie preceded his current role co-leading Summit Therapeutics. Patrick Soon-Shiong's invention of the cancer drug Abraxane funded his later media and sports investments.
Several newcomers joined the Forbes 400 this year, including Medline chairman Charlie Mills and his relatives Andy Mills and Wendy Abrams, alongside physician-entrepreneurs Keith Dunleavy and August Troendle. The list also features multiple members of the Stryker family, reflecting the medical device maker's multigenerational wealth. Collectively, these 15 individuals hold fortunes exceeding $136 billion, though they remain far behind tech leaders like Elon Musk.
The concentration of healthcare wealth among a small number of individuals could intensify public scrutiny of medical costs and access, particularly as hospital chains and pharmaceutical companies face ongoing pricing debates. Physician-billionaires may influence innovation priorities, while the widening gap between these fortunes and typical patient expenses could shape policy discussions around healthcare affordability and industry regulation in the coming years.