Here’s the ironic thing about Rocco Commisso, the Saddle River resident who (with a net worth of $8 billion) is once again is ranked as the richest New Jerseyan on the 2024 Forbes World’s Billionaires List: Commisso makes his money in another state.
Commisso, ranked at No. 322, is the longtime founder and CEO of Mediacom, a company based in Blooming Grove, New York — just a few miles over the border in Orange County.
Commisso, once again, topped John Overdeck, a Millburn resident and co-founder of the hedge fund firm Two Sigma Investments. Overdeck, with an estimated worth of $7.3 billion, comes in at No. 364.
Where it gets interesting — and where the Treasury Department gets jealous — is the number of people on the list with strong Jersey ties, starting with Princeton University grad Jeff Bezos, who came in third at a whopping $194 billion.
Another Princeton grad, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, is tied at No. 94 on the list at $20.6 billion. He now lives in California.
To be fair, Bezos and Schmidt had long left the state before they found their fame and fortune.
Others can’t say the same thing.
Consider David Tepper, who raised his family in Short Hills, while founding hedge fund Appaloosa Management. Tepper, who moved to Florida nearly a decade ago, is tied with Schmidt at No. 94 on the list at $20.6 billion.
Or Josh Harris, the co-owner of the Prudential Center, the New Jersey Devils and a whole lot more.
Harris, who co-founded alternative investment firm Apollo Global Management in 1990, was born and raised in New Jersey but now lives in Florida. He is No. 304 on the list with a net worth of $8.4 billion.
And Donald Newhouse, the owner of Advance Publications (think Star-Ledger) is tied at No. 190 on the list ($10.8 billion). He lives in New York City.
No. 1 on the list was Bernard Arnault of France, with $233 billion. He doesn’t have a connection to New Jersey — but his companies sure do. He oversees the LVMH empire of 75 fashion and cosmetics brand, including Louis Vuitton and Sephora.
