Billionaire Rocco Commisso is still the wealthiest person in New Jersey, according to the Forbes 400, an annual ranking of America’s super-rich released Tuesday.
As a group, the richest people in America are $500 billion richer than a year ago, aided by rebounding stock markets and an artificial intelligence-driven tech boom. They now hold $4.5 trillion in wealth, tying a record set in 2021.
Billionaires had to have a net worth of at least $2.9 billion to be included on the prestigious list, up from $2.7 billion a year ago, also tying for the highest ever. Forbes said its net worth calculations use stock prices from Sept. 8.
Commisso, the founder and CEO of cable company Mediacom, is listed at No. 114 on the Forbes list and is worth $8 billion, up from $7.7 billion in 2022, Forbes said. The other two New Jerseyans who follow are John Overdeck (No. 137 at $7.3 billion) and Peter Kellogg (No. 295 at $3.8 billion).
Commisso lives in Saddle River in Bergen County but works in Chester, New York. He previously worked as chief financial officer at Cablevision Industries, which was acquired by Time Warner in 1995. In 2019, he purchased the Italian soccer team Fiorentina for an estimated $150 million to $200 million.
As for Jersey’s other two billionaires?
Overdeck, the co-founder of the hedge fund firm Two Sigma Investments, is worth $7.3 billion, up from $6.5 billion last year, Forbes said. He and his wife, Laura, are the founders of the Overdeck Family Foundation, which supports education initiatives. Laura Overdeck is a graduate of Westfield High School and Princeton University.
And Kellogg, who sold brokerage house Spear, Leeds & Kellogg to Goldman Sachs in 2000, has a net worth of $3.8 billion, up from $3.6 billion last year.
Topping the list, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is still No. 1, with an estimated net worth of $251 billion, $90 billon ahead of No. 2 (Jeff Bezos, $161 billion) and $93 billion richer than No. 3 Larry Ellison ($158 billion).
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