Drop-Offs
LEFT BEHIND The threshold to earn a spot on this year’s Forbes 400 climbed to a record $2.9 billion, $800 million more than a year ago. Of the 51 who dropped out of the ranks, 31 are richer than they were in 2020; only 13 are poorer.
On the Block BUY MACKLOWE, SELL HIGH
25 FRONTRUNNER
In addition, five members of last year’s class passed away.
Donald Trump
Oprah Winfrey
Most officials divest when they take office, but Trump refused in 2017, clinging to his then– $3.5 billion fortune. Bad move. If he’d shifted his money into the S&P 500, he’d be worth at least $4.7 billion, enough to rank No. 229. Instead, he’s off the list for the first time in 25 years.
Oprah drops off for the first time since 1995 despite her fortune holding steady, as others passed her by. She’s still a powerhouse: Her March interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle attracted more than 70 million viewers and earned her an Emmy nomination.
Jim Koch
Trevor Milton
Boston Beer Company, which he cofounded and chairs, bet big on its fi ve-year-old hard seltzer line, Truly, even hiring pop star Dua Lipa in May to promote it. Those efforts fell flat, and shares have tumbled more than 50% since April on news of its disappointing sales.
In July, U.S. prosecutors charged Milton with fraud for allegedly lying about his electric truck startup, Nikola, to drive up its share price. He had taken the company public via a SPAC in June 2020; the stock is down more than 70% in the past year. He has pleaded not guilty.
DROP-OFFS BY ISABELLE BOUSQUETTE AND DAN ALEXANDER; ON THE BLOCK BY ISABEL LORD. BRANDON BELL/GETTY IMAGES; JORDAN STRAUSS/INVISION/AP; SCOTT EELLS/BLOOMBERG; TIM PANNELL FOR FORBES; SOTHEBY’S
$2.5 billion
$2.6 billion
$2 billion
$1 billion
It might not have been a picture-perfect marriage— or divorce— but real estate moguls Harry and Linda Macklowe were once the envy of the art world, amassing a collection worth as much as $800 million during their fi ve decades together. Now, after an acrimonious courtordered division of assets, 34 pieces from the Macklowe collection are headed to auction at Sotheby’s on November 15. Among the buzziest lots: Mark Rothko’s “No. 7” (above), from 1951, and Alberto Giacomett i’s 1964 sculpture “Le Nez,” both expected to fetch $70 million, as well as Andy Warhol’s 1962 “Nine Marilyns” silkscreen and a 2007 “Untitled” canvas by Cy Twombly, which could each reach $60 million. The second part of the Macklowe collection, another 31 pieces, goes up for auction in May 2022, and the total sale could challenge the record set by the Peggy and David Rockefeller collection, which rang up a cool $835 million at Christie’s in 2018.
Deceased Sheldon Adelson
AGE: 87 DIED: January 11, 2021 SOURCE: Casinos NET WORTH: $29.8 billion
Eli Broad
AGE: 87 DIED: April 30, 2021 SOURCE: Investments NET WORTH: $6.9 billion
B. Wayne Hughes
AGE: 87 DIED: August 18, 2021 SOURCE: Self-storage NET WORTH: $2.8 billion
Randall Rollins
AGE: 88 DIED: August 17, 2020 SOURCE: Pest control NET WORTH: $4.7 billion
Sheldon Solow
AGE: 92 DIED: November 17, 2020 SOURCE: Real estate NET WORTH: $4.4 billion
Net worths for the deceased are as of the 2020 Forbes 400 list. F O R B E S M I D D L E E A S T.C O M
NOVEMBER 2021
