NEW: Two Rhode Islanders Make Forbes Billionaires List
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Two Rhode Islanders are members of the 2011 list of the world’s billionaires, according to Forbes. Checking in at #736 is Jonathan Nelson, the CEO of Providence Equity, whose estimated net worth is $1.7 billion.
According to Forbes, Providence Equity “mostly buys and fixes up media and telecom outfits [and] now manages assets of $23 billion.” In September, the 54 year old Nelson (pictured left) was ranked #306 on the Forbes 400 list of the richest Americans.
Also on the list is 76 year old Middletown resident Hope Hill van Beuren. Forbes said the Campbell Soup heiress is worth $1.1 billion and that the company now does $7.6 billion in sales. She was ranked #365 on last year’s Forbes 400.
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Rounding out the top five on this year’s list is Warren Buffett, Bernard Arnault and Larry Ellison. The first woman named is #15 Liliane Bettencourt, the 88 year old heiress to L'Oreal.
This is the 25th year Forbes has tracked the world’s billionaires and this year’s list has a record 1,210 members with a combined wealth of $4.5 trillion.
