No. 35: Gerald J. Ford
Age: 69Home: DallasNet Worth: $1.9 billion
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Jump to… Telling Fortunes No. 1: Alice Walton No. 2: Michael Dell No. 3: Richard Kinder No. 4: Harold Simmons No. 5: Andrew Beal No. 6: Charles Butt and Family No. 8: Ray L. Hunt Nos. 9, 10, 11, and 12: Dannine Avara, Scott Duncan, Milane Duncan Frantz, Randa Duncan Williams No. 7: Elaine Marshall and Family No. 13: Jeffrey Hildebrand No. 14: Robert Rowling No. 15: Trevor Rees-Jones No. 16: John Paul Dejoria No. 17: Henry Ross Perot Sr. No. 18: Kelcy Warren No. 19: William Herbert Hunt No. 20: Jerry Jones No. 21: John Arnold Nos. 22, 30, 31, and 37: Robert Bass, Edward Bass, Lee Bass, and Sid Bass No. 23: David Bonderman No. 24: Richard Rainwater No. 25: Mark Cuban No. 26: Dan Friedkin No. 27: Timothy Headington No. 28: Tilman Fertitta No. 29: Rodney Lewis No. 32: Robert McNair No. 33: Fayez Sarofim No. 34: Ray Davis No. 35: Gerald J. Ford No. 36: Drayton McLane Jr. No. 38: Henry Ross Perot Jr. No. 39: Joe Jamail Jr. Nos. 40 and 41: Dan Wilks and Farris Wilks The Forbes Methodology
Gerald J. Ford values efficiency, which has served him well in his work: Ford and his skeleton crew of twelve employees buy distressed financial institutions, consolidate and streamline their operations, and sell them to larger banks. A native of Pampa, Ford graduated from Southern Methodist University (the football stadium bears his name). His wife, Kelli, and their 25,000-square-foot Highland Park mansion enjoyed fifteen minutes of ostentatious glory in 2012 when HGTV’s Million Dollar Rooms featured the couple’s basement “room”: a two-thousand-square-foot Turkish bath–style spa.
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Jump to… Telling Fortunes No. 1: Alice Walton No. 2: Michael Dell No. 3: Richard Kinder No. 4: Harold Simmons No. 5: Andrew Beal No. 6: Charles Butt and Family No. 8: Ray L. Hunt Nos. 9, 10, 11, and 12: Dannine Avara, Scott Duncan, Milane Duncan Frantz, Randa Duncan Williams No. 7: Elaine Marshall and Family No. 13: Jeffrey Hildebrand No. 14: Robert Rowling No. 15: Trevor Rees-Jones No. 16: John Paul Dejoria No. 17: Henry Ross Perot Sr. No. 18: Kelcy Warren No. 19: William Herbert Hunt No. 20: Jerry Jones No. 21: John Arnold Nos. 22, 30, 31, and 37: Robert Bass, Edward Bass, Lee Bass, and Sid Bass No. 23: David Bonderman No. 24: Richard Rainwater No. 25: Mark Cuban No. 26: Dan Friedkin No. 27: Timothy Headington No. 28: Tilman Fertitta No. 29: Rodney Lewis No. 32: Robert McNair No. 33: Fayez Sarofim No. 34: Ray Davis No. 35: Gerald J. Ford No. 36: Drayton McLane Jr. No. 38: Henry Ross Perot Jr. No. 39: Joe Jamail Jr. Nos. 40 and 41: Dan Wilks and Farris Wilks The Forbes Methodology