CARY – Jim Goodnight, cofounder and CEO of global software firm SAS, remains the richest person in North Carolina and has expanded his lead over Tim Sweeney, the CEO and founder of nearby Epic Games.
That’s according to the latest report about the world’s billionaires from Forbes.
Goodnight’s fortune tumbled in 2020 during the pandemic, falling to $6.1 billion from $8.9 billion in 2019. But as the economy has rebounded, so has the Goodnight holdings. He’s worth $6.5 billion, Forbes says.
Tim Sweeney (Photo courtesy of Epic Games via Forbes)
Sweeney, who became a billionaire on the Forbes list in 2019, is now estimated to have a fortune of $4.7 billion. That’s up $200 million from a year ago, Forbes notes. But he now trails Goodnight by $1.8 billion, an increase from the pandemic year difference of $1.6 billion.
Goodnight ranks No. 404 on the world’s richest list, Sweeney No. 608.
Both companies are privately held, and neither firm will discuss the fortunes of their owners. But Forbes – as well as Bloomberg news and Fortune – utiiize a variety of data to calculate the net worth of even the world’s most private people.
Sweeney has received a considerable amount of attention over the last several years as Epic’s value as a company has soared to some $20 billion due to in large part the global success of its Fortnite game franchise. Sweeney also has turned Epic into a capital-raising juggernaut with two fund raisers of more than $1 billion – largest in the state’s history. And another capital raise of at least $1.7 billion is reportedly underway.
SAS remains profitable and is expected to disclose 2020 financial information in the near future, according to a spokesperson.
Epic doesn’t disclose financial data, either, but is widely reported as being profitable based in large part on billions in Fortnite sales.
Don’t forget Sall, Jordan, Murdock
John Sall, Goodnight’s partner in founding SAS, is now worth $3.2 billion, up from $3.1 billion a year earlier.
However, the fortunes of Goodnight and Sall are down considerably from previous highs, according to Forbes.
Goodnight’s holdings peaked at $9.4 billion in 2017, Forbes reports.
Sall’s net worth was $4.5 billion in 2017 and 2018, according to Forbes’ calculations.
North Carolina native and former NBA superstar Michael Jordan, who has a residence in the Charlotte area, has a net worth of $1.6 billion, Forbes reports. That’s down from $2.1 billion a year ago. The pandemic hammered NBA revenues. Jordan owns the Charlotte Hornets.
And David Murdock, owner of Dole Foods as well as the founder of the Murdock Research Institute in Kannapolis, is worth $2.1 billion, Forbes calculates.
