A financial think tank analysis released last week on the growth of billionaire wealth found that after seeing their fortunes steadily rise over the past three decades, the ultra-rich saw their money explode during the pandemic.
Billionaires in Illinois whose wealth increased substantially during the pandemic include:
- Ken Griffin, owner of Citadel Securities, a hedge fund that manages $38 billion and is responsible for about 40 percent of stock trades in the country, saw his wealth grow 32.2 percent.
- Neil Bluhm, a casino magnate, saw his wealth grow 52 percent.
- Sam Zell, who made billions in real estate and private equity investment, saw his wealth grow 10.7 percent.
- Joe Mansueto, who founded Morningstar, a financial services company, saw his wealth grow 84.4 percent.
- Mark Walter, another hedge fund manager, saw his wealth grow 74.2 percent.
- Thomas Pritzker, Hyatt Hotels magnate, Gov. J.B. Pritzker's cousin, and heir to his father, Jay Pritzker's, fortune, saw his wealth grow 42.8 percent.
- Eric Lefkofsky, a venture capitalist and co-founder of Groupon, saw his wealth grow by 55.4 percent.
- Ty Warner, a toy manufacturer who started the beanie babies craze in the late '90s, saw his wealth grow by 45.5 percent.
- J.B. Pritzker, the state's governor, inherited money from his father, a Hyatt hotels co-founder and, in turn, co-founded The Pritzker Group, a private capital firm; he saw his wealth grow 3.7 percent.
- Patrick Ryan, who founded Aon Corporation, an insurance company, saw his wealth rise 18.1 percent.
- Penny Pritzker, like her brother the governor, inherited money from her father, a co-founder of Hyatt Hotels, worked her way up in the family business and started her own real estate and private investment company. Her wealth grew 21.7 percent.
- Steven Sarowitz, founder of cloud-based payroll company Paylocity, saw his wealth grow 114.4 percent.
- Justin Ishibia, a new billionaire, made the list when his brother's mortgage company, United Wholesale Mortgage, went public last year through a SPAC deal, and his stock exploded in value.
- Joseph Grendys, CEO of Koch Foods, saw his wealth grow 6.5 percent.
- Jennifer Pritzker, the last Pritzker on the list, is another of the governor's cousins, heir to the Pritzker family business and founder of a private wealth management company; her wealth grew by 5.8 percent.
- Jerry Reinsdorf, owner of the Chicago Bulls and White Sox, made a fortune through a real estate tax loophole that allowed him to take tax deductions on property he sold. His wealth grew 11.8 percent.
- Matthew Rosznak, who settled insider trading allegations with the SEC, made the list for the first time after investing in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. He claims to have given Bill Clinton and Richard Branson their first bitcoins.
- Michael Polsky, one of the country's first green energy billionaires, owns a company that builds windfarms.
- Michael Krasny, founder of Computer Discount Warehouse, was the only billionaire on the list to see his wealth decline — about 3.6 percent.
- Carl Thoma is the co-founder of Thoma Bravo, a private capital firm that buys companies, lays off their employees and sells off their assets for profits, according to multiple media reports. His wealth increased by 10 percent.
- Hartley Rogers, the last new billionaire on the list, is the managing director of Hamilton Lane, an asset management company.
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