Meet Colorado's Twelve Billionaires

In these United States, the rich almost always get richer. But several of Colorado's twelve billionaires have proven to be an exception to this rule.

According to Forbes's recently published list of global billionaires, some of the state's richest people have seen their wealth shrink in the 2020s, including one entrepreneur whose current net worth is around one-fifth the size it was just three years ago.

The overall trend definitely isn't toward shrinkage. Forbes points out that as of late April, the planet boasted 2,781 billionaires, 26 more than the previous record, set in 2021. Moreover, the portfolios of these individuals are collectively valued at around $14.2 trillion, approximately $1.1 trillion higher than 2021's standard-setting mark — and two-thirds of them saw their bank accounts grow over the previous twelve months.

Colorado's share of billionaires has bumped up, too. Ten people qualified for our 2021 list of local billionaires, but since then, William MacMillan and Stewart Butterfield have joined the roster. As for the returning entrants, the most fortunate among them is pole-sitter Phil Anschutz, whose real-time net worth as of today, May 28, has climbed by $5.1 billion over that span.

Charlie Ergen hasn't been so lucky. In 2021, he was sitting on a $10.5 billion pile — but as of now, the mound is down to $2 billion.

Poor guy.

Continue reading for information about Colorado's billionaires, ordered by escalating riches, with links to their Forbes pages.

Kenneth Tuchman
Real-time net worth as of May 28, 2024: $1.1 billion
Net worth as of April 12, 2021: $2.8 billion
Colorado rank, 2024: 12
Colorado rank, 2021: 7
Global rank, 2024: 2,545
Global rank, 2021: 1,111
Age: 64
Residence: Denver

Mini-bio: "Kenneth Tuchman is the founder and CEO of customer care outsourcing giant TTEC, a public company operating on six continents. ... Today, Tuchman is the majority owner of the $2.4 billion (revenue) company, which handles customer inquiries via phone, messaging and social media.
Gary Magness
Real-time net worth as of May 28, 2024: $1.2 billion
Net worth as of April 12, 2021: $1.6 billion
Colorado rank, 2024: 11
Colorado rank, 2021: 8
Global rank, 2024: 2,287
Global rank, 2021: 1,931
Age: 70
Residence: Denver

Mini-bio: "Gary Magness's late father, Bob, started cable giant TCI, then merged with AT&T in 1999 in a $48 billion deal.
He inherited half of the fortune (his late brother, Kim, got the rest) and now focuses on off-road racing, movie producing and philanthropy."
Thomas Bailey
Real-time net worth as of May 28, 2024: $1.3 billion
Net worth as of April 12, 2021: $1.2 billion
Colorado rank, 2024: 10
Colorado rank, 2021: 9
Global rank, 2024: 2,287
Global rank, 2021: 2,378
Age: 87
Residence: Aspen

Mini-bio: "Thomas Bailey's fortune comes from mutual fund giant Janus, which he founded in Denver in 1969. ... He served as the CEO of Janus for 33 years until 2002 and as chairman through 2003."

Cargill MacMillan III
Real-time net worth as of May 28, 2024: $1.4 billion
Net worth as of April 12, 2021: $1.1 billion
Colorado rank, 2024: 9 (tie)
Colorado rank, 2024: 10
Global rank, 2024: 2,287
Global rank, 2021: 2,524
Age: 64
Residence: Boulder

Mini-bio: "Cargill MacMillan III is one of 12 billionaire heirs to Cargill, the world's biggest agriculture business. ... The family still owns roughly 90 percent of Cargill, which did $114.6 billion in 2020 sales across food, agriculture, financial and industrial divisions."

William MacMillan
Real-time net worth as of May 28, 2024: $1.4 billion
Net worth as of April 12, 2021: N/A
Colorado rank, 2024: 9 (tie)
Colorado rank, 2021: N/A
Age: 70
Residence: Englewood

Mini-bio: Same as Cargill MacMillan, above.

Stewart Butterfield
Real-time net worth as of May 28, 2024: $1.6 billion
Net worth as of April 12, 2024: N/A
Colorado rank, 2024: 7
Colorado rank, 2021: N/A
Global rank, 2024: 1,851
Global rank, 2021: N/A
Age: 51
Residence: Aspen

Mini-bio: "Stewart Butterfield is the co-founder and CEO of team-based messaging software Slack. In July 2021, cloud software giant Salesforce acquired Slack for $27.7 billion in cash and stock."
Charles Ergen
Real-time net worth as of May 28, 2014: $2 billion
Net worth as of April 12, 2021: $10.5 billion
Colorado rank, 2024: 6
Colorado rank, 2021: 2
Global rank, 2024: 2,152
Global rank, 2021: 241
Age: 71
Residence: Denver

Mini-bio: "Charlie Ergen is the co-founder and chairman of satellite and internet service company EchoStar. In 1995, EchoStar went public and also launched its first satellite, birthing pay TV subsidiary Dish Network."
James Leprino
Real-time net worth as of May 28, 2024: $2.3 billion
Net worth as of April 12, 2021: $3 billion
Colorado rank, 2024: 5
Colorado rank, 2021: 6 (tie)
Global rank, 2024: 1,545
Global rank, 2021: 1,008
Age: 86
Residence: Indian Hills

Mini-bio: "James Leprino owns the world's largest mozzarella cheese maker, with $3.5 billion in estimated annual sales. His Leprino Foods is the exclusive supplier of cheese to Domino's, Papa John's and Pizza Hut."

Pat Stryker
Real-time net worth as of May 28, 2024: $3.8 billion
Net worth as of April 12, 2021: $3 billion
Colorado rank, 2024: 4
Colorado rank, 2021: 6 (tie)
Global rank, 2024: 809
Global rank, 2021: 1,008
Age: 68
Residence: Fort Collins

Mini-bio: "Pat Stryker is a philanthropist and the founder of Bohemian Foundation, which supports music, community, global and civic programs. ....Her grandfather founded Stryker Corp., which sold $18.4 billion worth of medical equipment in 2022."

Mark Stevens
Real-time net worth as of May 28, 2024: $7 billion
Net worth as of April 12, 2021: $4 billion
Colorado rank, 2024: 3
Colorado rank, 2021: 4
Global rank, 2024: 424
Global rank, 2021: 807
Age: 64
Residence: Steamboat Springs

Mini-bio: "Silicon Valley venture capitalist Mark Stevens was a partner at Sequoia Capital when the firm invested in hits like Google, PayPal and LinkedIn. Now he is investing in startups through his firm S-Cubed Capital."

John Malone
Real-time net worth as of May 28, 2024: $9.6 billion
Net worth as of April 12, 2021: $7.8 billion
Colorado rank, 2024: 2
Colorado rank, 2021: 3
Global rank, 2024: 232
Global rank, 2021: 316
Age: 83
Residence: Elizabeth

Mini-bio: "Nicknamed the Cable Cowboy, John Malone is known for his penchant for media deals and complicated corporate structures. From the 1970s to the 1990s, Malone built up cable TV firm TCI as right-hand man to founder Bob Magness (d. 1996). Malone became the CEO of TCI in 1973 at 29 years old, then sold the firm to AT&T for more than $50 billion in 1999."

Philip Anschutz
Real-time net worth as of May 28, 2024: $15.2 billion
Net worth as of April 12, 2021: $10.1 billion
Colorado rank, 2024: 1
Colorado rank, 2021: 1
Global rank, 2024: 125
Global rank, 2021:224
Age: 84
Residence: Denver

Mini-bio: "Over five decades, Philip Anschutz has built fortunes in oil, railroads, telecom, real estate and entertainment. He is the majority owner of the NHL's Los Angeles Kings, with a stake in the MLS's Los Angeles Galaxy, plus he owns the Crypto.com Arena, where the Kings play."