NEW YORK – The richest person in Wisconsin, according to a new Forbes magazine ranking, is John Menard Jr., founder of the Menards big-box hardware chain. Forbes pegged Menard’s wealth at $14.2 billion. He was 145th on the list. At the top were Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, $177 billion; inventor-entrepreneur Elon Musk, $151 billion, and software wunderkid Bill Gates, $124 billion. On the Wisconsin billionaires list, besides Menard,
>Herbert Kohler Jr., chair of Kohler Company, $9.8 billion.
> Diane Hendricks, owner of Hendricks Holding and ABC Supply, $8 billion.
> Judy Faulkner, founder of Epic Systems, $6 billion.
> James Cargill Jr., Cargill Inc., $3.6 billion.
> S. Curtis Johnson, S.C. Johnson & Sons, $3.6 billion.
> Helen Johnson-Leipold, Johnson Outdoors, $3.6 billion.
> H. Fisk Johnson, S.C. Johnson & Sons, $3.5 billion.
> Jamie Dinan, co-owner of Milwaukee Bucks, $1.9 billion.
> Marc Lasry, co-owner of Milwaukee Bucks, $1.8 billion.
> Wes Edens, co-owner of Milwaukee Bucks, $1.2 billion.
Not on Forbes’ list was Ron Wanek of LaCrosse, whose wealth from furniture manufacturer Ashley has been estimated by other sources at $5.5 billion.
Menard. With $14.2 billion he’s the richest person in Wisconsin, Opened first store in Eau Claire in 1964.