Billionaires? We got dozens of ’em

Yearly list includes over 2,200 worth more than $9.1 trillion

Florida has 51 billionaires; many of the top richest live in South Florida. Some are names you know (Trump), some not. The name they have in common for us: neighbor.

Fifty-one of the world’s billionaires call Florida home, according to the Forbes 2018 list released Tuesday. That was the same number as last year.

But due to a soaring stock market — at least in 2017 — many have become even richer.

Of the top 10 billionaires in the state, more than half reside in South Florida, including Carnival Corp. chairman Micky Arison and Palm Beach island residents Thomas Peterffy, Charles Johnson and Robert Rich Jr.

Part-time Palm Beacher, President Donald Trump, dropped on the list to $3.1 billion, or No. 766. Forbes said Trump has lost $400 million since taking office.

The richest Floridian is Peterffy, a Hungarian immigrant who is chairman and CEO of the Interactive Brokers Group. Peterffy is worth $20.3 billion, coming in at No. 47 on the Forbes’ list — up from No. 82 in 2017. He has topped the Florida billionaires’ list for the last three years.

The No. 2 spot on the Florida list belongs to a relative newcomer to the state: David Tepper, who moved his hedge fund Appaloosa Management and his residence to Miami Beach from New Jersey. Tepper’s net worth is listed at $11 billion, ranking overall at No. 138.

Carnival’s Arison rose to No. 3 from the fourth spot in Florida, with $9.7 billion, which ranked him 154th overall.

Other South Florida billionaires that made the top 10 are: Dirk Ziff of North Palm Beach, with $4.8 billion; and J. Christopher Reyes and Judith Reyes of Hobe Sound, with $4.7 billion each.

The world’s 2,208 billionaires are worth $9.1 trillion, up 18 percent since last year, according to Forbes. Their average net worth is a record $4.1 billion. Americans led the way with a record 585 billionaires, followed by mainland China with 373.

Other South Florida billionaires who rank lower on the list are: Rockstar Energy drink entrepreneur Russ Weiner, $4.4 billion; Buffalo Bills and Sabres owner Terrence Pegula, with $4.3 billion; real estate tycoon Jeff Greene, with $3.8 billion; entrepreneur George Lindemann, with $3.3 billion; real estate magnate Jorge Perez, with $3 billion; and entre-

preneur H. Wayne Huizenga, with $2.8 billion.

Amazon’s Jeff Bezos topped Forbes’ billionaires list for the first time, becoming the only person to appear in the Forbes ranks with a 12-figure fortune. Bezos’ fortune soared by more than $39 billion, the list’s biggest one-year gain ever. He moves ahead of Bill Gates, who is now No. 2. It is the biggest gap between No. 1 and 2 since 2001.

See the full list here: forbes.com/billionaires