Insurance Billionaires

Forbes magazine says a new billionaire arrives on the planet every 17-hours. In its annual listing of the wealthiest people on the planet, Forbes said in 2021 there were 2,755 billionaires. That’s up 660 from 2020. The U.S. has the most at 724.

Combined, that 2,755 people have a staggering $13.1 trillion in wealth. That’s an even more staggering $8 billion more than 2020. That leads to Forbes’ conclusion that 86% of that 2,755 people are a lot richer than they were a year ago.

All this brings us to insurance. Most of us don’t think the business of insurance is going to make us super rich. We like to think the industry we love will at least help us pay most of our bills and have a few bucks left over for retirement investments and a bit of fun.

Becoming a billionaire while working in the insurance industry is way outside the scope of most of our thinking.

However, some in insurance manage to hit that billionaire target. Here’s Forbes’ 2021 list of the 10 billionaires in insurance.

1. Berkshire Hathaway’s, Warren Buffet

While all of his wealth did not come from insurance, Buffet’s company owns a slew of companies dedicated to insurance. They are Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Companies, Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance, Applied Underwriters, Gateway Underwriters Agency, GEICO, General RE, MedPro Group, National Indemnity Company and United States Liability Insurance Group.

Buffet’s Forbes 2021 billionaire ranking: 10

His net worth: $103.6 billion

2. Patrick Ryan of the Ryan Specialty Group

He’s the richest of the billionaires whose money comes strictly from insurance. His first insurance firm was Ryan Insurance. In 1982 it merged with Combined Insurance and formed AON.

Ryan’s Forbes 2021 billionaire ranking: 333

His net worth: $8 billion

3. Erie Indemnity Chairman, Thomas Hagen

In 2020, Hagen was number-two on the insurance billionaire list. He lost a bit of money last year and his total wealth fell from $4.3 billion to $3.7 billion.

Hagen’s Forbes 2021 billionaire ranking: 900

His net worth: $3.7 billion

4. W.R. Berkley’s William R. Berkley

He formed W.R. Berkley in 1967 as he was getting his MBA from Harvard. Berkley formed it with $2,500. Today, he owns just 20% of the company. His personal net worth grew from $2.8 billion in 2020 to $3.2 billion last year.

Berkley’s Forbes 2021 billionaire ranking: 1,041

His net worth: $3.2 billion

5. Mark and Robyn Jones of Goosehead Insurance

Mark is the chairman and CEO of Goosehead and Robyn is the company’s vice chair. Combined they are worth $2.9 billion.

Their Forbes 2021 billionaire ranking: 1,139

Their net worth: $2.9 billion

6. Brown & Brown’s, J. Hyatt Brown

He’s the chairman of Brown & Brown. The company was founded by his father J. Adrien Brown in 1939. It is now the 6th largest insurance brokerage in the U.S. Under Hyatt’s direction, Brown & Brown has grown from a small, local, family business into a national insurer. Today the company has over 7,000 employees.

Brown’s Forbes 2021 billionaire ranking: 1,182

His net worth: $2.8 billion*

7. Mercury General’s, George Joseph

Joseph founded Mercury General after borrowing $2 million in capital in 1962. His plan — and it worked — was to offer cut-rate insurance to drivers with better than average safety records. Mercury later expanded to include homeowner’s insurance and fire insurance. The average annual income for Mercury General is $3.5 billion.

Joseph’s Forbes 2021 billionaire ranking: 1,849

His net worth: $1.7 billion

8. Henry Engelhardt of the Admiral Group

He founded Admiral in 1993. It offers a wide range of auto and homeowners insurance policies. The company was founded in the UK and operates in the U.S. with the brand called Elephant Auto Insurance and compare.com.

Englehardt’s Forbes 2021 billionaire ranking: 1,961

His net worth: $1.6 billion

Source link: Insurance Business America — https://bit.ly/3KKfQu8