Apr 2, 2025 - Business
North Carolina's richest residents
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Jim Goodnight, CEO of SAS Institute. Photo: Najlah Feanny/Corbis via Getty Images
Jim Goodnight, the co-founder and CEO of the Cary-based analytics company SAS Institute, remains North Carolina's richest person, according to an annual count from Forbes.
The big picture: Cary's technology scene continues to dominate the state's rich list, with the founders of SAS and video game company Epic Games holding the top of the list.
- However, three members of the Holding family, which controls Raleigh's First Citizens Bank, are now on the list.
- First Citizens has grown to become one of the largest banks in the country after a series of acquisitions, most notably that of Silicon Valley Bank in 2023.
By the numbers: Here are the Triangle's richest residents, per Forbes:
- Goodnight's net worth was pegged at $9.9 billion, down roughly 2%.
- Tim Sweeney, 54, founder and CEO of Cary-based Epic Games, saw his net worth stay flat at $5.7 billion.
- John Sall, 76, co-founder of SAS, saw his net worth fall 2% to $4.9 billion.
- Dennis Gillings, 80, the founder of the Durham clinical research firm Quintiles, now called IQVIA, had his net worth fall 12.5% to $2.1 billion.
- Frank Holding, the 63-year-old CEO of Raleigh's First Citizens Bank, had a net worth of $1.2 billion.
- Holding's sisters also made the list, including Carson Brice, 57 ($1.3 billion); Claire Bristow, 58 ($1.3 billion); and Olivia Holding, 60 ($1.5 billion).
Other billionaires with North Carolina connections:
- David Tepper, 67, hedge fund operator and Carolina Panthers owner: $21.3 billion
- Michael Jordan, 62, UNC basketball legend and former Charlotte Hornets majority owner: $3.5 billion
- Roy Carroll, 62, founder of the Greensboro real estate firm Carroll Cos.: $2.6 billion
- Ric Elias, 57, co-founder of Charlotte's Red Ventures: $1 billion