The 10 Richest People in Connecticut
Connecticut has long been one of the richest states in the US, with a per capita income that stands heads and shoulders above the rest. Obviously, not every Connecticut resident is dripping in diamonds, but a good few are. The state now boasts 17 billionaires, along with more millionaires than anyone’s got time to count. To find out which one is the very richest, check out our countdown of the 10 richest people in Connecticut.
10. Cliff Asness – Net Worth: $1.4 Billion
Kicking things of is Cliff Asness, the co-founder of AQR Capital Management, a Connecticut-based global investment management firm that oversees $140 billion in assets. In 2016, AQR received $35 million in financial aid from Connecticut’s State Bond Commission as part of a move to encourage companies to stay in Connecticut. Since 2018, the company’s fortunes have taken a downward turn as value investments have fallen out of favor. Even so, Asness’ personal fortune is still in good shape, with estimates putting his current value at around $1.4 billion.
9. Vince McMahon – Net Worth: $1.6 Billion
Next up is chairman and CEO of the entertainment company World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), Vince McMahon. McMahon, who grew up in a trailer park, took his first steps in business when he joined his father’s small wrestling company. Ten years later, he purchased the company and began turning what was, at the time, a small regional outfit into a global phenomenon. Today, WWE generates an annual revenue of around $1 billion a year, while McMahon, who also serves as the owner and founder of Alpha Entertainment, is worth a mammoth $1.6 billion. McMahon has contributed to numerous good causes over the years, including the Boys & Girls Club of Stanford, Connecticut.
8. Stephen Mandel – Net Worth: $2.1 Billion
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Stephen Mandel is the 8th richest person in Connecticut with a net worth of $2.1 billion. After graduating from Harvard University, Mandel began his career at Mars & Co. After that, he spent several years at Goldman, Sachs & Co. before joining hedge fund Tiger Management as a managing director. In 1997, he struck out to launch his own hedge fund, Lone Pine Capital. He now ranks as one of the richest hedge fund managers in the US.
7. Christian Haub – Net Worth: $2.9 Billion
Christian Haub is a German-born businessman who made his considerable fortune as the CEO of his family’s Tengelmann Group. The company started life as a small shop in Muelheim an der Ruhr in 1867, but has since expanded phenomenally: as well as owning the home improvement chain OBI, the clothing retailer Kiki, and the online retailer babymarkt.de, the group also has interests in real estate development, property management, energy, and consultancy. Haub, who took over the company after the death of his brother, Karl-Erivan, is now worth an estimated $2.9 billion.
6. Andreas Halvorsen – Net Worth: $6.3 Billion
Andreas Halvorsen is a Norwegian billionaire businessman whose net worth of $6.3 billion makes him the 6th richest person in Connecticut. After building a successful career with hedge fund Tiger Management, Halvorsen struck out on his own in 1999 to co-fund the Connecticut-based hedge fund Viking Global Investors. According to Forbes, the company now manages more than $25 billion in assets. In addition to serving as the CEO of Viking, Halvorsen holds numerous other positions with companies that include News Corp, Visa, and Time Warner.
5. Karen Pritzker – Net Worth: $5.2 Billion
With a net worth of $5.2 billion, Karen Pritzker ranks as the 5th richest person in Connecticut. Pritzker is a member of the famous Pritzker family, one of the wealthiest families in the US. The family (who, according to Wikipedia, have appeared in the top 10 of Forbes magazine’s “America’s Richest Families” list since it began in 1982) own the Hyatt hotel cooperation. Pritzker has worked as an editor and writer for various publications over the years, including Working Mother, Success, Seventeen, Kirkus Reviews, and Newsday. In 2012, she co-founded KPJR films, and has since gone on to produce several documentaries.
4. Paul Tudor Jones Net Worth – Net Worth $7.4 Billion
Paul Tudor Jones got his first job as a teenager writing on his father’s business paper, the Memphis Daily News. After realizing he’d prefer to do business than write about it, he switched to trading cotton futures at the New York Cotton Exchange, where he was mentored by legendary cotton trader Eli Tullis. In 1980, he broke away to fund Tudor Investment Corporation, a hedge fund that now manages around $9 billion in assets. In 2019, Jones and his wife committed to giving away most of their wealth to philanthropic causes as part of The Giving Pledge.
3. Steven Cohen – Net Worth: $16 Billion
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Steven Cohen is worth the grand sum of $16 billion. Cohen, who’s widely rumored to be the inspiration behind the character of Bobby Axelrod on Showtime’s “Billions,” made his fortune as the owner of Connecticut-based hedge fund S.A.C. Capital Advisors. The firm was one of the most successful hedge funds ever, but was forced to close after pleading guilty to insider trading charges. Cohen now runs Point72 Asset Management, a hedge fund with a reported $16 billion in assets.
2. Ray Dalio – Net Worth: $20 Billion
Just missing out on the title of the richest person in Connecticut is Ray Dalio, the founder of Bridgewater Associates. Dalio began playing the markets when he was just 12 years old, working off the tips offered by the golfers he caddied for in Long Island. After graduating from Harvard Business School, he launched Bridgewater from his New York apartment. It now ranks as the world’s biggest hedge fund, with around $150 billion in assets. Now worth a reported $20 million, Dalio has earned a reputation as a prolific philanthropist, having given away more than $850 million to charitable causes in recent decades.
1. Thomas Peterffy – Net Worth: $25 Billion
With a net worth of $25 billion, the richest person in Connecticut is digital trading pioneer, Thomas Peterffy. After emigrating to the US from Hungary in 1965, Peterffy began his career as an architectural draftsman before turning to computer programing. In 1977, he bought a seat on the American Stock Exchange. He subsequently became hugely instrumental in developing the first electronic trading platform for securities. In 1993, he founded Interactive Brokers, serving as its CEO until 2019 and its chair to this day. In addition to owning large swathes of land in Florida, Peterffy also owns an estate in Greenwich, Connecticut.
