NET WORTH:

$1.25 billion 14%

LAST YEAR: $1.1 billion

AGE: 66

RESIDENCE: Los Angeles

SOURCES OF WEALTH: Real estate, private equity

THE MONEY: His private equity firm, Colony Capital, active in range of industries; most investments recovered ground lost previous year. Upped his stake in Colony’s publicly traded real estate investment trust subsidiary, Colony Financial.

BUZZ: Made headlines over past 15 months for two unsuccessful attempts to buy major sports-entertainment franchises. Joined with Guggenheim Partners and Qatar Sports Investment to bid “less than $7 billion” for Anschutz Entertainment Group. Owner Philip Anschutz, reportedly seeking bids closer to $10 billion, took AEG off the market. Colony also among bidders for Los Angeles Dodgers but rejected by Major League Baseball before final round. Its portfolio estimated at $27 billion and includes office buildings, Napa vineyards, Swiss hospitals and stake in Sam Nazarian’s SBE hospitality group, as well as quirky investments such as Neverland Ranch and Annie Leibovitz’s photography portfolio. Managing owner of Miramax Films after co-investor Ron Tutor pulled out. Announced plans to invest up to $2 billion in France, Italy and Spain over next 18 months. Colony used an additional $2.5 billion to form unit to buy homes in South and Western United States to turn into rentals. Barrack is grandson of Lebanese emigrants; son of grocery chain owner who died last year at 96. Spent mid-1970s in Saudi Arabia arranging oil field deals; served in Reagan administration as deputy undersecretary at the Department of the Interior, then principal at Robert M. Bass Group. Earned reputation for distress investing in savings and loan crisis; founded Colony in 1991. Purchased home in Brentwood last year for $7.9 million; has 1,200-acre estate in Montecito that includes a vineyard. Spends summers in the south of Europe. Separated; has five children.