Net Worth: $7.5 B

LAST YEAR: 5.4
CHANGE: 39%
AGE: 63
RESIDENCE: Beverly Hills
SOURCE OF WEALTH: Retail

THE MONEY: Harbor Freight Tools is an empire built on tool retailing, and it was pushed by tailwinds during the pandemic, a time in which many people turned to do-it-yourself projects. The company’s revenue topped $7 billion last year, up from $5 billion in the year prior. Chief Executive Eric Smidt has led the company to rapidly expand, and there’s now a Harbor Freight Tools store in all but two states. Smidt owns the private company as well as a diverse real estate portfolio that continues to grow in value; it includes the famed Knoll Estate in Beverly Hills, worth an estimated $54 million.

THE BUZZ:Harbor Freight has been opening stores at the rate of up to two a week and has more than 1,450 locations nationwide. Smidt also founded and chairs The Smidt Foundation, which reported close to $300 million in assets as of the end of 2021; it donated $5 million to the Holocaust Museum in Pan Pacific Park. In addition to his philanthropy, Smidt is on the board of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, which raised $5.1 million last year.