Net Worth: $8.5 billion

LAST YEAR: $7.5 billion
CHANGE: 15%
AGE: 64
RESIDENCE: Beverly Hills
SOURCE OF WEALTH: Retail

Smidt and his father, Allan, started Harbor Freight Tools in 1977 in North Hollywood. Today the company reports $8 billion in revenue. Eric Smidt became the sole shareholder of Harbor Freight in 1999, after buying his father’s stake for $21 million. His father filed a lawsuit in 2010. The case was settled a year later. Cedars-Sinai Medical Center announced in 2018 a $50 million gift from Smidt and his wife Susan and the Smidt Foundation to create the Smidt Heart Institute at the health care facility.

Education: Smidt did not attend college.

Charitable Giving: Smidt is the chair of the Smidt Foundation, which had total assets of $266 million as of the end of 2022. In 2013, Smidt and his wife created Harbor Freight Tools for Schools, a philanthropic initiative that supports skilled trades education.

Homelife: Smidt and his wife live in a 35-room Beverly Hills mansion whose previous residents include late oilman Marvin Davis and late country singer Kenny Rogers.

Art Stake: Smidt owns artwork valued at nearly $100 million, including some from artists like Salvador Dali, Mark Rothko and Jackson Pollock.