17. Jeffrey Skoll

NET WORTH: $4.6 billion
AGE: 55
RESIDENCE: Beverly Hills
SOURCE OF WEALTH: Investments, ecommerce, entertainment
LAST YEAR: $4 billion
CHANGE: +15%

THE MONEY: While Covid-19 has hammered the entertainment industry, Jeffrey Skoll and Participant Media saw an unexpected windfall after the studio’s 2011 film “Contagion,” featuring Gwyneth Paltrow as “Patient 0” in a global pandemic, became one of the year’s the top-selling home viewing titles. In addition to leading Participant, Skoll is chairman of Capricorn Investment Group, a hedge fund he founded and uses to manage his various ventures, which includes the Skoll Foundation.

THE BUZZ: Skoll, who was born in Montreal, was the first president of eBay. He used that early success as a jumping-off point into other industries as well as his philanthropic efforts. Those efforts include the Skoll Global Threats Fund, which he launched in 2011 with a $100 million investment. The fund, which was closed in 2017, focused on five worldwide threats, including pandemics. This year, Skoll set aside $200 million through his Skoll Foundation to combat Covid-19, bringing his total philanthropic contributions to well over $1 billion. His other businesses also mix in an element of social consciousness, including Participant Media. The studio’s 19 Oscar wins include Best Picture for “Green Book” and Best Foreign Language Film for “Roma.”

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