Net Worth:

$1.4 billion +16%

Last Year:

$1.2 billion

Age:

54

Residence:

Beverly Hills

Source of Wealth:

Leveraged buyouts

The Money:

Rebound in technology helped swell value of his Gores Group, which specializes in telecommunications and information technology sectors. The private equity firm also has stakes in industrial machinery and raw materials, both of which saw growth last year.

Buzz:

Gores Group continues to buy, sell and grow. In April, the firm paid $47.5 million for the diagnostic centers of HealthSouth Corp. In November, a Gores affiliate acquired an operation from Verizon Communications that provides telecommunications services to prisons. In September, Gores sold Revere Inc., a maker of enterprise asset management software. Israeli-born Gores came to U.S. in 1968, started private investment firm in 1987. Worked with younger brother Tom until they split in 1995. Gores Group has invested in more than 40 companies, usually holding them two to five years with independent operations. Last year, Alec was peripherally pulled into the Anthony Pellicano wiretapping scandal when an illegally recorded telephone conversation between Alec’s wife and his brother Tom Gores surfaced during the FBI investigation.