Net Worth:
$4.5 billion
Last Year:
Age:
84
Residence:
Los Angeles
Source of Wealth:
Agriculture, real estate
Wealth:
Major assets include privately-held Dole Food Co. Inc. and Castle & Cooke Inc., both of which Murdock took private. Dole and residential developer Castle & Cooke are valued at approximately $2 billion each, holding steady from last year, according to figures provided by Murdock.
Buzz:
The octogenarian, self-made billionaire still oversees his vast network of private holdings, including 98 percent of Lanai in Hawaii, the largest privately owned island in America. Murdock is an advocate of healthy eating following the death of his wife, which he at least partially blamed on meat-heavy fatty diet. He opened a state-of-the-art wellness complex in Westlake Village last year. The complex is branded as a Four Seasons Hotel & Spa and houses the California WellBeing Institute, which includes medical facilities, a healthy lifestyle teaching center and a television studio. Is privately funding a $1.5 billion 350-acre complex in North Carolina that will include a core laboratory and office space, as well as 700 residential units and commercial space. Big donor to the Republican Party, giving to former N.Y. Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s 2008 presidential campaign. He is a breeder of more than 200 prized Arabian horses, has a 30,000-plant orchid collection and collects art and antique furniture.
