Forbes: Providence Equity Partners CEO richest person in R.I.

PROVIDENCE EQUITY PARTNERS CEO Jonathan Nelson is the richest person in Rhode Island, according to Forbes. / BLOOMBERG FILE PHOTO/ANDREW HARRER
PROVIDENCE EQUITY PARTNERS CEO Jonathan Nelson is the richest person in Rhode Island, according to Forbes. / BLOOMBERG FILE PHOTO/ANDREW HARRER

PROVIDENCE – Jonathan Nelson, Providence Equity Partners’ CEO, is the richest person in Rhode Island, according to Forbes, which released its list Wednesday of the richest person in every state.
Nelson was 38th on the list for a net worth of $1.8 billion. Forbes said Nelson, a Brown University graduate, proved once again that he is “not a typical Wall Street billionaire” by admitting last year that his firm was coming off a series of mistakes, including a loss of $800 million after one of its investments, security firm Altegrity, filed for bankruptcy.
“Nelson claims his $40 billion firm is now back on track. Investors are banking on Nelson’s return to form, recalling deals such as the $1.8 billion sale of its 25 percent stake in AutoTrader, triple what Providence originally paid for it,” Forbes wrote.

Forbes said this is the second year it has done the list, which features 54 tycoons, as four states had ties, worth a total of $682 billion. Their fortunes average $12.6 billion, and all but eight of them are billionaires.
“Some inherited their fortunes,” Forbes wrote. “Most built it themselves in ways as distinct as the places they call home.”
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates again was named the richest person in the United States with a net worth of $76 billion, Forbes said.
It said Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg landed on the list for the first time as the richest person in California with a net worth of $51.6 billion; he ranked third overall.
Abigail Johnson, president and CEO of FMR LLC, the parent company of Fidelity Investments, is the richest person in Massachusetts – and 13th overall in the U.S. – with a net worth of $14.7 billion. Forbes said she took over as CEO in 2014, replacing her father, Edward “Ned” Johnson III, becoming the third Johnson to lead the mutual fund company, which is the second-largest in the nation, behind only Vanguard. Her grandfather Edward Johnson II founded the business in 1946.

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