8 most secretive billionaires in the world, revealed: from Marvel’s Isaac Perlmutter who was ‘fired’ from Disney, to Chanel’s Alain and Gérard Wertheimer, and Frederick Barclay
It’s a rare day that passes without a headline about Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, or any number of the other flashy and seemingly press-loving billionaires.
That rumoured cage fight between Musk and Zuckerberg was a melee for media attention. (Most recently, a slew of MMA champs reportedly offered to coach Musk, even though Zuckerberg has since dubbed the fight challenge “not serious”). And Jeff Bezos can regularly be spotted on his US$500 million yacht with fiancée Lauren Sánchez.
But some others in the billionaire class are just the opposite, taking great care to stay out of the limelight.
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Here’s a sampling of some of the world’s most secretive and reclusive billionaires, how they built their fortunes, and how they’ve tried to avoided the public eye over the years.
(One necessary disclaimer: we may not even know about the really tight-lipped billionaires, who have managed to stay off the lists of Forbes, Bloomberg, and the like. The individuals and families named below did not immediately respond to requests for comment unless stated otherwise. Their net worths are accurate as of August 15.)
1. Philip Anschutz
You’ve probably heard of Coachella before, but the man behind the festival is far less well known.
Meet Philip Anschutz, who has been dubbed “America’s most reclusive billionaire”. His net worth sits at US$10.7 billion, according to Forbes.
The 83-year-old owns Anschutz Entertainment Group, or AEG, which is the parent company of Coachella. Before getting into entertainment, Anschutz made his money in oil and railways. He discovered an oilfield on the Wyoming-Utah border by 1979, and three years later, Mobil bought half of it for US$500 million.
He went on to buy the Rio Grande Railroad and the Southern Pacific Railroad in the 1980s, and sold them in 1995 for US$1.4 billion, while retaining the right to lay fibre-optic cables on them for telecoms services.
“Anschutz is sort of like the Wizard of Oz,” Los Angeles economist Jack Kyser told the Los Angeles Times in 2006. “He is the man behind the curtain pulling the levers. Nobody sees him, yet he has a huge impact on Los Angeles.”
2. Frederick Barclay
Identical twins David Barclay and Frederick Barclay were commonly referred to as the Barclay brothers. While David died in 2021, Frederick is still alive at 88 years old. In 2020, before David’s death, the brothers were estimated to be worth US$4 billion combined, by Forbes.
Still, much about the Barclays’ origin and empire-building remains unknown, with Forbes calling the brothers “the UK’s most infamous reclusive billionaires”. The pair were rarely photographed and together owned a private island.
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“We are private about everything we do,” David once said in a rare public comment. “It stems from our philosophy of not talking about ourselves, or claiming how clever we are, or boasting about how successful we have been. We would, anyway, claim that we have been more fortunate than many others.”
3. Cargill-MacMillan family
With an agricultural empire spanning seven generations, the Cargill-MacMillan clan runs Cargill, one of the largest privately held US companies by revenue. It’s the eighth-richest family in the world, according to an October 2022 Bloomberg ranking, and includes 12 billionaires, Forbes reported.
Pauline MacMillan Keinath is thought to have the largest stake in Cargill and is worth US$7.2 billion, while Martha, pictured above, is worth US$1.3 billion, Forbes estimates.
Founded in 1865 as a grain warehouse in Iowa, Cargill continues to be synonymous with agriculture first and foremost, but has expanded to also offer products and services in areas like pharmaceuticals, risk management, and transport and logistics.
4. Mars family
The Mars family is perhaps best known for their candy empire, with brands like M&M’s, Snickers, Twix and Dove. They also own food brands like Ben’s Original as well as petcare brands Pedigree, Iams and Cesar. They were listed as the second-richest family in the world, with a net worth of US$160 billion, in an October 2022 Bloomberg ranking.
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“The Mars family values the right to privacy and have never courted personal publicity,” Amy Weiss, spokesperson for the Mars family, said in a statement.
5. Ike Perlmutter
Isaac Perlmutter, who goes by Ike, amassed his wealth in action figure manufacturing, which ultimately led him to Marvel Comics. The 80-year-old became CEO of the company in 2005 and was responsible for its 2009 sale to Disney for US$4 billion. His net worth is US$3.9 billion, according to Forbes.
He “relishes his reputation as secretive and frugal”, The Hollywood Reporter said in a 2014 story, citing a top executive who’d worked with him.
His friends have chalked up his shy nature partly to his “thick” Israeli accent, according to the Financial Times.
In March, it was reported that Perlmutter was out at Disney as part of the company’s cost-cutting measures. Soon after, he confirmed that he was fired by the company in a rare interview with The Wall Street Journal.
6. Reimann family
One of Germany’s wealthiest families, the Reimanns, are behind conglomerate Jab Holding Company, which now owns brands like Krispy Kreme, Panera and Peet’s Coffee.
The family’s history in business dates back to the 1800s, when chemist Ludwig Reimann joined Johann A. Benckiser at Benckiser, a German chemical and industrial manufacturing company. Reimann married Benckiser’s daughter and, over the years, Reimann’s side of the family expanded the business – which is named for Benckiser’s initials – to include consumer goods.
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Though they’ve generally avoided the spotlight, the Reimanns made headlines in 2019 when they donated 10 million Euros to charity after uncovering the extent of their family’s Nazi history.
“There is nothing to gloss over. These crimes are disgusting,” Peter Harf, chairman of Jab, told Bild at the time.
The family has so shied away from the public eye that a search for photos of the Reimanns predominantly returned images of Harf – if anyone at all. A representative contacted for this article said the Reimann family did not have a comment about its approach to privacy.
7 and 8. Alain and Gérard Wertheimer
Alain and Gérard Wertheimer, both in their 70s, are third-generation owners of Chanel.
The brothers each have an estimated net worth of US$32.5 billion each, according to Forbes.
Alain and Gérard inherited the company when their father, Jacques Wertheimer, died in 1996. Alain is chairman of Chanel, while Gérard leads the company’s watch division. The brothers are each worth US$32.6 billion, according to Forbes.
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The New York Times has called the brothers “fashion’s quietest billionaires”. In a rare interview, Gérard told the Times in 2002 about their choice to stay under the radar.
“It’s about Coco Chanel. It’s about Karl. It’s about everyone who works and creates at Chanel. It’s not about the Wertheimers,” he said at the time, referring to Karl Lagerfeld, the fashion house’s former creative director.
Chanel, the company, long had a secretive approach to handling its financials, going 108 years before releasing any. When it first did so in 2018, it reported total sales of US$9.62 billion for the 2017 calendar year.
This article originally appeared on Insider.
