Forbes - USA (February 2018)

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TO THE 2018





HONOREES PRESENTED BY





Forbes and SHOOK Research have teamed up
to host the second annual gathering of the world’s
top preeminent wealth advisors and industry
PARTNERS
leaders. This exclusive forum—convening a group
that represents nearly $1 trillion of assets under
management—will provide the industry’s highest-level
insights tailored for America’s most elite advisors.



























SUPPORTING SPONSOR

Entrepreneurs DIVERSITY



lieve that diversity is in itself a core strength that ing officer in 2015, they made it a priority to fi nd MARGIN

will enable us to write better software and build a woman. Lexi Reese, a veteran of Google and PROPHET
better products,” he wrote. American Express, is one of two women on the
In line with more than 80% of startups, ac- six-person executive team, and fi rmwide, women
cording to a 2017 Crunchbase study, Gus- account for 51% of Gusto’s 525 employees. Even

to’s three founders are men. Kim and Gusto’s after Gusto began its diversity initiative, applica-

CEO, Joshua Reeves, both 34, met as under- tions from women didn’t flood in. Gusto assigned
grads in Stanford’s electrical engineering depart- two in-house recruiters to the job, and it hired


ment. They launched Gusto in 2012 along with TalentDash, a Singapore-based firm that sources
Tomer London, 33, an Israeli immigrant who got talent, to look exclusively for women.

to know Reeves while a Ph.D. student at Stan- Though hiring women engineers took more
ford. Like its boom-and-bust competitor, Zene- time, Kim says, Gusto never dropped its stan-

fits, which launched the following year, Gusto dards. “It bothers me when people say that prior- WAREHOUSE
sells cloud-based comprehensive subscription itizing diversity lowers the bar in terms of the cal- À LA CARTE
software to small businesses to help them man- iber of talent you’re able to hire,” he says. “Th at is

Getting goods from
age employee records like payroll and health simply not true.” Nor, he says, was there any push- supplier to store is a

benefits. At the outset Gusto even had a simi- back from inside Gusto. $163 billion global industry
ripe for a rethink, says
lar name, ZenPayroll, which it changed in 2015 Gusto also addressed its compensation policy.
Sean Henry, the 21-year-old
when it started offering a more complete selec- Since 2016 its salaries have been audited by Mercer, cofounder of Stord, an


tion of employee-tracking soft ware. a human resources consulting firm, which has found Atlanta-based on-demand
warehouse service.

Zenefits attracted $584 million in venture cap- no gender pay disparity. Benefits include 16 weeks of

paid leave for a primary parent, So you’re a kind of
warehouse Airbnb?
HOW TO PLAY IT BY JOHN BUCKINGHAM plus an additional $100 a week Customers choose us not
for groceries and food deliver- just for our warehouses
At Armonk, New York’s IBM, spreading the gospel of but for our software. The
ies, $100 a month for six months
diversity has been a priority during the tenure of chief industry runs off emails,
of housecleaning and up to $500
executive Virginia Rometty. She wasn’t dealt a pretty phones and faxes—the
for a baby-sleep coach. average warehouse order
hand when she took the helm in 2012, but she has takes 25 minutes of human
played many of her cards well, buying back stock and Gusto’s women- only re- interaction. We said, “If

boosting the dividend. She’s also invested heavily in cruiting effort lasted six we build software to give
IBM’s Strategic Im peratives business, which includes analytics, cloud, months. It stopped, Kim says, customers more transpar-
mobile and security and accounts for nearly 50% of sales. The stock because “we exceeded our ency into trucks and
has a 3.6% dividend yield and is a bargain at 12 times next year’s warehouses, we can help
goals.” In 2015 Gusto was them be more effi cient.”
earnings.
trying to hit 18% women en-
How many facilities


John Buckingham is chief investment officer of AFAM Capital and gineers, the proportion ma- do you have?
editor of The Prudent Speculator.
joring in computer science as In the ballpark of 160.
undergraduates, according to We go to mom-and-pop
operators and tell them
ital and hit a valuation of $4.5 billion in 2015 be- the National Center for Education Statistics, and Stord can give them access
fore running into regulatory problems relat- it reached 21%. Since then it has started staff - to customers that wouldn’t


ed to the way it sold health insurance. It sacked ing a Denver office, where it aims to increase the otherwise use them.
its CEO, reworked its business model and saw its engineer head count by at least 25 this year and How do you persuade them
valuation slashed to $2 billion. Gusto, meanwhile, where the company is reprising its women-only to adopt this new model?
grew less feverishly. By late 2015 it had raised recruiting strategy. Now that 17 of Gusto’s 70 en- Everyone’s competing on
delivery speed against
$176 million from firms like CapitalG (formerly gineers are female, it’s getting a little easier, says

Amazon. We can integrate
Google Capital) and General Catalyst, and 75 in- Gusto’s HR head, Maryanne Brown Caughey. our software into their

dividual investors handpicked by Reeves, includ- “It’s kind of a domino effect,” she says. “Women existing warehouses, then
see where they need to
ing Ashton Kutcher and PayPal cofounder Max know they’re joining a welcoming community.”
add distribution points

Levchin. That year it broke through to a $1.1 bil- While Gusto has made progress, its engineer- in Stord’s network for a
lion valuation. Forbes estimates Gusto’s annual ing team has no Latinos and no African-Amer- better supply chain.
revenue at nearly $100 million. icans. Kim says Gusto has two hiring goals in How fast can Stord move?
At the start, Gusto’s founders acknowledge, 2018: senior women and racial diversity in en- If Walmart in Georgia MARGIN PROPHET BY AMY FELDMAN LEFT: THOMAS KUHLENBECK FOR FORBES

diversity was on the back burner, and as it gineering. “The way we make progress is by fo- orders 5,000 units from a
supplier and that supplier
grew, they found that it didn’t happen organi- cusing on one problem,” Kim says, “and then we needs a new warehouse
cally. When it came time to hire a chief operat- move on to the next.” in Atlanta, they can get it
within 24 hours.
FINAL THOUGHT
“Urging an organization to be inclusive is not an attack. It’s progress.” —DASHANNE STOKES
50 | FORBES FEBRUARY 28, 2018

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TION
SPECIAL ADVERTISTING SECTION
SPECIAL
SEC
AD
VER
TISTING
JAPAN:


LOOKS TO THE FUTURE

Japanese Companies Ideally Positioned to Power a B2C Revival in 2018.



Japanese companies face a unique and envy-
inducing opportunity in 2018. Those that are
prepared to take on more risk in the markets
while channeling fund stockpiles towards
workers have the chance to kick-start the
business-to-consumer (B2C) sector, after
years of relying on exports and the busi-
ness-to-business (B2B) market. At the same
time, artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics
are playing an increasingly important role
in the workplace, and companies with the
foresight to adapt to unfolding technologi-
cal developments will be in the driving seat
when it comes to cheaper unit-per-cost
manufacturing.
Japanese companies have built up in-
house fund stockpiles to levels now esti-
mated to outstrip gross domestic product
(GDP) by as much as a multiple of three.
Those funds have been progressively squir-
reled away since the global financial crisis,
mirroring moves by risk-averse individuals
to remove funds from the markets and keep
them in low-interest bank accounts.

Fresh Incentives
But Japan now stands at a crossroads. The
risk-off stance of both companies and indi-
viduals will be difficult to maintain amid a
shrinking labor market, which has also seen a
depletion of experience and talent as skilled
labor retires without immediate replacement. AI -equipped robots such as Pepper (above) will have a huge role
Japanese companies that empower to play in driving growth over the next decade.
younger workers with greater upfront returns,
in terms of higher wages, can help fuel a self-
perpetuating consumer boom. production plants. CEOs interviewed for realities of this new world. Companies that
This move would entail companies shifting this special edition agree that robots of the develop managers and skilled labor capable
away from the longstanding export and B2B- future will be more intelligent, more adapt- of using robots as their servants, and not as
driven economic model that has sustained able, and eventually able to anticipate human their workplace masters, will also avoid the
Japan for decades, and reinventing them- needs more rapidly and more selectively than possible polarization in the workplace, where
selves in a domestic-demand-driven B2C humans can. low-end labor may be forced to compete
market. The ensuing multiplier effect would Companies that develop and harness the with robots for jobs.
not only underpin statistics such as GDP but effective use of such robots will be at the cut- 2018 marks 10 years since the onset of the
also boost loan demand and drive interest ting edge of manufacturing by the end of the global financial crisis. Japanese companies
rates out of the deflationary zone. first quarter of the 21st century, particularly have put this decade to good use, rebuild-
as they take in more young workers imbued ing balance sheets, creating new overseas
Rise of the Robots with the values of the new millennium. markets, and replacing obsolete plants
AI and robotics will also play a greater and Industry leaders will be those that not and equipment. It is now time to reopen
more influential role going forward. Gone only effectively utilize AI and robotic power the floodgates and power the potential of
is the idea of robots as slave machines in but also prepare their staff for the emerging domestic growth.

1 Japan

SPECIAL ADVERTISTING SECTION



CANON:



STRUCTURAL CHANGES SPUR STRONG GROWTH

AT FUTURE-DRIVEN IMAGING TECH LEADER



Innovation and developing new areas of business are at the heart of Canon’s Excellent Global Corporation Plan,
as the company’s Chairman, Fujio Mitarai, explains.


One could be forgiven for thinking that Fujio from making analog products to digital. We Pivoting and Accelerating
Mitarai has discovered some secret energy also increased manufacturing efficiency Fortunately, the firm had both the resources
source all of his own. Whatever force powers tremendously through automation. Both and the strategic vision to execute this pivotal
the dynamic Chairman and CEO of Canon of these were smart moves, and they led to shift. In less than a decade, Mitarai oversaw
Inc., it must be both potent and inexhaust- increased growth for several years. However, a major transformation in the Canon Group’s
ible, because he is always in motion. Even it also became clear to me that our mainstay business portfolio, resulting in new busi-
after decades at the top at Canon, he never product lines were maturing. When I looked nesses that are already turning into powerful
seems to tire or slow down, and he remains at our cameras, printers and copiers, I knew growth engines for the company.
the firm’s most knowledgeable and articulate that they would continue to grow, but never For example, Canon is known worldwide
spokesperson. as strongly as they did in the past.” for its cameras and lenses, but concentrating
“Companies all talk about innovation these The inescapable conclusion was that only on individual consumers was not leading
days,” he says forcefully. “For Canon, it is a life- wringing more profitability from mature to strong growth. The obvious answer was
or-death issue. We must keep innovating if markets would be difficult. The answer, Mita- to shift more towards B2B solutions, selling
we want to grow.” rai felt, was twofold: the company must con- more professional-use products to corporate
Mitarai notes that all consumer product tinue to be innovative with its old product clients such as film studios. The company was
firms feel constant pressure to innovate by lines and create state-of-the-art products, able to do that with ease, and Canon prod-
developing new products, but for Canon, the but it must also rethink its business portfolio. ucts are now widely used by professional cin-
bigger challenge was to transform the very Canon needed to expand in areas where it ematographers. But Mitarai wasn’t satisfied.
structure of its business. already had expertise and look for new areas He was still looking to the future.
“Towards the end of the 20th century, we where it could leverage its existing technolo- “The world is steadily becoming more
saw the digital boom coming, and we shifted gies in higher growth business fields. crowded and more interconnected,” he

































Fujio Mitarai, Chairman and CEO, Canon Inc. Axis's network cameras provide surveillance over urban areas.

Japan 2

SPECIAL ADVERTISTING SECTION





































Canon has become a major player in healthcare with the acquisition of Toshiba Medical Systems.


explains. “I see a growing need in every mod- “That led us to acquire Axis, a Swedish firm and knew immediately that this was an ideal
ern society for a greater sense of personal that excels in network video technologies, match. This was not merely an opportunity
safety and peace of mind. Contributing to and the Danish company Milestone Systems, for Canon to become a major player in medi-
increased safety and security will be a huge a leader in image processing software, and cal equipment. It was also a good way to use
growth area. But how could Canon achieve welcome them into our Group. By adding our vast knowledge and experience to help
that?” Canon’s lenses, sensors and other imaging humankind.”
One key sector was network cameras. technology, we created one of the world’s In 2016, Canon formally acquired TMSC,
Conventional surveillance cameras have leading network camera companies. And one of the world leaders in large-scale medi-
been used in crime prevention for some this area is going to grow strongly for years cal equipment such as CT and MRI scanners,
time, but the concept of utilizing networks of to come.” as well as ultrasound imaging systems. The
high-resolution cameras backed by top-end union of Canon’s and TMSC’s technologies
image processing, facial recognition software Game-changing Growth has produced one of the world’s strongest
and other analytics is already taking hold in Mitarai is an active spokesman for the value of and most innovative firms in the field of
retail marketing (analyzing customer traffic, network cameras in multiple fields, and also medical equipment: Canon Medical Systems
for example) and in factories and warehouses, for the power of Canon Group companies to Corporation.
where the technology is used to critically contribute to society by developing this tech- “We need to grow by identifying and
examine workflows and operational bottle- nology. His other big concern for the future developing new business areas,” Mitarai says.
necks to improve efficiency. The number of is the healthcare business, which is another “And wherever possible, we want to do just
potential applications seem to be increasing significant area where the firm can grow by what we did with network cameras, medical
by the day. helping to improve lives. Canon was already equipment and other fields—develop busi-
“I knew Canon had a great deal to con- well known for making excellent diagnostic nesses that provide real value to society.”
tribute to this business—not just cameras, and imaging devices, such as portable X-ray In much the same way, the company also
lenses, sensors and digital image processing, detectors. However, it did not make the big- re-examined its printer business. Canon is
but also our manufacturing know-how and ticket items, such as CT scanners, that domi- well known for both home-use and office-
our global sales network. Even so, we were nate the sector. use printers. Yet those products were not
newcomers to this market,” Mitarai admits. Then, the perfect complement to its busi- growing as they had in the past, and incre-
“In order to enter the network camera market, ness appeared on the horizon, a develop- mental innovations would not return double-
Canon first built an appropriate internal orga- ment that Mitarai relates with obvious joy. digit growth.
nizational structure. Then we examined the “When we first learned that Toshiba Medical “We looked around to see what was grow-
global market and looked at the competing Systems Corporation (TMSC) might become ing in the printing sector,” Mitarai explains,
firms, and only then did we decide to partner available, we looked at the synergies with our “And the answer was commercial print-
with a few of the world’s top companies. existing Medical Equipment Business Group ing—catalogs, posters, including package

3 Japan

SPECIAL ADVERTISTING SECTION




printing, and so on. The commercial printing shift towards B2B products. Then, it identified “We will continue to use M&A to strengthen
business is a different world from the field key business fields that it wanted to develop, our healthcare, printing and network camera
of printing we were used to. So, in 2010, we located the ideal global partners to expedite businesses. We will do whatever is necessary
welcomed the Dutch firm Océ, a major name those developments and employed Mergers to support these new businesses and seek
in the business, into the Canon Group. The & Acquisitions (M&A) to accelerate the adop- out others.”
synergies between our two businesses are tion of new technologies. And what other areas might be of interest
tremendous.” During Phase IV of the plan, the firm to Canon? “We are looking seriously at the
acquired the technologies it needed to build Internet of Things (IoT). IoT involves optical
Achieving Global Excellence a stronger, innovation-driven business, and sensors that can transmit data. Canon has
Canon is currently in Phase V of a long-term by the start of Phase V it was already reap- the lenses and the digital image processing
effort it calls the Excellent Global Corporation ing the benefits of its vision. Few companies to make all kinds of sensors, but we don’t
Plan. The current five-year plan, due to con- even half Canon’s size could execute and have the large-scale networking technol-
clude in 2020, is designed to carry the com- digest such a strategic pivot and book the ogy or the software to run it. We believe the
pany to new heights, including an increasing results so quickly. control system that connects and manages
share of B2B revenue and the growth of new Putting it succinctly, Mitarai notes that those huge data flows is the key to IoT. That
businesses. growth from old-line products was in single will involve AI, so AI networking technologies
To outside observers, however, it appears digits last year, while total growth from new will be a major growth area. That is one of our
that the company has already accomplished businesses was more than twice. He points next big targets.”
more than that which is generally set out in out that these numbers will naturally decline So should we expect to see Canon making
any medium-term plan. Specifically, it suc- over time, but the fact that in such a short bold acquisitions in the AI field soon? Mitarai
cessfully executed two of the most signifi- time they are adding to Canon’s bottom is tactful with his answer. “We aren’t limited
cant shifts in the past few decades of Japa- line (and boosting dividends for investors) is to using M&A. We can partner with universi-
nese business. First, Canon began a strategic impressive. ties, private companies or public institutions.
There are many ways to move ahead.”
In conclusion, it seems only fitting to ask
what drives this executive dynamo to keep
both himself and his company in constant
motion. His reply reflects his perspective on
the Canon of yesterday, today and tomorrow.
“The period from about 2000-2007 was a
golden age for us, with constant increases in
sales and profits from our mainstream prod-
ucts. Then those areas matured, and now we
are developing a range of new businesses,
which are all doing well. I expect to see a sec-
ond golden age for Canon in the very near
future.”














A native of Kyushu, Japan, Mitarai decided
not to follow his father and brothers into
medical school, but instead joined Canon,
where his uncle served as the first president.
Five years later, he was posted to the U.S.,
where he stayed for 23 years, eventually
becoming President of Canon U.S.A. Back
in Japan, he was later appointed President,
CEO and then Chairman of Canon.

Canon moved into commercial printing in 2010 with the acquisition of Océ. global.canon

Japan 4



SPECIAL ADVERTISTING SECTION



KIKKOMAN



CORPORATION:



MULTIPLE MILESTONES HIGHLIGHT A CENTURY OF QUALITY


Global food giant Kikkoman Corporation just marked the 100th anniversary of its incorporation in Japan, but
the company is even prouder of its achievements overseas.


Yuzaburo Mogi, Honorary CEO and Chairman products,” he says proudly. “Quality for the Taiwan, Thailand, China, the Philippines, and
of the Board of Kikkoman Corporation, is a end consumer became our guiding principle. Australia, Kikkoman’s ongoing Asian expan-
nigh ageless embodiment of his company’s And that has never changed.” sion began with a plant in Singapore. How-
philosophy, and also the firm’s most energetic ever, Mogi says they are too busy meeting
spokesman. From Japan to the World growing Asian demand to think about the
“This is a time of anniversaries,” Mogi says, Mogi notes that this year also marks the 45th 35th anniversary of this plant in 2020.
beaming. “We just celebrated the 100th anniversary of the company’s first overseas “Asian consumers already have their own
anniversary of the establishment of what is plant in Walworth, Wisconsin and the 20th local seasonings that are similar to soy sauce,”
now Kikkoman Corporation. Although our anniversary of its Folsom, California plant. The he notes. “However, they are not accustomed
business goes back centuries, we legally two facilities have helped make Kikkoman a to the richly flavored, aromatic sauce that is
incorporated in 1917.” household name in North America. the hallmark of Kikkoman. We are already
Asked about the company’s century of But Kikkoman is a Japanese company. Surely seeing solid growth in these markets, and I
changes, Mogi says it’s more important to the Japanese plants are more important? expect even greater results in the future.”
talk about what has not changed: “Our focus “Kikkoman is a global company,” he For a company that has been around in one
on consumers has been at the center of corrects. “One with a proud Japanese form or another for centuries, it is inspiring to
Kikkoman’s approach since the beginning.” He heritage. But our overseas markets contribute hear the chairman talk seriously about “the
notes that even before its legal incorporation, more to our sales and profits. America is very next hundred years.” Mogi is constantly look-
the soy sauce brewer set up a research important, and Europe and Asia are growing ing to the future, envisioning more growth in
laboratory. rapidly.” today’s markets and the prospect of opening
“Our research facility worked constantly Mogi smiles again, for there are more up new markets in South America and Africa
to improve and unify the quality of our celebrations to discuss. “At the end of last in the decades to come. But some things, he
year we marked the 20th anniversary of our points out, will never change. “Even a hundred
European flagship plant in the Netherlands, years from now, our focus will still be on the
which is our production base for the region.” consumer,” he says.
He points out that the European and American
markets are vastly different. While the U.S. has
regional variations in culinary styles, in general
“American”-style cooking is more similar than
different. Not so with Europe.
“Each country in Europe has a different
food culture, and some have more than one,”
he explains. “Because Kikkoman is so highly
consumer-oriented, that means respecting,
celebrating, and becoming a part of 20 or
30 different food cultures. We are constantly
developing recipes and different ways to use Yuzaburo Mogi is a descendant of one of
our products that will enhance each different the founding families of Kikkoman, which is
local cuisine.” one of the oldest continually running busi-
nesses in Japan. He became company Presi-
A Taste for Growth dent in 1995, was named Chairman in 2004,
His approach must be working, because Euro- and assumed the title of Honorary CEO and
pean sales have been growing in double dig- Chairman of the Board in 2011. Mogi holds
its for over a decade. Growth is the name of an MBA from Columbia University.
Yuzaburo Mogi, Honorary CEO and Chairman the game in Asia as well. Although the com-
of the Board of Kikkoman Corporation pany now has factories and/or sales offices in www.kikkoman.com

Japan 6



SPECIAL ADVERTISTING SECTION




THK:



BOOSTING GROWTH CAPACITY THROUGH AI AND ROBOTICS


Akihiro Teramachi, Chief Executive Officer and President of THK Co., Ltd, is looking to increase his company’s
growth capacity by leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) and robotics in the face of a shrinking labor market.


THK, the company that pioneered the Linear China and Vietnam to maximize production need to develop human resources capable
Motion Guide mechanism, has also relocated in response to soaring demand driven by the of qualifying for this high-income group at
its head office to strengthen group-wide rise of the Internet of Things (IoT), the auto- THK, even while society becomes polarized,”
cooperation, improve operational efficiency, mobile industry, and also as a result of the he says.
and enhance business continuity planning. In automation of production facilities.
addition, the company is investing in Japan, “We have our hands full just keeping up Changing Minds
with demand,” says Teramachi. “In addition Education, training and self-awareness are
to the spread of IoT, semiconductor-related vital in this process, but one hurdle is that
investment is expanding as a result of the the global education system continues to
increase in electric vehicles and advances in revolve around the idea that humans are irre-
self-driving technologies. We are also see- placeable. Teramachi believes it is essential
ing increased overall demand for our prod- for people to be able to adapt to changes
ucts given the steady growth in investment in society and the environment, and that we
related to the automation of production facil- must develop an education system that sup-
ities against a backdrop of labor shortages.” ports this.
“The good thing about the Japanese is that
Brave New World they are a close-knit, homogenous and duti-
Teramachi has triggered a major change in ful society, which is extremely useful when it
the company’s business style driven by AI, comes to ensuring quality and safety. On the
robotics and IoT as the third strategic pillar other hand, these qualities can also impede
for THK. The challenge is to develop products the launching of, and reactions to, change.
that match changing needs, and to simulta- If the Japanese education system can be
neously consider sales-based uses and other steered towards providing pupils with a
applications. sense of independence and self-respect,
And yet, Teramachi is wary of over-reliance along with a healthy appreciation for change
on AI and robotics. “If we allow robots to pen- while maintaining its other positive points,
etrate society in their existing format, they then there is a good chance it can develop
will not be in a position to purchase goods or students capable of guiding global society in
services, leading to shrinking consumption, a better direction,” Teramachi says.
smaller markets, and an atrophied economy.
In addition, humans would lose their position
in the workplace. We must avoid this state of
affairs,” he says.
“Looking ahead, humans must actively
trust their work to AI and robotics, and focus
their efforts on high-value-added creative
work in other areas where this is not possible,
such as anticipating needs that others cannot
see. The 10,000-plus employees of the THK
Group may be forced to alter the way they
perform their jobs,” Teramachi says.
With robots gaining the ability to do tasks Akihiro Teramachi graduated from
currently performed by mid-income class Keio University in 1971 and joined THK
workers, Teramachi sees a high potential for Co., Ltd. in 1975. He became a Direc-
the workplace to polarize, between low-sal- tor in 1982 and Vice President in 1994,
ary labor hired at costs that undercut robot- before taking over as CEO in 1997.
Akihiro Teramachi, Chief Executive Officer and ics, and high-income workers who need to
President of THK Co., Ltd. be able to constantly think on their feet. “We www.thk.com

Japan 8

CHANGPENG ZHAO CREATIVE STYLE DIRECTOR: JOSEPH DEACETIS; STYLE EDITOR: JOHN ANTHONY BONILLA; HAIR: NADINE NASSIF; GROOMING: NIA VALCIN



60 | FORBES FEBRUARY 28, 2018

F I N T E C H



















































THE CRAZIEST BUBBLE EVER HAS CREATED BILLION-DOLLAR FORTUNES.

MEET THE FREAKS, GEEKS AND MESSIANIC VISIONARIES WHO HAVE
SCORED CRYPTOCURRENCY RICHES.





REPORTED BY PAMELA AMBLER, ANGEL AU-YEUNG, GRACE CHUNG, JEFF KAUFLIN, ALEX KONRAD, LAURA SHIN AND NATHAN VARDI.


n the world of cryptocurrency, where billion-dollar fortunes can be made overnight, speed is everything—
and CZ is the fastest of them all. From closet-size offices in Tokyo—“I would touch four people if I turned


around in a circle”—the 41-year-old Chinese-Canadian coder runs Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange
that has gone from a standing start to the largest on the planet in just under 180 days. CZ (born Changpeng

Zhao) cut his teeth making high-frequency trading systems for Wall Street’s flash boys, and he built Binance
to be a Ferrari. His exchange can process a blazing 1.4 million transactions a second and on a peak trading
I day in January processed 3.5 billion new orders, cancels and trades. Speculators (some 25% of them from
the U.S.) use Binance to trade 120 different coins, generating $200 million in profits for CZ’s exchange last quarter.


BNB, the virtual coin CZ created in August that gives holders a 50% discount on trading fees, has a market cap of $1.3
bil lion. His stake in Binance and his coins give CZ a personal fortune worth as much as $2 billion.
PHOTOGRAPHER JAMEL TOPPIN FOR FORBES
FEBRUARY 28, 2018 FORBES | 61





F I N T E C H
CR YPT O BILLIONAIRES


He is hardly alone in becoming in-
sanely and instantly rich from cryp-
to. Chris Larsen, a longtime tech exec
known for cofounding a string of fi n-
tech apps, saw his net worth fl irt with
$20 billion at the height of cryptomania
in early January, based on his ownership
of 5.2 billion XRP, the tokens of Rip-
ple, the company he founded. XRP has
since crashed 65%, but Larsen still tops
Forbes’ first crypto rich list, our (nec-

essarily inexact) accounting of the 20
wealthiest people in crypto.
There are now nearly 1,500 crypto-

assets in existence, valued at an aggre-
gate of $550 billion, up 31 times since
the beginning of 2017. While the pric-
es of individual cryptocoins continue to
swing wildly—Bitcoin is down almost
50% from its peak—it’s clear that block-
chain-based currency is here to stay and
that these virtual assets have real, albe-
it volatile and speculative, value. Black-
market transactions, tax avoidance by
individuals and sanctions-dodging by
countries like North Korea fuel part of
the demand, but so does a widespread
excitement over the technology and an
ideological desire for money to be free
from the whimsies of nation-states.

The winners of this digital lottery dif-
fer from those in previous manias. Th e
shadowy beginnings, at once anarchis-
tic, utopian and libertarian, drew an odd
lot of pioneers who ranged from anties- BROCK PIERCE
tablishment cypherpunks and electrici-
ty-guzzling “miners” to prescient Silicon
Valley financiers and a larger-than-usual assortment of the just tered in cold storage around the country in other people’s

plain lucky “hodlers” (the typo-inspired crypto jargon for “buy names. But the incident underscores the weirdness that sepa-
and hold” investors). As in any gold rush, selling the pans and rates cryptomania from bubbles past.
pickaxes—in this case running exchanges—is proving a more Identifying the biggest crypto winners and estimating the
reliable path to riches than speculation. And, of course, easy scale of their wealth is no simple task. The virtual currencies

money—especially if it’s viewed as a bearer asset—attracts scam exist almost entirely outside the global financial system, and the

artists and thieves. newly minted crypto rich live in a strange milieu that blends
Banking heir Matthew Mellon, whose $2 million investment paranoid secrecy with ostentatious display. Take CZ’s Binance
in XRP blossomed into some $1 billion, learned that fi rsthand exchange. It has no real headquarters: Employees are scattered

in January. The morning after a big bash, the 54-year-old re- across several countries, and CZ himself seems to change lo-

cent divorcé says he discovered four people rooting around his cales the way others change clothes. “We dont want to be in one
$150,000-a-month Los Angeles party pad. (He didn’t report it place right now because of regulatory uncertainty,” says CZ. Last


to the police.) The unwanted guests were probably after his XRP we heard, CZ and his trademark black hoodie had just popped

and they stole four laptops and two cellphones. They didn’t get up in Taiwan.
Mellon’s crypto-fortune—anyone with enough assets to make And CZ is downright normal by crypto-billionaire stan- ETHAN PINES FOR FORBES

our list long ago figured out how to secure it. (Sorry, thugs.) In dards. Former child actor Brock Pierce (The Mighty Ducks, First

Mellon’s case, the private keys are divided up and safely scat- Kid) dresses like a cut-rate Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Carib-
64 | FORBES FEBRUARY 28, 2018



F I N T E C H
CR YPT O BILLIONAIRES


bean and is given to making grandiose statements from the balcony of his pent-

house in Santa Monica, California. “This is an opportunity to be a trillionaire—
someone who is positively impacting a trillion living things on this planet,” he
tells Forbes. Pierce once raised $60 million from Goldman Sachs with the help
of Stephen Bannon, President Trump’s former chief strategist, to fund a com-
pany that sold virtual swords, chain mail and horses to role-playing videogam- Chris Larsen
ers. He also once got into trouble with his partners in a 1990s-era dot-com start-
COFOUNDER, RIPPLE, 57
up after they were accused, in civil lawsuits, of sexual abuse of underaged boys. OPPORTUNIST BUILDER

(Pierce has always denied the accusations and was never charged; one of his busi- Crypto Net Worth:
ness partners, however, pleaded guilty to transporting minors across state lines $7.5 billion–$8 billion
for the purpose of sex.)


Pierce was early into the crypto game, first mining Bitcoin and then fi nancing The richest man in crypto is
Chris Larsen, a Stanford M.B.A.
blockchain startups and investing in dozens of initial coin offerings. Although he and veteran Silicon Valley op-

publicly proclaims he is pledging a billion dollars to charity, he refuses to provide erator who at the January mar-
documentation that proves he has anywhere near that much money. ket peak fleetingly had a fortune

Given this opaqueness and crypto’s hyper-volatility, we are presenting our of some $20 billion, the bulk of it
net-worth estimates in ranges. We based our numbers on estimated holdings derived from his 5.2 billion XRP,

of cryptocurrencies (a few provided proof), post-tax profits from trading cryp- the token of Ripple, the compa-
ny he cofounded with Jed Mc-
to-assets and stakes in crypto-related businesses. We’ve also categorized our Caleb in 2012 to facilitate inter-
crypto rich list into national payments for
five groups: ideal- banks using blockchain

ists, builders, oppor- technology. His company
tunists, infrastructure controls 61 billion of the
players and establish- 100 billion XRP in sup-
ply. Forbes is calculating
ment investors. Many his net worth based sole-
fit into more than one

ly on the XRP he owns
category. personally and the value
It’s a near certainty of his 17% stake in Rip-
that we’ve missed some ple, against the compa-
people and that some ny’s most recent valua-
of our estimates are tion: $410 million. Rip-
wide of the mark. But ple counts Mitsubishi Fi-
nancial, Bank of America
this was equally true and Santander among its
when we launched 100-plus customers.
the first Forbes 400 A serial entrepre-

list of America’s rich- neur, Larsen cofound-
est people in 1982. At ed the online mortgage
the time, many peo- lender e-Loan, in 1997,
and, eight years later,
ple said we couldn’t— Prosper, the peer-to-peer
or shouldn’t—publish lender that has been val-
it. We did so anyway. ued at more than $1 bil-
And we fi rmly believe lion. He seems to have
we made the world a hit it bigger here, even
better place by shin- if XRP is nothing more
than a speculation vehi-
ing a light on the invis- cle—and one that’s down
ible rich. Just as crypto COIN ILLUSTRATIONS BY FILIP PERAIC FOR FORBES; PHOTOGRAPH BY ETHAN PINES FOR FORBES
65% since the beginning
has evolved from the of the year. While Lar-
days of the Silk Road sen stepped down from
drug site and the Mt. the company more than a
Gox digital hijacking, year ago, he still serves as
fortunes of this mag- executive chairman and
nitude should never be tells Forbes he’s “100%
MATTHEW MELLON focused on Ripple and
allowed to lurk in the helping the team any way
shadows.


66 | FORBES FEBRUARY 28, 2018

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F I N T E C H
CR YPT O BILLIONAIRES

I can.” Given these kind of num- branded developer’s academy cy trading systems for brokers. ing platform in 2015, the “Win-
bers, he’d be crazy not to. were recently launched. Crypto- In 2013 CZ learned about Bit- klevii” worked closely with New
industry insiders believe he may coin and began bouncing around York regulators. “Our philosophy
be the single-largest holder of prominent crypto projects, in- is to ask for permission, not for-
Ether, with valuations as high as cluding Blockchain.info, where giveness,” Cameron Winklevoss
$10 billion, but Lubin insists he’s he worked with evangelists like has said.
been selling. For now we’ll split Roger Ver and Ben Reeves. He Today Gemini sits along-
Joseph Lubin the diff erence. eventually decided to create a side Coinbase as one of the few
pure-play crypto-exchange that places where U.S residents can
COFOUNDER, ETHEREUM; would not transact with fi at cur- easily sell crypto for U.S. dollars.
FOUNDER, CONSENSYS 53 rencies and thus avoid connec- It recently handled $300 million
BUILDER
tions to fi nancial institutions. of transactions daily and might

Crypto Net Worth: When he finally launched Bi- have more long-term value than
Changpeng
$1 billion–$5 billion nance this past July, he caught the twins’ currency holdings.
Joseph Lubin, the founder of the “CZ” Zhao the Bitcoin bubble’s ascent When it gained approval to op-
erate as a financial services fi rm

perfectly.
600-employee behemoth Con- two years ago, it cleared a high
senSys, which serves as a “ven- CEO, BINANCE, 41 barrier to entry, says Stan Mi-
ture production studio” for the INFRASTRUCTURE BUILDER roshnik, CEO of the Element, an
Ethereum ecosystem, began his Crypto Net Worth: investment bank for cryptocur-
career working in robotics, ma- $1.1 billion–$2 billion rency token sales. “That’s a years-

chine vision, neural nets and Tyler and long and capital-intensive legal

software engineering. He then Seven months ago Binance didn’t process.”
transitioned into fi nance, build- exist. Since then, its 1.4 million- Cameron
ing trading systems, running transactions-per-second capabil-
a hedge fund and working for ity have attracted 6 million users, Winklevoss
Goldman Sachs’ private wealth making it the world’s largest cryp-
management division. He also to-exchange. “No decentralized COFOUNDERS, WINKLEVOSS
CAPITAL, 36
detoured to Jamaica for a stint in exchange today can handle our INFRASTRUCTURE BUILDER Matthew
music management. volume, and none are as secure as
After reading the Satoshi we are,” says its founder, Chang- Crypto Net Worth: Mellon

Nakamoto Bitcoin white paper, peng Zhao, known as CZ. Th e $900 million–$1.1 billion each
he felt blockchain technolo- market seems to buy it: Since its Tyler Winklevoss and his twin INDIVIDUAL INVESTOR, 54

gy, and its possibility for creat- July initial coin offering, a Binance brother, Cameron, have waged, ESTABLISHMENT OPPORTUNIST
ing shared infrastructure, could token has soared from about 10 for now, one of the great come- Crypto Net Worth:
serve as “an organizing principle cents to $13, giving it a market back stories in American busi- $900 million–$1 billion
for Earth, the world, the plan- capitalization of $1.3 billion. Zhao, ness. For years they were a

et,” he says. A Toronto native, who wears a black hoodie, like punch line, the privileged jocks This heir to one of America’s
like his Ethereum cofounders some cross between Mark Zucker- that Mark Zuckerberg left in the great banking fortunes, and a

Anthony Di Iorio and Vitalik berg and Steve Jobs, also owns the dust to build Facebook. former chair of the New York
Buterin, Lubin heard of Buter- biggest stake in the coins. Famously, the Winklevoss Republican Party’s fi nance com-
in’s November 2013 Ethereum CZ was born in Jiangsu, twins accused Zuckerberg of mittee, has struggled with drug
white paper, and after he spoke China. Both of his parents were stealing their idea for a social net- addiction. So when he began

with them on New Year’s Day educators; his father, a profes- work, suing Facebook and settling dabbling heavily in cryptocur-
2014, he committed to support sor, was labeled a “pro-bour- for $65 million in Facebook stock rencies years ago, his friends
the project. Rumored to be one geois intellect” and temporar- and cash. They drew down on and family tried to dissuade

of the top buyers in the Ethere- ily exiled shortly after CZ was that war chest when they began him, figuring it was another er-


um crowdsale, Lubin, who had born. The family eventually emi- investing in Bitcoin in a big way ratic obsession. And, indeed, he

been funding ConsenSys with grated to Vancouver, Canada, in in 2012—a move that drew yet abandoned some early invest-
his stash of Bitcoins, says he the late 1980s. As a teenager, CZ more derision as Facebook shares ments and sold his Bitcoin a few
began selling some of his Ethers pitched in to cover the household continued exploding. years ago.

last year to fund the fi rm’s de- expenses, flipping burgers at Mc- But the former Olympic But then Mellon got turned on
velopment. He holds a major- Donald’s and working overnight rowers held on to their Bitcoin to XRP, spending some $2 million
ity stake in ConsenSys, which shifts at a gas station. through the digital currency’s vi- to acquire coins, which he liked


provides security audits, token After graduating from Mon- olent ups and downs, including because it’s one of the few crypto-
launches and other services to treal’s McGill University with a an 80% drop from 2013 to 2015, currencies that are working with-
traditional companies. It also degree in computer science, he and sunk more money into other in the banking system. “Crypto is
helps launch crypto businesses, built trading systems in both crypto-assets like Ether. scary and dark. It’s anti-America,”
including Gnosis, Singular, ad- Tokyo and New York for compa- They also built a lucrative says Mellon. “I am pro-America,

Chain, Grid+ and BlockApps, nies like Bloomberg. In 2005 he New York-based cryptocurrency pro-business and pro-bank. Th at’s
some of which have spun out moved to Shanghai to start Fu- exchange, Gemini, where inves- why I went with Ripple.”
already. Venture capital, asset sion Systems, which delivered tors can buy and sell digital cur- Mellon’s XRP is worth
management and a ConsenSys- some of the fastest high-frequen- around $1 billion. Recently di-
rencies. Before opening the trad-
68 | FORBES FEBRUARY 28, 2018

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F I N T E C H
CR YPT O BILLIONAIRES

vorced, he parties in a posh for Advent International in the
Los Angeles house he rents for United Kingdom.
$150,000 month. “It’s $1 billion A true believer, he went on
virtually for free. I actually have in 2013 to become a limited
earned it because I was the only partner in San Francisco-based
person who was willing to raise Blockchain Capital’s fi rst fund.
his hand,” says Mellon. “My fam- Tally Capital, which consists of
ily thought I was insane, when I his own capital, has invested in
knew it was a home run.” 20 startups, including some of
the most successful exchanges in
the space, like Coinbase, Kraken
and BTCC.

Think of him as the Kath-
erine Graham of crypto, spon-
Brian soring over 40 dinners for the
Armstrong blockchain community, spend-
ing “hundreds of thousands of
dollars on steak and wine for
CEO, COINBASE, 35
INFRASTRUCTURE people in the space to talk about

this stuff.” Says Roszak: “Th e
Crypto Net Worth: biggest piece wasn’t that I was
$900 million–$1 billion early and made early gains. It
was the community that I built.”
If this is a gold rush, Arm-
strong is the guy making the He’s always looking for new
big money selling the pans. He converts: Roszak says he gave
founded Coinbase, the nerve Richard Branson and Bill Clin-
center and most popular entry ton their fi rst Bitcoins.
point for cryptocurrency trad-
ing in the U.S., in 2012. Th ere
are two main parts to the busi-
ness: a brokerage side, where
retail customers can buy Bit- MATTHEW ROSZAK
coin, Bitcoin Cash, Ether and Anthony
Litecoin using a bank account, Di Iorio
and an exchange, where big
its investors that it was on track
traders can make bids and off ers
to generating $600 million in COFOUNDER, ETHEREUM;
on cryptocurrencies. FOUNDER OF JAXX AND
annual revenue at its current

The company has gone DECENTRAL, 43
pace. As Bitcoin mania contin- IDEALIST OPPORTUNIST
through some growing pains.
ued, Coinbase became the most

There have been outages and a Crypto Net Worth:
downloaded iPhone app in the Matthew
legal battle that it lost with the $750 million–$1 billion
U.S., and its monthly unique
Internal Revenue Service, which Roszak
users grew to 4.3 million, ac- “I got the concept of Bitcoin
successfully demanded customer
cording to Verto Analytics. right away,” says Anthony Di
records so the government could COFOUNDER, BLOQ;
Coinbase generated $1 billion FOUNDER,TALLY CAPITAL, 45 Iorio, one of Ethereum’s co-

figure out the capital gains owed
of revenue in 2017. IDEALIST BUILDER founders. Di Iorio, who went to
by Coinbase’s customers. But
What’s even more remark- Ryerson University in Toronto to MATTHEW ROSZAK WEARS A WOOL SUIT BY DIOR HOMME ($3,800), COTTON SHIRT BY PRADA ($510), AND THE OTTANTASEI TOURBILLON BY BOVET ($173,300).
through it all Coinbase’s custom- Crypto Net Worth:
able are its pretax margins, study marketing, spent the 2000s
er base has continued to surge $900 million–$1 billion
which exceed 70%, according to managing his family’s patio-
and the company has contin-
industry insiders, compared to Roszak participated in the fi rst door business as well as running
ued to charge fees that are high,
40% for Schwab. According to initial coin off erings beginning a geothermal drilling fi rm. Aft er
at least by traditional brokerage
one person privy to the transac- in 2013, before the term even ex- watching the financial crisis dec-

standards.
tion, shares of Coinbase recent- isted, buying such currencies as imate the real estate industry,
In August, Coinbase raised
ly traded on the secondary mar- Mastercoin, Factom and Maid- Di Iorio found himself studying
$100 million at a valuation of
ket for a valuation of about $4.5 safe. “I’ve been very fortunate economics, trying to understand
$1.6 billion from six fi rms, in-
billion. It’s not hard to make and was very early,” says Matt what had happened. “I was look-
cluding the prestigious Grey-
the case the company is worth Roszak, who, prior to crypto, ing at alternative ways of think-
lock Partners. Th e company
much more. worked as a tech entrepreneur, ing about economics, and I real-
offered a share buyback, and

Armstrong declined to com- cofounding soft ware companies; ly started understanding learning
almost no employees took it—a
ment, and a spokesman for Coin- as a venture capitalist at fi rms about what money really is—that PHOTOGRAPHED BY JAMEL TOPPIN
nearly unprecedented situation
base said Forbes’ fi gures, which like SilkRoad Equity (where he whole libertarian thinking about
in Silicon Valley. Smart move:
are based on Armstrong’s stake in settled SEC charges of insid- sound money.”
A month later, Coinbase told
the company, are incorrect. er trading); and in private equity In 2012, in search of fellow
70 | FORBES FEBRUARY 28, 2018

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F I N T E C H
CR YPT O BILLIONAIRES

believers, he started the Toron- In the 2000s Pierce, an avid gamer, in 2015 to focus on the space. reached as high as $10.9 billion
to Bitcoin Meetup group—and at built one of the largest virtual-as- Given his background, Nova- last year and recently sat at $8.8

the first event he met Ethereum’s set trading companies, Internet gratz approached crypto as a billion, with Blumer owning an
founding genius, the Russian- Gaming Entertainment, which trader. estimated 15% of block.one.

Canadian coder Vitalik Buterin. employed thousands of people in “The guys who have done An Iowa native, Blumer start-
With a few hundred thou- China to play videogames, like the best are the true believ- ed his journey into virtual assets
sand from his prior enterprises, World of Warcraft, in order to win ers who don’t have the specula- at the age of 14, selling avatars,

Di Iorio helped fund Ethereum’s coveted virtual prizes—which he tive DNA,” says Novogratz. “If I magic weapons and houses in
coding—and the legal counsel it then sold to millions of videogam- had literally not sold my Ethere- online game titles such as Ever-
hired—before the coin was taken ers globally for real money. Video- um when it was at $15, I proba- quest and World of Warcraft .

public. Calling himself an “ag- game currency arbitrage led him bly would have made—I can’t tell His company, Gamecliff, was ac-
nostic” when it comes to the var- to crypto in its earliest days. you how much because it would quired by Brock Pierce’s Internet
ious blockchains, he has since in- Pierce became captivated make me sick.” (Ethereum re- Gaming Entertainment (IGE) in
vested in a variety of crypto-as- by Bitcoin’s potential and quit cently changed hands for more 2005. Blumer, fresh out of high
sets, including Qtum, Vechain to help found and fund dozens than $1,000.) “You would kill school, relocated to its Hong
and Zcash. “I like being part of of crypto companies, including yourself if you think that way,” he Kong headquarters to run op-

different sectors of the block- Mastercoin, Blockchain Capital, adds. Novogratz hasn’t been shy erations. Next, in 2007, Blumer
chain realm.” His investment Coinbase, Ethereum, Tether, Bit- about terming the current envi- went on to found Accounts.net,
strategy has been to get in early fury and now Block.one. ronment a bubble—his goal is to which sold in-game avatars and

and, after the asset grows and Lawsuits have plagued him make as much money as possible reached more than $1 million a

levels off, pour his gains into an- over the years. One of his early before it pops. month in revenues. In 2010 he
other new promising coin. business partners was convicted Right now that means rolling launched Okay.com, an enter-

He’s proud to have helped as a sex offender, and Pierce was part of his digital currency win- prise data-sharing platform for
build Ethereum, now worth over himself named in a civil lawsuit nings into his latest play, Galaxy real estate brokers in Asia.
$100 billion. “Now I go into a for involvement in sexual mis- Digital, a merchant bank devot- In 2016, Blumer met Dan
bank, and they’re like, ‘Oh my conduct, but the suit was later ed to crypto that he is working to Larimer (see below), and the
God, you started Ethereum,’ dismissed and Pierce denies any list publicly in Canada. duo started working on block
whereas before they’d say, ‘We wrongdoing. .one. Later Pierce got involved in
can’t give you a bank account.’ Pierce now says he will do- EOS. In order to avoid regulato-
Now they come to me.” nate $1 billion into a decentral- ry oversight, EOS’ coin sale was
ized autonomous community not open to people in the U.S. or
run on a blockchain. Governed China.
by a constitution, the communi- Brendan
ty will be registered as a charita-
ble organization, he says, whose Blumer
Brock Pierce participants will receive voting
rights to allocate its money. It is CEO, BLOCK.ONE, 31
BUILDER
CHAIRMAN, BITCOIN set to launch June 1, based on a Dan Larimer
FOUNDATION; new blockchain called EOS.IO Crypto Net Worth:
ADVISOR, BLOCK.ONE, 37 $600 million–$700 million
IDEALIST BUILDER that Pierce helped launch. “I’ll CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER,
make more money,” he shrugs. BLOCK.ONE, 35
BUILDER
Crypto Net Worth: “I’m not worried about it.” Operating from Hong Kong,
$700 million–$1 billion Blumer’s block.one developed Crypto Net Worth:
EOS.IO, a blockchain platform $600 million–$700 million
Originally from Minnesota, challenging Ethereum. Blum-
Pierce now offi cially resides in er claims it will scale transaction Computer programmer Dan Lar-
Puerto Rico, taking advantage of speed, eliminate user fees and imer used to be a cog in Ameri-
a tax-code exemption that shields empower open-source commu- ca’s military-industrial complex,
the island’s residents from in- Michael nities. “If the internet was mass, working on defense projects,
come tax. But he spends a lot of Novogratz scalable, insecure data transfer,” drones and unmanned vehicles
time around Los Angeles; when says Blumer, “then the block- for companies like Raytheon and
Forbes caught up with him, he’d chain represents mass, secure Torc Robotics. But in 2007, the
CEO, GALAXY DIGITAL, 53
just hosted a swanky all-night ESTABLISHMENT data transfer and everything that Virginia Tech graduate says, he
dinner party for nearly 30 guests, comes with it.” had an existential crisis.
Crypto Net Worth:
with a chef from a Michelin- $700 million–$1 billion The market is lapping up “Philosophically, I wanted to

starred restaurant, fire spinners, a Blumer’s rhetoric. At more than move from working on weapons

snake dancer and a hookah. A well-known macro hedge fund $1 billion raised so far, EOS of destruction to creating sys-
Pierce discovered crypto via manager, Novogratz, who hit the has become the world’s biggest tems that could help provide life,

entertainment. The former child Forbes billionaires list in 2007 token sale, even though the plat- liberty and property for man-
actor cofounded a precursor to before the ensuing economic form won’t launch until June, kind,” says Larimer.
YouTube, at 17, called Digital En- meltdown, seems to have pulled and it’s unclear whether the coin In 2013 Larimer started Bit-
tertainment Network, which off a nifty comeback. He began will benefit from it. And it’s got- Shares, a crypto-exchange man-



raised $88 million during the dot- investing in crypto in 2013 and ten more euphoric from there— aged by a community instead
com bubble and then went bust. left Fortress Investment Group the EOS coin’s total market value of a single authority. In 2016

72 | FORBES FEBRUARY 28, 2018

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F I N T E C H
CR YPT O BILLIONAIRES


he left to pursue a new idea for it entity with a more formal gov- ploded, we decided to liquidate,”
a blockchain-based social net- erning structure. Buterin want- Hoskinson says. He refuses to
work, Steemit, where users are ed to keep Ethereum a nonprof- share when they sold. “Relative
rewarded with tokens for posting it organization with an open- to our burn rate, though, IOHK
and curating content. Over the source, decentralized gover- can now stay open for decades.”
past two months, Steemit’s coin Charles nance. Hoskinson left Ethereum IOHK’s key project: Cardano,
(called Steem) has surged, push- Hoskinson in June 2014. a public blockchain and smart-
ing its value to $1.4 billion. “At the time I was pret- contract platform which hosts

Larimer has since joined ty pissed off,” says Hoskinson. the Ada cryptocurrency. At $16
COFOUNDER, ETHEREUM,
forces with Brendan Blumer (see IOHK, 30 “Ether went up [to a market cap billion, Ada is now the fi ft h-larg-
above) to start Block.one. BUILDER OPPORTUNIST of] $120 billion, so what the hell est in market cap, just two spots
Crypto Net Worth: do I know?” behind Ethereum. IOHK’s posi-

$500 million–$600 million After taking a six-month sab- tion in Ada is worth over $1 bil-
batical—in which he contem- lion. IOHK also runs Ethereum
In April 2013, when Charles plated going back to mathemat- Classic, which has a market cap
Hoskinson quit his consulting ics—he was approached by for- of around $3 billion.
Valery Vavilov gig to start an online school the mer Ethereum colleague Jere-
Bitcoin Education Project, “my
my Wood to form a new proj-
CEO, BITFURY, 38 parents thought I was crazy,” he ect called IOHK, an engineering
BUILDER INFRASTRUCTURE says. “Everybody thought I was company that builds cryptocur-
crazy. But I said, No, no, I got it
Crypto Net Worth: rencies and blockchains for cor-
$500 million–$700 million all fi gured out.” porations, government entities Brad
Smart or lucky, Hoskinson and academic institutions.
Growing up in Latvia in the wound up meeting Vitalik Buter- “We put in a few hundred Garlinghouse
1980s, programming whiz in at the online school and be- thousand dollars initially and
Vavilov was scarred by the Soviet came one of the eight original started getting contracts to build CEO, RIPPLE, 47
Union’s collapse in 1991. “We just cofounders of Ethereum. Soon cryptocurrencies,” says Hoskin- BUILDER
literally lost everything,” he says. after, disagreements arose about son. With all their revenue com- Crypto Net Worth:

“Money became paper. Patents how to structure the project. “It ing in the form of Bitcoin, IOHK $400 million–$500 million
become worthless.” Th at experi- was a boardroom brawl,” he says. saw huge returns as the coin

ence shaped his thinking—that Hoskinson wanted to accept ven- soared in value. This Harvard M.B.A. has a ster-
decentralized frameworks needed ture capital and create a for-prof- “When the crypto market ex- ling mainstream tech pedi-
to be designed so people could al- gree: CEO at Hightail (former-
ways retain their property. ly YouSendIt), president of con-
In 2011 Vavilov cofound- sumer applications at AOL and
ed Bitfury, a startup that “mines” a senior vice president at Yahoo.
Bitcoin, or uses computers to As Ripple CEO, Garlinghouse
solve complex mathematical has a 6.3% stake in Ripple the
problems that add a new block company—but that’s not how
of transactions to the blockchain he makes our list. Th ough Rip-
and earn Bitcoin. For four years ple controls 61.3 billion XRP,
he struggled to raise outside cap- holdings that total $95 bil-
ital. “Very few investors believed lion in value, Ripple’s own ven-
in this technology,” he says. So ture capitalists value the compa-
he used the Bitcoin he mined to ny at only $410 million. Like so
fund the business, selling it as many operators on this list, it’s
low as $30. Bitfury has generated his personal stash of XRP coins,

about 800,000 Bitcoins since its confirmed “in the nine fi gures,”
start, Vavilov says. that gets him here.
Based in Amsterdam, his
400-person company is the ulti- VALERY VAVILOV WEARS A WOOL SPORT JACKET ($2,395), WOOL SHIRT ($445), AND JEANS ($395) BY ERMENEGILDO ZEGNA.
mate pick-and-shovel operation
to the blockchain boom. Besides
being a top player in the Bitcoin
mining market, it also makes and Barry Silbert
sells hardware, including proces-
sor chips and a product called CEO, DIGITAL CURRENCY GROUP,
41
Blockbox, a mobile bitcoin min- BUILDER ESTABLISHMENT
ing machine that typically retails
for more than $1 million. Bitfury Crypto Net Worth: PHOTOGRAPHED BY JAMEL TOPPIN
is on track to bring in $400 mil- $400 million–$500 million
lion in revenues in 2018. VALERY VAVILOV Barry Silbert became known on
Wall Street for building Second-



74 | FORBES FEBRUARY 28, 2018

Jacob Sanchez
Diagnosed with autism







































Sensory sensitivity is a sign of autism.
Learn the others at autismspeaks.org/signs.

F I N T E C H
CR YPT O BILLIONAIRES

Market, an exchange for tough- cure and global, while fi at is
to-trade assets—mostly stakes subject to the whims of polit-
in private tech companies— ical forces,” says Draper, who
that became popular in the age disputes Forbes estimate of his
of unicorns. By the time he sold crypto wealth. “I believe that
SecondMarket to Nasdaq in Bitcoin and crypto will drive
2015, Silbert himself was already most of the commerce of the
working on his second act, Digi- world.”
tal Currency Group.
Silbert’s company is made up
of three components: a venture
capital arm that has invested in
prominent crypto-related busi-
nesses like Coinbase and Ripple; Song Chi-
speculation on digital currencies
and operating businesses like Hyung
asset management fi rm Gray-
scale, which runs the publicly CEO, DUNAMU; FOUNDER, UPBIT
38
traded Bitcoin Investment Trust; INFRASTRUCTURE
and CoinDesk, a digital curren-
cy media company. Crypto Net Worth:
$350 million–$500 million
In just four months since its
launch, Song Chi-Hyung’s Upbit
has become the largest cryp-
tocurrency exchange in South
Vitalik Buterin Korea, a market that ranks
among the top in Bitcoin trad-
CREATOR OF ETHEREUM, 24 ing. By December it boasted an
BUILDER IDEALIST
average daily trading volume of
Crypto Net Worth: VITALIK BUTERIN $4.7 billion.
$400 million–$500 million A computer science and eco-
nomics graduate from the pres-
Gaunt and boyish, with close-
cropped blond hair and pierc- it’s old money that’s being dis- coin enthusiast before it was tigious Seoul National Univer-
ing blue eyes, Ethereum creator empowered and fl ashy new tech cool. He says he started thinking sity, Song founded Dunamu,
Buterin might be the most rec- which means “two trees,” in 2012.
money that’s being empowered,” about digital currencies 15 years He started as a news aggrega-
ognizable person in crypto. As
says Buterin, whose invention ago when he met a guy in South tor but quickly pivoted to fi ntech.
a teenager, he launched Bitcoin
now collaborates with the likes Korea who had bought a virtu- The following year, internet giant

Magazine, dropped out of college

of Microsoft, BP and JPMorgan al sword for his son with regular Kakao Corp. started a series of in-
to accept a Thiel Fellowship, then

Chase. “But I’m skeptical that cash. As currencies proliferated vestments in the company, which
began traveling on his Bitcoin—
people involved in cryptocurren- in videogames, Draper started eventually led to the creation of
and ruminated on its limitations.
cy are better people than people looking for ways to convert one KakaoStock, a mobile stock trad-

Those travels inspired him
involved in the banking system.” game currency to another. ing app which now has more than
to write the Ethereum white
He adds, “If crypto succeeds, The moment Draper heard 300,000 users and leverages Ka-

paper, which proposed an open
it’s not because it empowers bet- about Bitcoin, he was in. Draper kao’s instant-messaging base of 50
source platform for more com-
ter people. It’s because it empow- invested $250,000 when the price million, according to Statista.

plex financial instruments aimed
ers better institutions.” was at $6. He lost it all in the col-
at the economically marginal-
lapse of the Mt. Gox exchange
ized rather than just a curren-
in 2014, but Draper was not de-
cy like Bitcoin. Some $100 bil-
terred. In the same year, he is re-
lion of market cap later, Ethere- Turn the page
ported to have paid less than $20
um is believed to have a greater
million for nearly 32,000 Bit-
number of developers building coin auctioned by the U.S. Mar- and open the
on it than any other blockchain Tim Draper
shalls Service—coins that had fold to see the
community.

FOUNDER, DRAPER ASSOCIATES, been confiscated from Ross Ul-
Utopian visions come with 59 bricht and his online black mar- top wealth
a cost: Buterin says he has less ESTABLISHMENT IDEALIST
ketplace, Silk Road. Since then
than 0.4% of the circulating
Crypto Net Worth: Draper says he has made 40 advisors in
supply of Ether. “A lot of peo- $350 million–$500 million more crypto investments.
ple cheer the wealth redistribu- “I don’t know why anyone each state ETHAN PINES FOR FORBES

tion that’s coming from crypto- The formidable Silicon Valley would want to go back to fi at
currency because they think, oh, venture capitalist became a Bit-
when crypto is distributed, se-
76 | FORBES FEBRUARY 28, 2018



You









CHALLENGED
STATUS QUO.












CHALLENGED
EXPECTATIONS.












CHALLENGED
OLD THINKING.






And that was all before lunch.

Congratulations!


OppenheimerFunds salutes those who

take on conventional wisdom,


shake up the status quo,

and look beyond the expected,

into tomorrow.

You challenge impossible on a daily basis.

Congratulations America’s Top Wealth Advisors.

KEY
ALABAMA STATE 9 Robert Gallo 10 Laila Pence 3 Brian Hetherington 6 William Slater III 14 Dale Grubb
1 Tony Smith Rank / Wealth Advisor Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt Pence Wealth Mgmt Merrill Lynch—Private Merrill Lynch—Private Morgan Stanley Wealth Mgmt
UBS Financial Services Company Walnut Creek Newport Beach Banking & Investment Banking & Investment Sebring
Birmingham City $1.4B $1.2B Group Group $266M
$2.3B Assets Under Management 10 Debra Wetherby 11 Eric Gray New Canaan Washington 15 Mary Carter
2 Camper O’Neal Wetherby Asset Mgmt Merrill Lynch—Private $2.4B $1.3B Mary Carter Financial
Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt 2 Don McDonald San Francisco Banking & Investment 4 Ron Weiner 7 Greg Marcus Services/Raymond James
Birmingham Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt $4.2B Group HighTower Advisors UBS Financial Services Jacksonville Beach
$788M Fort Smith CALIFORNIA/SOUTH Los Angeles Westport Washington $235M
3 Bob Runkle $2.1B $12.6B $715M $508M FLORIDA/SOUTH
Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt 3 Edward Prewitt 1 David Hou 12 Craig Chiate 5 Tom Vacheron 8 Brett Anthony
1 Patrick Dwyer
Montgomery Wells Fargo Advisors First Republic Investment UBS Financial Services Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt Morgan Stanley Wealth Merrill Lynch—Private
Mgmt
Los Angeles
Fairfield
$1.2B Fayetteville Mgmt
4 Michael Warr $318M Los Angeles $2.8B $1.4B Washington Banking & Investment
Morgan Stanley Wealth $12.4B 13 Spuds Powell 6 Harold Trischman $2.3B Group
Miami
Mgmt CALIFORNIA/NORTH 2 Richard Jones Kayne Anderson Rudnick Morgan Stanley Wealth $3.1B
Tuscaloosa 1 Andy Chase Merrill Lynch—Private Los Angeles Mgmt DELAWARE
$1.1B Morgan Stanley Private Banking & Investment $3.5B Greenwich 1 Thomas Weisenfels 2 Thomas Moran
5 Tommy Jackson Wealth Mgmt Group 14 David Bahnsen $1.6B Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt Wells Fargo Advisors
7 Bryan Stepanian
Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt Menlo Park Los Angeles HighTower Advisors Alex. Brown/Raymond Wilmington Naples
$15.5B
$3.6B
$371M
Birmingham $10.1B Newport Beach
$426M 2 Mark Curtis 3 Reza Zafari $1B James 2 Thomas Rice 3 Salvatore Tiano
6 Alistair Harding-Smith Graystone Consulting Merrill Lynch—Private 15 Pamela Rosenau Greenwich Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt JP Morgan Securities
Banking & Investment
Palm Beach Gardens
$3.2B
Morgan Stanley Wealth Palo Alto Group HighTower Advisors 8 Nancy Daoud Wilmington $2B
$1.2B
Mgmt $20B Los Angeles Los Angeles
Tuscaloosa 3 Greg Vaughan $15.5B $1B Ameriprise Financial 3 Donald Truesdell Jr. 4 Louis Chiavacci
$1.2B Morgan Stanley Private COLORADO Oxford Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt Merrill Lynch—Private
4 Randy C. Conner
7 Palmer Whiting Wealth Mgmt Churchill Mgmt Group $412M Wilmington Banking & Investment
Group
Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt Menlo Park Los Angeles 1 Shawn Fowler 9 Teresa Jacobsen $1.2B Coral Gables
Mobile $15.4B $4.8B Morgan Stanley Private UBS Financial Services FLORIDA/NORTH $2.4B
$420M 4 Robert Skinner Wealth Mgmt Stamford
5 Rebecca Rothstein
5 Adam Carlin
8 Moss Crosby First Republic Investment Merrill Lynch—Private Denver $832M 1 Michael Valdes Morgan Stanley Private
$1.9B
HighTower Advisors Mgmt Banking & Investment 10 Thomas Lips Merrill Lynch—Private Wealth Mgmt
Huntsville Menlo Park Group 2 Wally Obermeyer UBS Financial Services Banking & Investment Coral Gables
$787M $12.4B Beverly Hills Obermeyer Wood Hartford Group $2B
9 Brad Osborne 5 Jon Goldstein $4.2B Investment Counsel $1.5B Tampa 6 Don d’Adesky
Aspen
$2.8B
Merrill Lynch—Private First Republic Investment 6 Mark Schulten Wells $1.5B 11 James A. Noonan The Americas Group of
Banking & Investment Mgmt Fargo Advisors Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt 2 Clarke Lemons Raymond James
Group Menlo Park 3 Mark Smith New London WaterOak Advisors
Birmingham $5.7B Long Beach M. J. Smith & Associates/ $432M Winter Park Boca Raton
$3.5B
$2.6B
$1.7B
Raymond James
$787M 6 Mark Douglass 12 Matthew Somberg
10 Al Desforges Morgan Stanley Private 7 Drew Zager Greenwood Village Gottfried & Somberg 3 Robert K. Doyle 7 Andrew Schultz
Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt Wealth Mgmt Morgan Stanley Private $753M Wealth Mgmt Doyle Wealth Mgmt Morgan Stanley Wealth
Wealth Mgmt
Mgmt
4 Mark R. Brown
Birmingham Menlo Park Los Angeles Brown & Tedstrom Glastonbury St. Petersburg Miami Beach
$776M
$408M $14.9B $4.6B $600M $679M
11 Ike Brown 7 Troy Griepp Denver 13 Peter Chieco 4 Charles Mulfinger III
8 Alan Whitman
8 Jason Stephens
Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt Morgan Stanley Private Morgan Stanley Wealth Mgmt $595M Morgan Stanley Wealth Graystone Consulting UBS Financial Services
Anniston Wealth Mgmt Pasadena 5 Donna Di Ianni Mgmt Tampa Naples
$2.7B
$252M San Francisco $1.4B Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt Greenwich $622M
$8.1B Aspen $1.2B 5 Ken Burke
ALASKA 8 Jeffrey Colin 9 Drew Freides $792M 14 Jim Iannazzo Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt 9 Margaret Starner
1 Tom Konop Baker Street Advisors UBS Financial Services 6 Scott Thisted Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt Heathrow The Starner Group of
Raymond James
Morgan Stanley Wealth San Francisco Los Angeles Merrill Lynch—Private Stamford $1.1B Coral Gables
Mgmt $6.9B $3B Banking & Investment $519M 6 William Merriam
Anchorage Group 15 Jason Cerniglia Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt $1B
$224M Denver Jacksonville 10 Todd Battaglia
2 Tommy Kibler $1.5B Ameriprise Financial $900M Meg Green & Associates
Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt 7 Perry Mattern Mystic 7 George Jackson Wealth Mgmt
$475M
Plantation
Anchorage Wells Fargo Advisors Jackson Wealth Mgmt $730M
$305M Cherry Creek DISTRICT OF Lake Mary
3 Robert Bell II $697M COLUMBIA $469M 11 Peter Bermont
The Bermont Advisory
Wells Fargo Advisors 8 Brent Hablutzel 1 Marvin McIntyre 8 Jeff Camarda Group of Raymond James
Fairbanks Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt Morgan Stanley Private Camarda Wealth Advisory Coral Gables
$167M Greenwood Village Fleming Island $1.4B
$416M Wealth Mgmt $250M
ARIZONA 9 Ali Phillips Washington 9 Thomas Ruggie 12 Bruno Miranda
1 Allan Flader Obermeyer Wood $2.7B Ruggie Wealth Mgmt UBS Financial Services
RBC Wealth Mgmt Investment Counsel 2 Christopher Sargent Tavares Coral Gables
$600M
Phoenix Aspen Wells Fargo Advisors $494M
$566M $1.5B Washington 10 David Abelson 13 Jim Mahoney
2 Steven Schultz 10 Jim Chapman $822M Morgan Stanley Wealth UBS Financial Services
UBS Financial Services Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt 3 Keith Apton Mgmt Palm Beach Gardens
Phoenix Englewood UBS Financial Services Palm Harbor $490M
$1.7B $434M Washington $436M 14 Todd Moll
3 Glenn Pahnke $1B 11 Lee Bledsoe Provenance Wealth
RBC Wealth Mgmt CONNECTICUT 4 Michael O’Neill Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt Advisors
Scottsdale 1 Jeff Erdmann Morgan Stanley Private Jacksonville Fort Lauderdale
$1.9B
$600M Merrill Lynch—Private Wealth Mgmt $957M
4 Robert Bancroft Banking & Investment Washington 12 Kris Kasturi 15 Eileen Berman
Morgan Stanley Private Group $1.8B Ameriprise Financial UBS Financial Services
West Palm Beach
Wealth Mgmt ALLAN JAY FLADER Greenwich 5 Jim Wohlgemuth Palm Coast $1B
Scottsdale FLADER WEALTH CONSULTING $6.2B Morgan Stanley Private $240M
$1B 2 William Greco Wealth Mgmt 13 Ray McGovern 16 Ghislain Gouraige
5 Stephen Harnden GROUP, RBC WEALTH MANAGEMENT UBS Financial Services Washington Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt UBS Financial Services
Ameriprise Financial PHOENIX Hartford $674M Fort Walton Beach Coral Gables
$1.6B
Peoria AUM: $566 MILLION $4.7B $669M
$448M
6 Mark Feldman A math nerd who obsesses
MRA Associates
Phoenix over data, Flader is warning JAMES STACK
$2.8B STACK FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
7 Tony Bebbington clients to ratchet back their WHITEFISH, MONTANA
UBS Financial Services expectations for 2018 and
Phoenix AUM: $1.2 BILLION
$380M steering portfolios into “I think the view of Wall Street is mu uch clearer
8 Chris Gale
Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt overseas markets like China from 2,500 miles away,” says the vet teran advisor
Scottsdale
$752M and Brazil, which have who edits the Investech newsletter f from his office
9 Vance Falbaum
RBC Wealth Mgmt recently been outperforming in Whitefish, Montana. “Especially w when things
Tucson
$328M those in the U.S., says get very emotional and speculative, like they’ve
10 Joe Di Vito Flader, 53: “It’s not that been in the past year or two.” Recen ntly, the “safety
RBC Wealth Mgmt
Phoenix their economies are better first” Stack, 66, loaded his client por rtfolios up on
$330M
and their companies are cash, increasing the allotment from 16% to 22%.
ARKANSAS
1 Hardy Winburn superior, it’s just that their “If we err, we want to err on the side e of caution,”
UBS Financial Services
Little Rock valuations are better.” he says.
$452M

17 Mark Masterson 4 Andy Berg 5 Christina Hom 13 Ronald Stenger 4 Chris Cooke LOUISIANA 10 Neal Simon 8 Sean Dillon
HighTower Advisors Homrich Berg Morgan Stanley Wealth Morgan Stanley Wealth Cooke Financial Group 1 James Spiro Bronfman Rothschild UBS Financial Services
Naples Atlanta Mgmt Mgmt at Noyes Morgan Stanley Wealth Rockville Boston
$590M $4.1B Honolulu Oak Brook Indianapolis Mgmt $5.3B $1.5B
18 William LaPato 5 Robert Balentine $636M $543M $1.5B New Orleans 11 Ann Marie Etergino 9 Richard F. Connolly Jr.
Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt Balentine 14 James Oberheide 5 Brian Cooke $1.7B RBC Wealth Mgmt Morgan Stanley Private
Boca Raton Atlanta IDAHO Morgan Stanley Private Cooke Financial Group 2 Curtis Eustis Chevy Chase Wealth Mgmt
$547M $1.4B 1 Brian King Wealth Mgmt at Noyes Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt $715M Boston
19 Barry Rubin 6 David Higgins RBC Wealth Mgmt Chicago Indianapolis New Orleans 12 Gregory Hurlbrink $1.6B
Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt Merrill Lynch—Private Eagle $1.6B $1.5B $820M Morgan Stanley Wealth 10 Devin Condron
Delray Beach Banking & Investment $750M 15 Thomas Salvino 3 Rick Frayard Mgmt Morgan Stanley Private
$1.2B Group 2 Sandra Dalton William Blair & Co. IOWA UBS Financial Services Baltimore Wealth Mgmt
20 Ettore Ventrice Atlanta UBS Financial Services Chicago 1 Bryan Boesen Lafayette $782M Boston
UBS Financial Services $1.3B Boise $1B Morgan Stanley Wealth $3B 13 Robert Collins $1.1B
Boca Raton 7 Hank McLarty $445M 16 Stewart Mather Mgmt 4 Scott Hardie Wells Fargo Advisors 11 William Sullivan
$1.1B Gratus Capital 3 Justin Samples The Mather Group Des Moines Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt Bethesda UBS Financial Services
21 Michael Bober Atlanta Ameriprise Financial Chicago $439M New Orleans $770M Boston
UBS Financial Services $1.6B Boise $971M 2 Joel Worsfold $948M 14 Larry Boggs $1.2B
Boca Raton 8 Ron Hughes $503M 17 Brad DeHond Wells Fargo Advisors 5 Charles Simmons Wells Fargo Advisors 12 Victor Livingstone
$1.1B Merrill Lynch—Private Morgan Stanley Private Clive Ameriprise Financial Cumberland Morgan Stanley Private
22 Michael McCain Banking & Investment ILLINOIS Wealth Mgmt $175M Metairie $1B Wealth Mgmt
Wells Fargo Advisors Group 1 Steve Hefter Chicago 3 Keith Swanson $695M 15 Ronald Fishbein Boston
Naples Atlanta Wells Fargo Advisors $1.3B Morgan Stanley Private Morgan Stanley Wealth $1.1B
$1.8B $953M Highland Park 18 JR Gondeck Wealth Mgmt MAINE Mgmt 13 Dan Wilson
23 Ralph Byer 9 Michael J. Merlin $2B HighTower Advisors West Des Moines 1 Gibson Wilkes Rockville Ameriprise Financial
Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt Morgan Stanley Private 2 Raj Bhatia Deerfield $687M HighTower Advisors $859M Auburndale
Plantation Wealth Mgmt Merrill Lynch—Private $1.3B 4 Malik Khaliq Portland 16 Brad Hill $1.5B
$571M Atlanta Banking & Investment 19 Mark Thorndyke Wells Fargo $457M Morgan Stanley Wealth 14 Raj Pathak
23 Mark Miller $2.2B Group Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt Advisors 2 Todd Doolan Mgmt Morgan Stanley Wealth
Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt 10 Wes Moss Chicago Chicago Davenport Morgan Stanley Wealth Easton Mgmt
Boca Raton Capital Investment $1.5B $896M $224M Mgmt $969M Boston
$651M Advisors 3 Brent Brodeski 20 Mike Cohen Portland 17 Jim Meek $626M
25 Michael Landsberg Atlanta Savant Capital Morgan Stanley Wealth KANSAS $401M Graystone Consulting 15 Mark Winthrop
Landsberg Bennett Private $1.9B Rockford Mgmt 1 Rick Homuth 3 Josh Burns Baltimore Winthrop Wealth Mgmt
Wealth Mgmt 11 Justin Ryan $5.2B Chicago Merrill Lynch Morgan Stanley Wealth $1.1B Boston
Punta Gorda UBS Financial Services 4 Scott Magnesen $1.4B Wealth Mgmt Mgmt 18 Beth Rosenwald $1.2B
$595M Atlanta Morgan Stanley Wealth 21 Dan Grant Leawood Portland RBC Wealth Mgmt 16 Debra Brede
$1.3B Mgmt William Blair & Co. $904M $462M Baltimore D. K. Brede Investment
GEORGIA 12 Mike Hines Oak Brook Chicago 2 Phiip Verhaeghe $388M Mgmt
1 Rod Westmoreland Consolidated Planning $3B $815M Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt MARYLAND 19 Kent Strosnider Needham
Merrill Lynch—Private Corp./Raymond James 5 Jim Moriarity 22 Steve Weinstein Leawood 1 Martin Eby Morgan Stanley $828M
Banking & Investment Atlanta Morgan Stanley Private Altair Advisers $844M WMS Partners Wealth Mgmt 17 Mary Mullin
Group $599M Wealth Mgmt Chicago 3 Scott Ferguson Towson Baltimore Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt
Atlanta 13 Buck Wiley III Chicago $4.2B Morgan Stanley Wealth $2.7B $580M Boston
$4.5B Merrill Lynch—Private $1.4B 23 Jay Maltby Mgmt 2 Kent Pearce $1.5B
2 James Hansberger Banking & Investment 6 Kyle Chudom UBS Financial Services Leawood Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt MASSACHUSETTS 18 Thomas Bartholomew
Morgan Stanley Private Group Morgan Stanley Wealth Chicago $676M Towson 1 James Atwood Bartholomew & Co.
Wealth Mgmt Atlanta Mgmt $1.9B 4 Matthew Thompson $1.5B Merrill Lynch—Private Worcester
Atlanta $1.5B Oak Brook 24 David Wright Ameriprise 3 Leo Kelly Banking & Investment $1.3B
$2.2B 14 Leslie Lauer $754M Merrill Lynch—Private Financial Verdence Capital Advisors Group 19 Richard Miller
3 Brian Frank UBS Financial Services 7 Christian Habitz Banking & Investment Overland Park Hunt Valley Boston Ameriprise Financial
Morgan Stanley Private Atlanta JP Morgan Securities Group $252M $2B $4B Wellesley
Wealth Mgmt $2.8B Chicago Chicago $511M
Atlanta $610M $2B
$1.6B
FORBES BEST-IN-STATE
WEALTH ADVISORS
In the age of robo-advice, the ability to meet with clients face-to-face can be a real competitive advantage. The 500 wealth advisors
here (plus 1,713 more online) are the top-ranked in their respective states by Shook Research. Unlike their digital counterparts,
most top advisors specialize in multiple aspects of financial planning, offering everything from retirement and tax advice to
financing for a private jet. Reza Zafari, a Merrill Lynch Private Banking & Investment advisor from Los Angeles with $15.5 billion
under management, frequently opens his Rolodex to clients when the need arises, connecting them, for example, with medical
specialists. “A big part of what we do is just help our clients, and not just with their portfolios,” Zafari says.
BY HALAH TOURYALAI, MAGGIE MCGRATH AND KRISTIN STOLLER
15 Al Parker 8 Sharon Oberlander 25 John Ver Bockel KENTUCKY 4 Barry Garber 2 Raj Sharma 20 Frederick Keator
Morgan Stanley Private Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt Merrill Lynch—Private 1 Thomas Perrone The Garber Wealth Mgmt Merrill Lynch—Private Wells Fargo Advisors
Wealth Mgmt Chicago Banking & Investment Morgan Stanley Wealth Team Banking & Investment Lenox
Atlanta $1.1B Group Mgmt Baltimore Group $601M
$1.1B 9 Steven Porter Chicago Louisville $1.9B Boston MICHIGAN
Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt $1.9B $673M 5 Jeff Leventhal $6.4B
HAWAII Northbrook 2 Travis Musgrave HighTower Advisors 3 Susan Kaplan 1 Charles Zhang
1 Peter Backus $640M INDIANA Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt Bethesda Kaplan Financial Services Zhang Financial
$631M
uch clearer Graystone Consulting Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt Lexington 6 E. Geoffrey Sella Newton Portage
1 Eric Payne
10 Daniel Fries
$2.6B
$1.7B
Honolulu
$540M
teran advisor $729M Chicago Indianapolis 3 Dean Donohue SPC Financial/Raymond Graystone Consulting Mainstay Capital Mgmt
4 Peter Princi
2 David Kudla
James
$1.5B
$800M
2 Alan Kodama
from his office Ameriprise Financial 11 Benjamin Klein 2 Chris Moore Ameriprise Financial Rockville Boston Grand Blanc
Louisville
$705M
$1.2B
$1.9B
$346M
when things Honolulu Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt Ameriprise Financial 4 Mark Switow 7 Ron Rubin 5 Chuck Bean 3 John Lesser
Fort Wayne
$343M
Northbrook
$578M
$665M
3 Eric Fujimoto
like they’ve Ameriprise Financial 12 Matthew Dillig 3 Martin Gregor UBS Financial Services The Colony Group Heritage Financial Plante Moran Financial
Services
Bethesda
Advisors
Louisville
$940M
ntly, the “safety Honolulu HighTower Advisors Banking & Investment 5 Robert Schneider 8 Gregory Baker Westwood Auburn Hills
$535M
Merrill Lynch—Private
$1.2B
$6.9B
$492M
Chicago
6 Brian Strachan
rtfolios up on Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt $1.1B Indianapolis Morgan Stanley Wealth Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt Morgan Stanley Private 4 Jeffrey Fratarcangeli
Group
4 Robert Saracco
Wells Fargo Advisors
Bethesda
Mgmt
$1B
16% to 22%. Honolulu $1.5B Louisville 9 Brett Bernstein Wealth Mgmt Birmingham
$750M
Boston
e of caution,” $364M $384M XML Financial Group $914M
Rockville 7 Greg Miller
The ranking of Best-In-State Wealth Advisors, developed by Shook Research, is based on an algorithm of $605M Wellesley Asset Mgmt
qualitative criteria, mostly gained through telephone and in-person interviews, and quantitative data. Assets Wellesley
under management are as of 6/30/2017. For the complete list visit forbes.com/top-state-by-state-advisors. $2.6B

PATTI BRENNAN
KEY FINANCIAL
WEST CHESTER, PENNSYLVANIA
AUM: $568 MILLION
Brennan, 57, attributes her 99% retention rate to her willingness to go
“above and beyond.” After a client had a heart attack, Brennan, a former
intensive-care nurse, went to her client’s home and learned the details
of caring for her wheelchair-bound diabetic husband, in case another
emergency arose. In terms of investing, Brennan is placing assets in
sectors that have lagged. That means less tech and health care and heavier
weightings in sectors like energy and industrials.

MISSISSIPPI 2 Deborah Danielson 14 Patricia Bell 3 Lyon Polk 6 Chris Davis 14 Kenneth Wise
1 Mike Dowell Danielson Financial Group Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt Morgan Stanley Private Wells Fargo Advisors UBS Financial Services
Morgan Stanley Wealth Las Vegas Short Hills Wealth Mgmt Davidson Sylvania
Mgmt $416M $586M $5.6B $615M $1.5B
7 Manish Mehta
15 Joe Chornyak
4 Shelley Bergman
3 Geoff Lee
15 James Maltese
MICHAEL POPPO Jackson Ameriprise Financial Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt Morgan Stanley Wealth UBS Financial Services Chornyak & Associates
$1.1B
UBS FINANCIAL SERVICES 2 Arthur Finkelberg Henderson Iselin Mgmt Chapel Hill Columbus
NEW YORK CITY Raymond James $318M $1.5B $2.2B $456M $985M
AUM: $1.3 BILLION Ridgeland 4 Andy Ferguson 16 Rick Udine 5 Richard Saperstein 8 Kelly Graves 16 Tim Cornell
$456M Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt Morgan Stanley Wealth HighTower Advisors Carroll Financial UBS Financial Services
Poppo, 53, is an old-school 3 Dudley Barnes Las Vegas Mgmt $7.7B Associates Dayton
Barnes Pettey/Raymond $548M Mount Laurel 6 Martin Halbfinger Charlotte $1.2B
stockbroker who cut his James 5 Jim Small $844M UBS Financial Services $571M 17 Jeffrey Stewart
Clarksdale UBS Financial Services 17 David Finkel $1.6B 9 Thorne James Morgan Stanley Wealth
teeth calling clients and $400M Las Vegas Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt 7 Paul Tramontano Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt Mgmt
$310M
poring over research for 4 Lynn Phillips-Gaines NEW HAMPSHIRE Egg Harbor Township First Republic Investment Raleigh Dublin
$443M
Mgmt
$802M
$614M
Phillips Financial/
18 L. Marc Shegoski
$5.7B
18 Carina Diamond
10 Lee Morris
great stocks to pitch in the Raymond James 1 Sean Doyle UBS Financial Services 8 Gregg Fisher Graystone Consulting SS&G Wealth Mgmt
Starkville
Akron
1980s. Those days are gone. $162M Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt Princeton Gerstein Fisher Raleigh $470M
Manchester
$1.6B
$3B
$2.1B
His fee-based practice is MISSOURI $384M 19 Francis Bitterly 9 Michael Poppo NORTH DAKOTA 19 Brian Albach
1 Bud King 2 Bob Bonfiglio Morgan Stanley Wealth UBS Financial Services Morgan Stanley Wealth
more about holistic wealth UBS Financial Services Ameriprise Financial Mgmt $1.3B 1 Loren Melvie Mgmt
St. Louis Bedford Red Bank 10 Jordan Waxman Ameriprise Financial Cincinnati
management, but he still $990M $279M $398M HighTower Advisors Bismarck $819M
$1.4B
20 Owen McBride
3 John Habig
$1.7B
2 Mike Moeller
can’t resist a bargain. “I Wells Fargo Advisors Morgan Stanley Wealth 20 Christine McGinley 11 Jason Katz 2 Joel Bird UBS Financial Services
UBS Financial Services
Mgmt
put money where other Chesterfield Portsmouth Mount Laurel UBS Financial Services Ameriprise Financial Cleveland
Bismarck
$613M
$1B
$1.2B
$2.2B
people are not,” Poppo says. 3 Seth Murray $456M NEW MEXICO 12 Ron Basu $1.4B OKLAHOMA
Ameriprise Financial NEW JERSEY Morgan Stanley Private OHIO
“MLPs that are yielding 6% Springfield 1 Nathan Armstrong Wealth Mgmt 1 Matt Monger
$1.5B 1 Frank Seminara Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt $3B 1 David Singer Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt
to 10% are attractive as oil 4 Gordon Hamilton III Morgan Stanley Private Albuquerque 13 Thomas Keegan Merrill Lynch—Private Tulsa
Morgan Stanley Wealth Wealth Mgmt $421M Merrill Lynch—Private Banking & Investment $751M
goes up.” Mgmt Florham Park 2 Michael Stevens Banking & Investment Group 2 Jeff Blumenthal
Kansas City $965M Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt Group Cincinnati Wells Fargo Advisors
$1B 2 Dan Schwartz Albuquerque $14.2B $2.5B Oklahoma City
5 Diane Compardo UBS Financial Services $522M 14 John Olson 2 David Ellis III $943M
5 Dana Locniskar 15 Marie Vanerian Moneta Group Investment Paramus 3 Brian Cochran Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt UBS Financial Services 3 Don Jackson
Merrill Lynch—Private Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt Advisors $1.3B John Moore & Associates/ $2.1B Cincinnati UBS Financial Services
Banking & Investment Troy Clayton 3 Joseph Matina Raymond James 15 Ed Moldaver $1.4B Tulsa
Group $1.1B $940M UBS Financial Services Albuquerque Stifel 3 Randy Carver $334M
Troy 16 Brian Brice 6 Robert Millner Short Hills $475M $2.4B Carver Financial Services/ 4 Donald Lehman
$1.8B Graystone Consulting Morgan Stanley Wealth $955M 16 Richard Pluta Raymond James Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt
6 Leo Stevenson Birmingham Mgmt 4 Elliott Kugel NEW YORK Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt Mentor Tulsa
Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt $3.4B St. Louis Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt 1 Rob Clarfeld $862M $1.1B $1.7B
Wyandotte 17 Timothy Brice $686M Bridgewater Clarfeld Financial Advisors 17 Gerard Klingman 4 Kevin Myeroff
$648M Graystone Consulting $1.3B Tarrytown Klingman & Associates/ NCA Financial Planners OREGON
7 Abe Post Birmingham MONTANA 5 Mark Cortazzo $6.1B Raymond James Cleveland 1 Judith McGee
Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt $3.4B 1 James Stack Macro Consulting Group 2 Kevin Peters $1.5B $1.1B McGee Wealth Mgmt/
Troy 18 Eric Furlotte Stack Financial Mgmt Parsippany Morgan Stanley Wealth 5 Rip Hale Raymond James
18 Jeffrey Kobernick
$766M Ameriprise Financial Whitefish $401M Mgmt UBS Financial Services Morgan Stanley Wealth Portland
8 Sherri Stephens Farmington Hills $1.2B 6 Christopher Cook Purchase $3B Mgmt $514M
Stephens Wealth Mgmt $636M 2 John Hedge Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt $1.1B Beavercreek 2 Douglas Greenberg
19 Rob Sechan
Group/Raymond James 19 David Brazen Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt Florham Park 3 Thomas Sullivan UBS Financial Services $1.4B Morgan Stanley Wealth
Flint Ameriprise Financial Billings $1.9B Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt 6 Dean Trindle Mgmt
$477M Troy $990M 7 Mary Deatherage Garden City $3B Morgan Stanley Wealth Portland
9 Todd Sanford $636M 3 Andrew Laszlo Jr. Morgan Stanley Private $2.3B 20 Noel Weil Mgmt $540M
Sanford Financial 20 Charles Nemes Morgan Stanley Wealth Wealth Mgmt 4 Lori Van Dusen Merrill Lynch—Private Cincinnati 3 Rebecca DeCesaro
Services/Raymond James Nemes Rush Private Mgmt Little Falls LVW Advisors Banking & Investment $352M First Republic Investment
Group
Portage Wealth Mgmt of Raymond Billings $2B Pittsford $10.5B 7 Dan Roe Mgmt
$740M James $1.1B 8 David Weinerman $2.2B Budros, Ruhlin & Roe Portland
10 Frank Moore Novi Morgan Stanley Wealth 5 Frank Marzano NORTH CAROLINA Columbus $1.1B
Vintage Financial $530M NEBRASKA Mgmt GM Advisory Group $2B 4 Jeffrey Yandle
1 Larry Carroll
Services/Raymond James 1 Ron Carson Florham Park Melville Carroll Financial 8 Paul Carbetta First Republic Investment
Ann Arbor MINNESOTA Carson Wealth Mgmt $2.6B $729M Ameriprise Financial Mgmt
$516M 1 Christina Boyd Group 9 Michael Ricca 6 Daniel O’Connell Associates Worthington Portland
Charlotte
11 Melissa Spickler Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt Omaha Morgan Stanley Wealth Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt $692M $1.1B $1.1B
Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt Wayzata $8.5B Mgmt Garden City 2 Bill Oliver 9 Stephen Fish 5 Clarke Leaverton
Bloomfield Hills $1.2B 2 Jonathan Beukelman Florham Park $1.2B UBS Financial Services First Republic Investment
$1B 2 Ben Marks UBS Financial Services $2.6B 7 Robert Cohen Wells Fargo Advisors Cincinnati Mgmt
Charlotte
12 Jim Kruzan Marks Group Wealth Mgmt Lincoln 10 Bruce Pomerantz UBS Financial Services $1.1B $764M Portland
Kaydan Wealth Mgmt/ Minnetonka $1.1B Wells Fargo Advisors Garden City 3 Mitchell Wickham 10 Sid Jones $479M
Raymond James $683M 3 Jason Dworak Short Hills $600M Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt
Merrill Lynch—Private
Fenton 3 Brad Wheelock UBS Financial Services $1.5B 8 Erna Morgan Banking & Investment Canfield PENNSYLVANIA
$300M RBC Wealth Mgmt Lincoln 11 Jim McLaughlin McReynolds Group $1B 1 Saly Glassman
13 Frank Migliazzo Saint Cloud $648M Princeton Wealth Advisors Morgan Stanley Wealth Charlotte 11 Linnell Sullivan Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt
Merrill Lynch—Private $1B 4 Andrew Robinson of Raymond James Mgmt $7.5B Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt Blue Bell
Banking & Investment 4 Judy Fredrickson Morgan Stanley Wealth Princeton Oneonta 4 Gary Gaulden Cincinnati $4.8B
Group UBS Financial Services Mgmt $1.4B $881M Ameriprise Financial $1.2B 2 John Waldron
Troy Minneapolis Omaha 12 Andy Schwartz Durham 12 Daniel Torbeck Waldron Private Wealth
$1.1B $1.3B $1.2B Bleakley Financial Group NEW YORK CITY UBS Financial Services Bridgeville
14 Kevin VanDyke 5 Bryan Sweet Fairfield 1 Christopher Errico $436M Cincinnati $1.4B
5 John McCardell
Bloomfield Hills Financial Sweet Financial Services/ NEVADA $681M UBS Financial Services Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt $1.7B 3 Peter Rohr
Bloomfield Hills Raymond James 1 Randy Garcia 13 Mark Fendrick $2B Charlotte 13 Craig Findley Merrill Lynch—Private
$746M Fairmont The Investment Counsel UBS Financial Services 2 Brian C. Pfeifler $2.7B UBS Financial Services Banking & Investment
$386M Co. Mount Laurel Morgan Stanley Private Sylvania Group
Las Vegas $690M Wealth Mgmt $1.5B Philadelphia
$944M $4B $3.9B

4 Patti Brennan 17 John Solis-Cohen 6 W. Josh Brown 10 Dugan McLaughlin 18 Audree L. Begay 10 Gregory Smith 8 Jeff Mash
Key Financial Wells Fargo Advisors Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt Ameriprise Financial Baird Morgan Stanley Wealth
West Chester Jenkintown Greenville Knoxville Houston Reston Mgmt
$568M $998M $494M $679M $459M $2B Bellevue
5 Robert Fragasso 18 Jay Beaulieu 7 Derek Oglesby 19 Triple Fuhrmann III 11 Jamie Cox $422M
Fragasso Financial Wells Fargo Advisors Wells Fargo Advisors TEXAS Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt Harris Financial Group 9 Daver Tiryakioglu
Advisors Radnor Simpsonville 1 Nestor Vicknair San Antonio Richmond Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt
Pittsburgh $2B $300M Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt $834M $645M Bellevue
$864M 19 Peter Sargent 8 Lisa Quadrini Houston 20 R. Scot Smith 12 Brett Hayes $662M
6 David Lees Janney Montgomery Scott Wells Fargo Advisors $4.9B Morgan Stanley Wealth Wells Fargo Advisors 10 Brian Acarregui
myCIO Wealth Partners Yardley Charleston 2 William Corbellini Mgmt Richmond Morgan Stanley Wealth
Philadelphia $617M $426M Merrill Lynch—Private Dallas $505M Mgmt
$3.4B 20 Thomas A. Seiler 9 Alex Opoulos Banking & Investment $473M 13 John Gill Seattle
7 Pete Strope The Seiler Group of Objectivity Squared Group BB&T Scott & Stringfellow $1.4B
UBS Financial Services Raymond James Wealth Mgmt of Raymond Dallas UTAH Virginia Beach
Canonsburg Newtown James $2.9B 1 Dane Runia $658M WEST VIRGINIA
$909M $665M Charleston 3 Scott Tiras Merrill Lynch—Private 14 Allan Strange 1 Chris Hall
8 George Mastrogiorgos $200M Ameriprise Financial Banking & Investment Janney Montgomery Scott Wells Fargo Advisors
Ameriprise Financial RHODE ISLAND 10 Gary Bezilla Houston Group Richmond Parkersburg
Exton 1 Malcolm Makin Wells Fargo Advisors $1.5B Provo $580M $472M
$679M Professional Planning Hilton Head Island 4 Van Pearcy $2.9B 15 Susan Kim 2 David Miller
9 Jim Rimmel Group/Raymond James $582M Van Pearcy’s Wealth 2 Nick Bapis Ameriprise Financial RBC Wealth Mgmt
UBS Financial Services Westerly Services Team/Raymond HighTower Advisors Vienna Huntington
Pittsburgh $962M SOUTH DAKOTA James Salt Lake City $470M $260M
$1.1B 2 Edythe De Marco 1 David Olson Midland $1B 16 Robert Reich
10 Michael Duckworth Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt $1B 3 Carl Laurella Wells Fargo Advisors WISCONSIN
Merrill Lynch—Private Providence Sioux Falls 5 Bonner Barnes Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt McLean 1 Andy Burish
Banking & Investment $1B $541M Corda Investment Mgmt Salt Lake City $604M UBS Financial Services
Group 3 Dennis McGuire 2 Gordon Wollman Houston $1.1B 17 Eric Bartok Madison
Pittsburgh Wells Fargo Advisors Cornerstone Financial $970M 4 Jeffry Roundy Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt $4B
$880M Charlestown Solutions/Raymond James 6 Tommy McBride Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt Norfolk 2 Michael Klein
11 Greg Sarian $305M Sioux Falls Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt Salt Lake City $1.1B Baird
HighTower Advisors $350M Dallas $1.1B 18 Weston Burnett Milwaukee
Wayne SOUTH CAROLINA 3 Todd Nelson $1.5B OptiFour Integrated $3.8B
$690M 1 Hagood Ellison Jr. Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt 7 Dwight Emanuelson Jr. VERMONT Wealth Mgmt 3 Barry Martzahl
12 Edward Blumenthal Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt Sioux Falls Merrill Lynch—Private 1 Tim Stotz McLean Graystone Consulting
Janney Montgomery Scott Columbia $1.1B Banking & Investment Morgan Stanley Wealth $279M Green Bay
Philadelphia $2.7B 4 Bill Lindquist Group Mgmt 19 Bob Parr $927M
$1.2B 2 Richard Migliore Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt Dallas Colchester Morgan Stanley Private 4 Ty Bernicke
13 Mark Eskin Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt Sioux Falls $2.9B $669M Wealth Mgmt Bernicke Wealth Mgmt
Janney Montgomery Scott Columbia $557M 8 Phil Dodson 2 Brian Pelkey McLean Altoona
Philadelphia $2.7B Merrill Lynch—Private Morgan Stanley Wealth $470M $431M
$1.2B 3 Robert Vingi Jr. TENNESSEE Banking & Investment Mgmt 20 Greg Popera 5 Walter Meanwell
14 Samuel Spanos Wells Fargo Advisors 1 Timothy Pagliara Group Colchester Merrill Lynch—Private Wells Fargo Advisors
Spanos Group of Charleston CapWealth Advisors Houston $772M Banking & Investment Madison
Raymond James $1.3B Franklin $2.2B VIRGINIA Group $487M
Beaver 4 Lynn Faust $836M 9 Kevin Blonkvist Sr. Tysons 6 David Epstein
$482M The Faust Boyer Group of 2 Tim Roberson RBC Wealth Mgmt 1 Ric Edelman $841M Baird
15 William Brown Jr. Raymond James Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt Midland Edelman Financial Milwaukee
Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt Greer Brentwood $1.4B Services WASHINGTON $2.9B
Sewickley $255M $2.8B 10 Stephen Engro Fairfax 1 Terry Cook 7 Tom Parks
$1.1B 5 Clark Gallivan 3 Jeffrey Bates Beacon Financial Group $19.5B UBS Financial Services Graystone Consulting
16 Anthony DiValerio UBS Financial Services Kings Point Capital Mgmt Dallas 2 Paul Pagnato Bellevue Milwaukee
Morgan Stanley Private Greenville Brentwood $820M PagnatoKarp $977M $1.3B
Wealth Mgmt $571M $744M 11 Darrell Pennington Reston 2 Steve Hollomon 8 Jon D. Goldstein
West Conshohocken 4 Steve Weatherly Ameriprise Financial $1.7B Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt Ameriprise Financial
$851M Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt Houston 3 Joe Montgomery Seattle Middleton
Germantown $674M Wells Fargo Advisors $1.2B $420M
$312M 12 Mark Moore Williamsburg 3 Michael Matthews 9 Michael E. Smith
5 Brent Trentham UBS Financial Services $1.1B UBS Financial Services Ameriprise Financial
Ameriprise Financial Austin 4 Jeff Grinspoon Bellevue Stevens Point
Alcoa $1B HighTower Advisors $793M $307M
$410M 13 Pat Swanson Vienna 4 Erin Scannell 10 Christopher Doughty
6 Jeff Dobyns Oxbow Advisors $1.1B Ameriprise Financial Gentian Financial/
Dobyns Wealth Team/ Houston 5 Stephan Cassaday Mercer Island Raymond James
Raymond James $1.5B Cassaday & Co $1.3B Mequon
Franklin 14 Brian Tramontano McLean 5 Paul Ried $314M
$380M Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt $2.2B Paul R. Ried Financial
7 Matt Miller San Antonio 6 Dalal Salomon Group WYOMING
Merrill Lynch—Private $494M Wells Fargo Advisors Bellevue 1 Lester Brunker
Banking & Investment 15 Ira Kravitz Richmond $669M UBS Financial Services
Group UBS Financial Services $907M 6 Jeffrey Crosby Teton Village
Nashville Plano 7 Simon Hamilton Ameriprise Financial $315M
$541M $572M Baird Kirkland 2 Jeff Vincent
8 Christi Edwards 16 Charla McIntyre Fields Reston $559M Vincent Financial Services
Morgan Stanley Wealth Ameriprise Financial $1.9B 7 Dean Braun Riverton
Mgmt Hurst 8 Tristan Caudron Morgan Stanley Private $241M
Nashville $440M Wells Fargo Advisors Wealth Mgmt
$782M 17 Jeffery Price Alexandria Seattle
9 David Adams Merrill Lynch Wealth Mgmt $1.2B $2.1B
David Adams Wealth Southlake 9 Ryan Sprowls
Group/Raymond James $781M Wells Fargo Advisors
JUDITH MCGEE Nashville Alexandria
$1B
$330M
MCGEE WEALTH MANAGEMENT
PORTLAND, OREGON
AUM: $514 MILLION GHISLAIN GOURAIGE
“Make sure your financial UBS FINANCIAL SERVICES
CORAL GABLES, FLORIDA
lives are in dying order,” AUM: $1.6 BILLION
councils McGee, 75, referring A Haitian immigrant, Gouraige was 8 when his
to the virtues of tidy family landed in Albany, New York, his parents
recordkeeping. Recently, both professors. After graduating from the
the daughter of a longtime University of Pennsylvania and Harvard Law
client brought in the stub School, he switched from securities law to wealth
from a dividend statement, management. “The biggest mistake we see
with no idea of its value. entrepreneurs making is thinking they can do it
McGee’s team hit the phones all themselves,” says Gouraige, 58. Sometimes, he
and went treasure hunting says, entrepreneurs can be too decisive: They hear ILLUSTRATIONS BY AARON SACCO
to discover a position in a big number and sell a company without thinking
Marriott International worth through things like noncompete clauses or tax
more than $250,000. implications. Most regret it.



F I N T E C H
FINTECH 50


Blockchain LONDON
THE FINTECH 50 World’s most popular cryptocurrency
wallet enables users (including those
in 22 U.S. states) to manage their own
EDITED BY JANET NOVACK AND MATTHEW SCHIFRIN private keys for Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash
REPORTED BY SAMANTHA SHARF, ANTOINE GARA, LAUREN GENSLER, and Ether.
MAGGIE MCGRATH, LAURA SHIN AND KRISTIN STOLLER BONA FIDES: 23 million-plus wallets
FUNDING: $70 million
While crypto hogs the headlines, technology is disrupting the $8.5

tril lion (market cap) U.S. financial services industry in less fl ashy ways,
Cadre NEW YORK CITY
changing how we invest, borrow and save; how big banks control risk;
and how hedge funds place their bets. Worldwide, $27.4 billion poured
Better Mortgage Online platform allows high-net-worth

into fintech startups in 2017, Accenture reports, up 18% from 2016. individuals and institutional investors
NEW YORK CITY
With so much in play, it’s not surprising that 22 companies are new on to buy into commercial and multifami-
ly real estate at lower fees.
the third edition of our list. All our picks have operations, customers or
Digital-only mortgage originator usu- BONA FIDES: More than $1 billion
impact in the U.S., even if they’re not based here. See more details on invested through platform
ally gives home hunters a “verifi ed
each company at FORBES.COM/FINTECH. preapproval letter” within 24 hours of FOUNDER & CEO: Ryan Williams, 30, on
the time they upload documents. the Forbes 30 Under 30 list
BONA FIDES: Fannie Mae and fi ve of FUNDING: $130 million; latest estimat-
six largest U.S. banks buy its loans ed valuation of $800 million
Acorns IRVINE, CA Adyen AMSTERDAM
FOUNDER & CEO: Vishal Garg, 40
FUNDING: $65 million
Mobile app, with 2.4 million users, Global payments platform allows cli-
rounds up debit or credit card pur- ents (e.g., Microsoft, Uber, Spotify) to The Bitfury Group
chases to nearest dollar, investing take payments from credit and debit AMSTERDAM
extra pennies in low-cost index ETFs. cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay.
BONA FIDES: Big name retailers (e.g., BONA FIDES: Processed close to
Walmart, Apple) kick back 1% or more $150 billion in payments in 2017 Produces hardware and software for
of purchases to accounts FUNDING: $266 million; latest valua- Bitcoin mining and security, plus soft-
FUNDING: $101 million tion of $2.3 billion ware to support blockchains in supply
chains, insurance and government.
BONA FIDES: Working with the
Addepar MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA Affi rm SAN FRANCISCO
Georgian government to put land
titles on the blockchain
COFOUNDER & CEO: Valery Vavilov, 38
Cloud-based software enables fi nan- Makes instant 3- to 12-month loans for (see “Prophets of Boom, ” p. 60) Chain SAN FRANCISCO
cial advisors to track and analyze all purchases from 1,500 merchants, at
of a client’s holdings. APRs of 10% to 30%, using machine FUNDING: $90 million

BONA FIDES: 250-plus fi rms manage learning to okay consumers who Offers blockchain technology for

$900 billion on platform might not qualify for credit cards. financial institutions and ledger-
COFOUNDER & EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN: BONA FIDES: A million-plus loans balance software for fi ntech and
Joe Lonsdale, 35, also a cofounder of made e-commerce.
Palantir Technologies FUNDING: $450 million; latest estimat- BONA FIDES: Building blockchain
FUNDING: $215 million; latest valuation ed valuation of $1.8 billion projects with Nasdaq and Citigroup
of more than $500 million FUNDING: $43.7 million
Ayasdi MENLO PARK, CA
Chainalysis NEW YORK CITY
Big banks use its machine-learning
technology to analyze their market Its tools allow law enforcement and
and operational risks. institutions to trace specifi c transac-
BONA FIDES: Helped Citigroup pass tions on the blockchain.
the Federal Reserve’s stress tests BONA FIDES: IRS, FBI, DEA & Europol
Blend SAN FRANCISCO
FUNDING: $106 million are all customers
FUNDING: $1.6 million
Cloud-based white-label software al-
Betterment NEW YORK CITY
lows mortgage applicants to link to
their online bank statements, tax re- CircleUp SAN FRANCISCO
turns, etc., chopping approval time.
Largest independent robo-advisor BONA FIDES: Wells Fargo and U.S.
manages ETF portfolios for 0.25% of Bancorp already on board Crowdfunding site connects consumer-
assets a year, or 0.40% with access to product entrepreneurs with accredited
human advisors included. COFOUNDER & CEO: Palantir alum Nima investors and lines of credit.
Ghamsari, 32
BONA FIDES: 300,000 customers with BONA FIDES: 255 startups have
$13 billion under management FUNDING: $160 million; latest valuation received $390 million in equity
JOE LONSDALE: PATRICK T. FALLON/BLOOMBERG; RYAN WILLIAMS : JAMEL TOPPIN
$500 million
FUNDING: $275 million; latest valuation investments through the site
of $800 million FUNDING: $53 million
FEBRUARY 28, 2018 FORBES | 85
BLOCKCHAIN INVESTING PERSONAL PAYMENTS LENDING DATA & WALL STREET CONSUMERS SMALL
& BITCOIN FINANCE ANALYTICS & ENTERPRISE BUSINESS

F I N T E C H
FINTECH 50

Coinbase SAN FRANCISCO Earnin PALO ALTO, CA Fundrise WASHINGTON, D.C. IEX NEW YORK CITY


Offers digital-currency wallets with 10 Mobile app gives hourly workers use Crowdfunding platform allows invest- Stock exchange uses technology to
million-plus users; exchange trading of up to $500 in already earned in- ment of as little as $500 in diversifi ed level the playing field between high-

in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash and come before payday. real estate portfolios. frequency traders and long-term in-
Litecoin; and merchant tools. BONA FIDES: Workers from 50,000 BONA FIDES: 17,000 have invested vestors. Just approved to list stocks.
BONA FIDES: $1 billion in revenue in companies, including Walmart and $300 million through the site BONA FIDES: Has a 2.5% market share
2017 Starbucks, have used it FUNDING: $50 million of U.S. stock trading
COFOUNDER & CEO: Brian Armstrong, FUNDING: $65 million FUNDING: $100 million
35 (see “Prophets of Boom,” p. 60)
FUNDING: $217 million; latest offi cial val- GreenSky ATLANTA
uation of $1.6 billion, but surely more Ellevest NEW YORK CITY Kabbage ATLANTA
App arranges on-the-spot fi nancing

Robo-advisor off ers fi nancial plans for home-improvement projects, with Lending platform offers nearly instan-
and ETF portfolios adjusted for wom- contractors doing the marketing and taneous small business loans.
en’s longer lives and lower earnings. banks funding the loans. BONA FIDES: Over $4 billion in origina-
BONA FIDES: In first year of operation BONA FIDES: $10 billion-plus in loans tions to 130,000 small businesses

signed up 6,000-plus clients FUNDING: $560 million; latest valua- FUNDING: $500 million; latest valua-
FUNDING: $44.5 million tion of $4.5 billion tion of $1.18 billion
Enigma NEW YORK CITY Guideline SAN MATEO, CA

Uses AI and natural language pro- Automates 401(k) plan administra-
cessing to extract insights from public tion for small businesses, integrating
data. Insurers, banks, hedge funds use directly with payroll providers.
Enigma to spot risks, gain an edge. BONA FIDES: 3,000 employers so far
BONA FIDES: Has assembled 100,000 FUNDING: $24 million
data sets spanning 100 countries
COFOUNDER & CEO: Hicham Oudghiri,
33, worked in solar fi nancing Gusto SAN FRANCISCO
CommonBond FUNDING: $34.6 million Kensho CAMBRIDGE, MA
NEW YORK CITY Provides cloud-based payroll process-
ing, benefits administration and HR to

firms with 1 to 100 employees for less Uses huge historic database and ma-

Online lender refinances and finances than ADP or Paychex. (See p. 48.) chine learning to analyze how a spe-

undergraduate and graduate stu- BONA FIDES: 40,000-plus employers cific event—from a natural disaster to

dent loans.
FUNDING: $176 million; latest valuation election result—might aff ect markets.
BONA FIDES: Has made $1.5 billion in of $1.1 billion BONA FIDES: Users include Goldman
loans; says just two have defaulted Sachs, BofA Merrill and Citigroup
COFOUNDER & CEO: David Klein, 37 COFOUNDER & CEO: Daniel Nadler, 34,
iCapital NEW YORK CITY
FUNDING: $86.2 million wrote thesis on sovereign credit risk DAVID KLEIN: MATTHEW FURMAN; HICHAM OUDGHIRI: ANDREW SPEAR/THE NEW YORK TIMES/REDUX; DANIEL NADLER: SHAWN G. HENRY; DAVID GURLE: ALAIN APAYDIN/ABACAPRESS/NEWSCOM; KRISTO KAARMANN: LEVON BISS
FUNDING: $150 million; latest valuation
Credit Karma Online platform lets high-net-worth of $650 million
SAN FRANCISCO Feedzai SAN MATEO, CA individuals invest as little as $100,000
per strategy in VC, private equity, real Lemonade NEW YORK CITY
estate and hedge funds.
Provides consumers free credit scores Marries machine-learning-based anal- BONA FIDES: Services more than
and monitoring and free tax prep and ysis of unstructured data such as $5 billion in nearly 10,000 accounts Provides renters’ insurance as cheap

filing, then uses their data to recom- emails and customer service calls with CEO: Goldman Sachs alum Lawrence as $5 a month with sign-up and can-
mend credit cards and loans, collect- structured data from transactions to Calcano, 55 cellation via app. Company keeps 20%
ing referral fees from lenders. spot credit card and payment fraud. FUNDING: $55 million of premiums; the rest goes for claims,
BONA FIDES: 75 million users BONA FIDES: Users include Capital with surplus going to charity.
FUNDING: $368.5 million; latest valua- One, First Data and Citibank BONA FIDES: Donated 10% of revenue
tion of $3.5 billion FUNDING: $82 million; latest valuation in 2017
of $575 million FUNDING: $180 million; latest valuation
Digital Reasoning of $600 million
Forter NEW YORK CITY
NASHVILLE LendingHome
SAN FRANCISCO
Machine-learning, fraud-prevention
Its machine-learning software extracts
meaning from everyday language, al- technology monitors thousands of Online lender provides bridge loans to

lowing fi nancial firms to monitor email data points, including buyer behavior fi x-and-flip housing investors (an un-

and instant messages for misconduct. and geolocation, to decide whether to
decline an online sale. derserved market) in 25 states and
BONA FIDES: Used by Nasdaq, raises funds for those loans from ac-
Goldman Sachs, UBS and Point72 BONA FIDES: Processes more than credited individual investors.
1 billion transactions a year
FUNDING: $76 million BONA FIDES: $2 billion in loans made
FUNDING: $50 million
FUNDING: $166 million
86 | FORBES FEBRUARY 28, 2018

Metromile SAN FRANCISCO Ripple SAN FRANCISCO Symbiont NEW YORK CITY
TransferWise LONDON
Sells car insurance in seven states Employs blockchain technology for Provides blockchain technology to the
with a low, flat monthly fee, plus an cross-border payments. Transactions capital markets. App matches unrelated customers’ or-
additional per-mile charge, tracked can be done with the XRP token. BONA FIDES: Working with Delaware ders to execute international money
via signal from car. BONA FIDES: 100-plus banking cus- on using blockchains to track share transfers, while limiting how much
BONA FIDES: Says it saves drivers an tomers, including Santander, UBS issuance and ownership currency actually crosses borders,
average of $500 a year COFOUNDER: Chris Larsen, 57 (see FUNDING: $15.4 million thus chopping costs.
FUNDING: $205.5 million “Prophets of Boom,” p. 60) BONA FIDES: $2 billion in transfers
done on its platform each month
FUNDING: $93.6 million
Symphony PALO ALTO, CA COFOUNDER & CEO: Estonian Kristo
Plaid SAN FRANCISCO Käärmann, 37
FUNDING: $397 million; latest valuation
Platform allows traders and portfolio of $1.6 billion
Its tools are used by other fintech managers to securely message each
firms to connect to users’ bank other, share screens, etc., without vio-
account information. lating compliance rules.
BONA FIDES: Robinhood, Betterment, BONA FIDES: Used by 303,000 em-
Venmo and Coinbase are customers ployees in 270 organizations, includ-
FUNDING: $60 million ing BlackRock and big banks
FOUNDER & CEO: David Gurle, 51
FUNDING: $234 million; latest valuation
Qapital NEW YORK CITY
of more than $1 billion
Banking app prods Millennial users to
save and invest more with customiz-
able behavioral triggers devised with
help of economist Dan Ariely.
Trumid NEW YORK CITY
BONA FIDES: 387,000 users
FUNDING: $17.3 million
Robinhood PALO ALTO, CA
Electronic-trading platform for corpo-
rate bonds offers anonymous liquidity.
Quandl TORONTO
Mobile app offering basic stock trades BONA FIDES: 380 institutions have
for free and no-interest margin loans traded $19 billion in bonds on it
for $10 a month. Soon to offer free FUNDING: $82 million
Tracks and tests thousands of alter- trading in Bitcoin and Ethereum.
native data sets (e.g., growth of inter-
net-connected devices) to find those BONA FIDES: 3 million users
that provide insights into a company’s COFOUNDERS & CO-CEOS: Baju Bhatt, Upstart SAN CARLOS, CA
performance. 33, and Vlad Tenev, 31 (above)
BONA FIDES: Its 250,000 users, includ- FUNDING: $176 million; latest valuation Online lender uses alternative data
ing seven of ten biggest quant funds, of $1.3 billion Tala SANTA MONICA, CA points to underwrite loans, approving
download 10 million data sets daily
47% without human intervention.
FUNDING: $20 million
Shapeshift ZUG, SWITZERLAND BONA FIDES: $1.5 billion in loans origi-
Approves developing-world borrow- nated to 120,000 borrowers
ers for microloans of between $10 and
$500 by crunching data from an ap- FUNDING: $110 million
Exchange allows users—a fifth are in plicant’s smartphone.
the U.S.—to trade between 70 crypto- BONA FIDES: 4.5 million loans made,
currencies without establishing an ac- with repayment rate above 90% Veem SAN FRANCISCO
count or wallet. To maximize privacy,
doesn’t link to bank accounts or take FOUNDER & CEO: Shivani Siroya, 34
fiat currencies. FUNDING: $44 million Undercuts bank fees as it sends busi-
BONA FIDES: When it was hacked by ness-to-business payments around
an employee, no crypto was lost, since the world, some on the blockchain.
it doesn’t hold customer funds BONA FIDES: 40,000 customers in 60
FUNDING: $12.2 million countries
FUNDING: $40 million
Remitly SEATTLE
Stripe SAN FRANCISCO
Xapo PALO ALTO, CA
Enables residents of U.S., U.K., Cana- Its technology allows businesses large
da and Australia to send money to in- and small to accept payments from Provides secure offline storage for
dividuals in ten developing countries. every major debit and credit card, in individual investors and family of-
Recipients without bank accounts can more than 135 currencies. fices holding Bitcoin as a form of
pick up cash at 200,000 locations, digital gold. Also offers Bitcoin wallets
e.g., Walmarts and Elektras in Mexico. BONA FIDES: Hundreds of thousands
of users, including Lyft & Salesforce for consumers, mainly in developing
BONA FIDES: $4 billion a year moved world.
FUNDING: $450 million; latest valua-
COFOUNDER & CEO: Matt Oppenheimer, tion of $9.2 billion BONA FIDES: Secures Bitcoin underly-
35, worked for Barclays in Kenya ing the Bitcoin Investment Trust
FUNDING: $200 million FUNDING: $41 million
FEBRUARY 28, 2018 FORBES | 87
BLOCKCHAIN INVESTING PERSONAL PAYMENTS LENDING DATA & WALL STREET CONSUMERS SMALL
& BITCOIN FINANCE ANALYTICS & ENTERPRISE BUSINESS

OPEN FOR







BUSINESS









Forget the international partnerships and the D.C. hotel. The surest
way to put money into Donald Trump’s pocket is through his core
real estate assets. More than 150 tenants—from foreign governments
to big banks—throw him some $175 million a year without an
JAMEL TOPPIN FOR FORBES
accounting of who they are or how much they pay. Until now.

BY DAN ALEXANDER AND MATT DRANGE









CREDIT TK




88 | FORBES FEBRUARY 28, 2018

FEBRUARY 28, 2018 FORBES | 89

TRUMP’S TENANTS


to the acquisition of wealth.” Scholars have person visits and took rough measurements.
been debating what exactly constitutes an (There were obstacles: The day after we sent
“emolument” since the moment Trump won questions to the Trump Organization, two
the election, and nearly 200 congressional security guards kicked a Forbes reporter out
Democrats sued the president over possi- of a shopping area of one Trump property.)
ble violations in June. Much of the yammer- When we could not get more detailed in-
ing in this area surrounds Trump’s hotels, es- formation, we assumed tenants paid rates
pecially the one in Washington, D.C., which comparable to those for similar properties
has billed $268,000 in hotel rooms and cater- in their respective markets. We believe we’ve
ing to the Saudi government, and his inter- tracked the sources for 75% of the rent flow-
national licensing deals, which allow foreign ing into the president’s coffers.
tycoons and hucksters, many with connec- The numbers are significant: $21 mil-
he
l
a
T tions to their local governments, to pay the lion here, $12 million there. The names even
st
rge
American office of China’s largest bank sits Trump Organization more than $5 million more so: At least 36 of Trump’s tenants have
on the 20th floor of Trump Tower, six lev- a year in order to profit from the president’s meaningful relationships with the federal
els below the desk where Donald Trump name in far-flung locales. government, from contractors to lobbying
built an empire and wrested a presiden- But that’s all small potatoes. The real firms to regulatory targets.
cy. It’s hard to get a glimpse inside. There money in the Trump empire comes from How tangled is it all? Forbes discovered
do not appear to be any public photos of commercial tenants like the Chinese bank. one deal, previously unreported, in which
the office, the bank doesn’t welcome visi- Forbes estimates these tenants pay a collec- Trump partially serves as his own landlord:
tors, and a man guards the elevators down- tive $175 million a year or so to the presi- The U.S. government is paying some rent to
stairs—one of the perks of forking over an dent. And they do so anonymously. Federal the person who runs it.
estimated $2 million a year for the space. laws, drafted without envisioning a real es-
Trump Tower officially lists the tenant tate billionaire as president, require Trump oiled down, the Trump Organiza-
as the Industrial & Commercial Bank of to publicly disclose the shell companies he tion is more a collection of deals
China, but make no mistake who’s paying owns—but not the hundreds of business- Bthan an operating business. While
the rent: the Chinese government, which es pouring money into them or even the ex- Wal-Mart and General Motors rely on mil-
owns a majority of the company. And while tent of the money involved. lions of customers around the world, the
the landlord is technically the Trump Or- “The public reading the [disclosure] Trump Organization relies on a handful of
ganization, make no mistake who’s cashing form doesn’t know who is paying the pres- large entities. That insulates the president’s
those millions: the president of the United ident,” says Walter Shaub, who resigned as business from consumer whims—and lag-
States, who has placed day-to-day manage- the federal government’s top ethics official ging favorability ratings—while leaving him
ment with his sons but retains 100% own- in July. The president likes it that way. Nei- vulnerable to corporate (or government)
ership. This lease expires in October 2019, ther the White House nor the Trump Or- interests.
according to a debt prospectus obtained by ganization would provide a list of the pres- How, then, to consider the backroom
Forbes. So if you assume that the Trumps ident’s tenants, much less reveal what they discussions between federal officials and
want to keep this lucrative tenant, then Eric pay. Instead, Trump Organization lawyer Walgreens Boots Alliance, one of the largest
Trump and Donald Trump Jr. could well Alan Garten provided a statement: “Follow- pharmacies in the world? Through its brand
be negotiating right now over how many ing the election, the Trump Organization Duane Reade, it is the highest-paying tenant
millions the Chinese government will pay implemented a rigorous vetting process for in Trump’s skyscraper at 40 Wall Street in
the sitting president. Unless he has already all transactions, including leases, which in- New York, with $3.2 million in annual rent,
taken care of it: In September 2015 then- cludes a detailed review and approval by our according to a 2015 prospectus. In October
candidate Trump boasted to Forbes that he chief compliance officer and outside ethics 2015, Walgreens Boots Alliance announced
had “just renewed” the lease, around the advisor.” In other words, government eth- a $9.4 billion merger with rival Rite Aid, re-
time he was gearing up his campaign. ics officials, charged with detecting conflicts quiring a sign-off from antimonopoly regu-
It’s a conflict of interest unprecedented in of interest, have never seen the president’s lators. After the deal failed to secure approv-
American history. But hardly unantici pated. rent roll. al under President Obama, it then fell to the
The Founding Fathers specifically built this So we created one on our own, identi- Trump administration, which arrived in
contingency into the Constitution through fying 164 tenants, in virtually every indus- Washington during the first quarter of 2017.
the Emoluments Clause, which prohib- try, from all around the world, and then es- According to federal disclosures, that was
its U.S. officials from accepting gifts, titles or timated payments, wherever possible, based the same quarter Walgreens Boots Alliance
“emoluments” from foreign governments. In on property records, debt prospectuses and began directly lobbying the White House
Federalist 75, Alexander Hamilton framed conversations with real estate experts. (See on “competition policy issues.” In Septem-
the threat thus: “An avaricious man might chart, p. 91.) When tenants refused to say ber, despite objections by one of the two
be tempted to betray the interests of the state how much space they rented, we made in- commissioners at the Federal Trade Com-



90 | FORBES FEBRUARY 28, 2018

All the President’s Tenants TRUMP INTERNATIONAL
HOTEL & TOWER
After months of digging, Forbes assembled a first-of-its-kind look at who is paying rent to NEW YORK
the president of the United States—and how many millions are involved. We found ongoing
deals with law firms that lobby the federal government, banks controlled by foreign states and JEAN-GEORGES RESTAURANT
$1.6M
big media companies that cover Trump. Building such a list required contacting hundreds of
entities, including the Trump Organization and the White House, which would not disclose the WORLD PARKING GARAGE
$400K
president’s tenants. Our list excludes dozens of companies that have offices in Trump buildings
but sublease the space rather than rent it from the Trump Organization. But it’s possible we 21ST CENTURY FOX
missed a few subleases and tenants, given the lack of transparency. The figures are estimates, $50K
based on public documents, debt disclosures and interviews with experts. Taken together, they
represent the greatest opportunity for conflicts of interest in a presidency full of them.

1290 AVENUE OF THE AMERICAS
NEW YORK
AXA COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
$12M $2.1M
NEUBERGER BERMAN GROUP JPMORGAN CHASE BANK +
$9.4M $1.5M
CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD ABBOTT CAPITAL
$4.2M $600K
FITZPATRICK, CELLA, HARPER & DUANE READE
SCINTO $600K
$3.1M
GARRISON INVESTMENT GROUP
BRYAN CAVE LLP $400K
$2.5M
SANTANDER
HACHETTE BOOK GROUP $400K
$2.3M
TD BANK
STATE STREET CORP. + $400K
$2.2M
BARILLA RESTAURANTS
$100K
BREAD MARKET CAFÉ
$100K
DOS TOROS
$100K
EARL OF SANDWICH
$100K
GLOBAL KITCHEN NIKETOWN
$100K
NEW YORK
STARBUCKS
$100K NIKE
$13 M
TERESA’S BRICK OVEN PIZZA & CAFÉ
$100K
ALMOD DIAMONDS
BRICK & PATEL
KINTETSU
ROCKEFELLER GROUP TECHNOLOGY
SOLUTIONS
STAPLE STREET CAPITAL
WENNER MEDIA


FIGURES REPRESENT ONLY THE 30% OF EACH ENTITY’S RENT PAYMENTS THAT ARE ATTRIBUTABLE TO TRUMP, WHO OWNS A MINORITY STAKE.

ILLUSTRATIONS BY HARRY CAMPBELL FOR FORBES
WAS A FEDERAL CONTRACTOR IN 2017 LOBBIED THE FEDERAL GOV’T IN 2017 z KNOWN FOREIGN-GOV’T-OWNED
KNOWN U.S.-GOV’T-OWNED + KNOWN TO BE UNDER U.S. GOV’T INVESTIGATION DURING TRUMP’S PRESIDENCY


FEBRUARY 28, 2018 FORBES | 91

TRUMP’S TENANTS



40 WALL STREET
NEW YORK
DUANE READE ACCOUNTING & COMPLIANCE HALPERIN BATTAGLIA BENZIJA
$3.2M INTERNATIONAL
HARRIS ST. LAURENT & CHAUDHRY
GREEN IVY SCHOOLS ANDERSON ECONOMIC GROUP
$2.6M IBISWORLD
BRITE MEDIA GROUP
HAKS ID PR
$2.2M CAMACHO MAURO MULHOLLAND JAFFE & KOUMOURDAS
COUNTRY-WIDE INSURANCE CAMMACK RETIREMENT GROUP JAJAN & ASSOCIATES
$2.1M
COASTAL MANAGEMENT
JH DARBIE & CO.
HADASSAH, THE WOMEN’S ZIONIST CORE STAFFING SERVICES
ORGANIZATION OF AMERICA MATERNA LAW
$1.6M DIRECTVIEW
KELLY & RUBIN
THORNTON TOMASETTI DNDi
$1.6M DALBIR SINGH & ASSOCIATES
ELITE BRANDS
WORK BETTER KRISSTONE
$1.5M EUROCLEAR BANK REPRESENTATIVE MASS COMMUNICATIONS
OFFICE
FORESTERS FINANCIAL NCHENG
$1.3M LAW OFFICES OF FRANK XU
GRANDFIELD & DODD OAKWOOD LAW GROUP
HARRY FOX AGENCY
$1.3M PRODIGY NETWORK
LESLIE E. ROBERTSON ASSOCIATES PUBLIC FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
$700K
READY ANALYTICS
MAGNA
$600K RF LAFFERTY
HINCH NEWMAN
NEWMAN MYERS KREINES GROSS
HARRIS SOLOMON BLUM HEYMANN
$500K
SOUTH ASIAN AMERICAN
ACCESS INTELLIGENCE ASSOCIATION
$400K
SVA UNDERWRITING
SS&C TECHNOLOGIES
$400K TB ALLIANCE
PFM TELSTRA
$300K
THE HEFFNER AGENCY
NFP P&C PRIVATE CLIENT GROUP TIGRESS FINANCIAL PARTNERS
$200K
UNITED ADVISORS
PAULSON INVESTMENT CO.
$200K VERIZON +
LAROCCA HORNIK ROSEN GREENBERG WORLD ZIONIST ORGANIZATION
& BLAHA
$100K ZAREMBA BROWN
mission, Trump’s tenant got the green light their landlord is the president. And it’s hard where Trump owns a 30% stake. Like all big
for a slimmed-down, $4.4 billion version to get into the heads of regulators, however banks, BofA remains under scrutiny by fed-
of the deal. In January, Trump announced well-intended or removed from the White eral officials. In December, Trump tenants
he would nominate the commissioner who House, who serve a president famously ob- UBS, Barclays and JPMorgan, plus Trump
supported the deal, Maureen Ohlhausen, to sessed with personal loyalty. lender Deutsche Bank, got waiver exten-
be a federal judge. Consider banks. Capital One rents space sions from the Department of Labor that
How much, if at all, did the business re- for an estimated $1 million at the bottom allow them to avoid part of their punish-
lationship affect the government’s decision? of Trump’s Park Avenue condo building— ment for illegally manipulating interest rates
It’s inherently impossible to measure. Wal- while the Justice and Treasury departments and foreign exchange rates.
greens Boots Alliance says there was no investigate the bank’s anti-money-launder- The overlapping interests stretch be-
connection whatsoever and that their lob- ing program. Four years ago, the Depart- yond the financial world. Take any hot-but-
bying was not specific to the deal. But even ment of Justice reached a nearly $17 billion ton issue of the past year, and there’s a good
if Trump tried to rule without any personal settlement—the largest ever of its kind— chance Trump’s tenants lobbied the feder-
favor, or if this was decided without his di- with Bank of America, the biggest tenant al government on it, either in support of or
rect input, the appearance of a conflict of in- (an estimated $18 million a year) at the 555 in opposition to the administration’s posi-
terest is unavoidable. The companies know California Street complex in San Francisco, tion. Nutritional-supplements giant GNC,



92 | FORBES FEBRUARY 28, 2018

TRUMP PARK AVENUE TRUMP TOWER 315 MONTGOMERY ST.
NEW YORK NEW YORK SAN FRANCISCO
CAPITAL ONE GUCCI BANK OF AMERICA
$1M $21M $1M
NEW YORK SPORTS CLUB INDUSTRIAL & COMMERCIAL LENDINGHOME
BANK OF CHINA z $1M
$1.9M
RIPPLE
MARC FISHER $600K
$1.3M
REGUS
MARCRAFT APPAREL GROUP $500K
$1M
STARBUCKS
$100K
LEGACY BUSINESS SCHOOL
TRUMP PLAZA
RAHR ENTERPRISES
NEW YORK
ROGER’S NEWS
THE TRUMP ORGANIZATION (AND
AFFILIATES)
COMPANIES TIED TO TOMMY
HILFIGER














TRUMP PARC EAST
NEW YORK
PRET A MANGER
$1.4M
GALERIES BARTOUX
$600K
ROBERTO BEZJON
$100K
MEPHISTO
$900K
LULULEMON
$700K
ENTERPRISE 61
$600K
UPPER EAST CAFE
$500K
GNC
$400K
J’S CLEANERS
$200K
SPA NIOBE
$200K



WAS A FEDERAL CONTRACTOR IN 2017 LOBBIED THE FEDERAL GOV’T IN 2017 z KNOWN FOREIGN-GOV’T-OWNED
KNOWN U.S.-GOV’T-OWNED + KNOWN TO BE UNDER U.S. GOV’T INVESTIGATION DURING TRUMP’S PRESIDENCY


FEBRUARY 28, 2018 FORBES | 93

TRUMP’S TENANTS


which rents retail space from the presi- prevent the possibility of outside influence, Trump’s presidency,” his lawyer said in that
dent in New York City, advocated on health so that no one has to wonder, after the fact, January press conference. Apparently, the
care reform. Nike, which pays an estimated whether it happened. Yet one of the coun- Trump team defined “foreign deals” strict-
$13 million in annual rent to Trump, spoke try’s primary conflict-of-interest laws doesn’t ly as projects not on U.S. soil, because one
up on the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Star- apply to the president. By holding on to his year later, with no fanfare, the signs in the
bucks, with locations in three Trump build- assets, Trump has chosen to test whether the windows of a couple Trump properties re-
ings, weighed in on immigration. Microsoft Emoluments Clause follows suit (he got one vealed new tenants: yoga retailer Lululemon
on net neutrality. Columbia University on case dismissed in January; two others are ac- and sandwich shop Pret A Manger, based in
the federal budget. There are even three law tive). So the president remains in business Canada and Great Britain, respectively.
firms that are tenants and have lobbying di- with the world’s two most populous coun- It could soon get more complicated. Just
visions that push various client interests— tries. Even if he tries to avoid a bias, there’s a around the corner from Trump Tower sits
while the firms pay the president a com- clear feeling in foreign capitals that currying Niketown, which, after opposing Trump on
bined $4.1 million each year for rent. favor with his business can’t hurt. It’s a glob- the Trans-Pacific Partnership and NFL pro-
The constitutional issues surrounding al perception problem, at best. “He does not tests, announced it was leaving the building
a landlord-in-chief transcend the foreign forget his friends,” said Emin Agalarov, who this spring, even though it still had years left
Emoluments Clause. Three months after helped broker the infamous Russia cam- on its lease. The roughly 65,000-square-foot
Trump became president, the U.S. Postal paign meeting in Trump Tower, according space should command about $13 million
Service, part of the executive branch, start- to Donald Trump Jr. When President Trump in rent per year, and Donald Trump owns it
ed a new lease in a Brooklyn housing devel- announced a travel ban from seven Mus- debt-free. Whoever steps in has the chance
opment where Trump owns a 4% stake, ac- lim-majority countries, it was hard to miss to make annual payments to the president,
cording to his financial-disclosure report. that the ban excluded Saudi Arabia, Egypt, at whatever price they want, and the public
While he’s in process of selling the stake— Azerbaijan and the United Arab Emirates— will have no foreseeable way to know how
his lawyer Garten says that Trump’s business all places where he had previously pursued that compares with market rates.
has no day-to-day control over properties business deals. In May the prime minister The tragedy of this $175 million mess is
where it holds minority investments—the of Georgia made a visit to the White House, that it was completely avoidable. Right after
president and his partners continue to col- where, according to two of Trump’s former Trump was elected, most assumed the sep-
lect an estimated $25,000 in annual rent business partners, the president asked about tuagenarian would divest his assets and
from the federal government, whose found- his old project in the former Soviet republic. engage in the biggest job in the world with
ing charter, the Constitution, appears to In the U.S., Trump’s foreign tenants, even clean hands. Since his company basically
prohibit the president from getting any gov- ones without official government ties, can consists of assets and management deals, he
ernment compensation except for his salary. pose diplomatic complications. Gucci rents could have set in motion a liquidation pro-
a Fifth Avenue retail space at Trump Tower cess. His iconic towers would still carry his
hortly before President Trump’s in- for an estimated $21 million a year, pay- name. And when he left office, he could
auguration, one of his lawyers, Sheri ing the Trump Organization more than any surely take that cash hoard to again buy
SDillon, stood inside Trump Tower other tenant in the president’s portfolio. That properties or leverage his higher profile to
with the soon-to-be commander-in-chief creates a potential headache with the Ital- yet more and better licensing deals. Short-
and revealed his plans to maintain his busi- ian government, which is reportedly investi- ly after the election, he tweeted: “Legal doc-
ness interests while insulating his presiden- gating whether Gucci dodged $1.5 billion in uments are being crafted which take me
cy from foreign influence. “President-elect taxes. The company said it is working with completely out of business operations. The
Trump has decided, and we are announc- authorities and “is confident” about its oper- Presidency is a far more important task!”
ing today,” the lawyer said, “that he is going ations. French insurance giant AXA pays an By “completely out,” the president meant
to voluntarily donate all profits from foreign estimated $41 million to rent space in a New letting his sons run it, and this creature of
government payments made to his hotels to York skyscraper in which Trump holds a habit keeps his full ownership, along with
the United States Treasury. This way, it is the 30% interest. According to a prospectus filed the scores of payments that come with it.
American people who will profit.” in November, the French firm may have to Among them: Rupert Murdoch’s media
Left unsaid: The Trump Organization disclose business with Iranian entities, which empire, which appears to be paying Trump
makes more money from the Chinese bank could open it up to U.S. sanctions, at the dis- $50,000 a year or so to lease an antenna
alone than it ever could expect from hotel cretion of the president of the United States, atop a New York skyscraper and whose far-
visits by members of a foreign government. who just so happens to take in an estimated flung assets include the New York Post, a
And the president has made no pledge to $12 million from AXA each year. And so on. newspaper founded by the person who saw
hand over that money. Or the incoming rent Despite all this, Trump does not seem the problem coming two centuries ago, Al-
from the state-owned Bank of India, which to think ongoing rental payments from for- exander Hamilton. F
leases space in San Francisco, part of a deal eign entities pose a problem. Quite the op- With additional reporting by Deniz
that expires in 2019. posite. “No new foreign deals will be made Çam, Angel Au-Yeung, Yinan Che and
The point of anticorruption laws is to whatsoever during the duration of President Humberto J. Rocha.



94 | FORBES FEBRUARY 28, 2018

SPRING CREEK TOWERS 555 CALIFORNIA STREET
NEW YORK SAN FRANCISCO
BANK OF AMERICA FTV CAPITAL
NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF
EDUCATION $4.3M FUTTON
$25K KIRKLAND & ELLIS
UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE $2.5M HITCHCOCK INVESTMENT GROUP
$1K + DODGE & COX MERRILL LYNCH WEALTH
$2.4M MANAGEMENT +
GOLDMAN SACHS MORGAN STANLEY +
$1.8M THE PARTHENON GROUP
FENWICK & WEST PCCP
$1.6M
PROPER FOOD
UBS FINANCIAL SERVICES +
$1.4M ROBERTSON STEPHENS ADVISORS
JONES DAY SANDLER O’NEILL & PARTNERS
$1.3M
SERVCORP
MCKINSEY & COMPANY SMBC NIKKO SECURITIES AMERICA
$1.2M
STARBUCKS
SIDLEY AUSTIN
$1.1M SUMITOMO MITSUI BANKING CORP.
MICROSOFT WINGED KEEL GROUP
FIGURES REPRESENT ONLY THE 4% $1M
OF EACH ENTITY’S RENT PAYMENTS
THAT ARE ATTRIBUTABLE TO TRUMP, KKR FINANCIAL
WHO OWNS A MINORITY STAKE.
$900K
SUPERCELL
$700K
TRUMP WORLD TOWER BARCLAYS BANK
NEW YORK $600K
WELLS FARGO +
UN PLAZA GRILL $600K
$500K
ALLIANCE BERNSTEIN
WORLD BAR $500K
$300K
FOLEY & LARDNER
$500K
SYMPHONY ASSET MANAGEMENT
$500K
BAY CLUB FINANCIAL DISTRICT
$400K
NORTON ROSE FULBRIGHT
$400K
BANK OF INDIA—SAN FRANCISCO
AGENCY z
$90K
DARTMOUTH COLLEGE—SAN
FRANCISCO OFFICE
$50K
A SHINE & CO.
AMERICAN WEST PACIFIC
INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT CORP.
ARAVO SOLUTIONS
BRIGHT HORIZONS
CENTERVIEW PARTNERS
DAIWA CAPITAL MARKETS AMERICA
FIGURES REPRESENT ONLY THE 30% OF EACH ENTITY’S RENT
PAYMENTS THAT ARE ATTRIBUTABLE TO TRUMP, WHO OWNS A
MINORITY STAKE.

WAS A FEDERAL CONTRACTOR IN 2017 LOBBIED THE FEDERAL GOV’T IN 2017 z KNOWN FOREIGN-GOV’T-OWNED
KNOWN U.S.-GOV’T-OWNED + KNOWN TO BE UNDER U.S. GOV’T INVESTIGATION DURING TRUMP’S PRESIDENCY.


FEBRUARY 28, 2018 FORBES | 95

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Trusts in the Age of Trump




DECEMBER’S TAX OVERHAUL IS SPAWNING NEW IDEAS FOR
TRANSFERRING BIG BUCKS AND MINIMIZING TAXES. PROCRASTINATORS,
BEWARE: YOUR CURRENT ESTATE PLAN MAY NOW BE BOOBY-TRAPPED.

BY ASHLEA EBELING


he federal tax overhaul just
doubled the amount of wealth
you can pass to heirs estate-
Ttax-free—without using any
trusts or planning gimmicks. Yet rather
than looking for a new specialty, top trust
lawyers are positively giddy about the op-
portunities created by the law President
Trump signed three days before Christmas.

The letter of the law allows slightly
more than $11 million per person to be
passed to kids or other noncharitable heirs

free of federal gift or estate tax. But by em-
ploying aggressive techniques, New Jersey
estate lawyer Martin Shenkman fi gures, a
couple could use their combined $22 mil-
lion tax exemption to transfer more than a
quarter-billion of assets into an irrevo-
cable dynasty trust, where that wealth can
continue to grow and pass, estate-tax-free,
to an unlimited number of future genera-

tions. “This is phenomenal. Th e numbers
are beyond comprehension,” says Shenk-
man. Is this legally risky? Less so than it
used to be. In October, Trump’s Treasury
withdrew proposed Obama-era regula-
tions cracking down on certain of these
aggressive techniques, which, when done (see map, p. 100) that impose estate and/or get everything and his wife zip. And since
right, have been upheld by the courts. inheritance taxes at much lower levels of New York exempts only $5.25 million from
Adding to the planners’ excitement: wealth than the feds. its own estate tax, accidentally leaving the

The new tax law, with its complexity, hasty One all-too-common trap: a will that full $11 million to the kids will incur a

drafting and last-minute giveaways, cre- establishes a trust linked to an outdated $1,226,800 state estate-tax bill. (Amounts

ates new opportunities to use trusts and federal and/or state exemption amount. left to a citizen spouse are exempt from

gifting to reduce income taxes, too. Say a New Yorker has assets in his own both federal and state estate taxes.)

Plus, there’s all the less-cutting-edge— name of $11 million. His current will, the “The good news is that these unin-
but, if it’s your family, high-priority—legal one he had drawn up in 2011, when the tended consequences can be fi xed,” says
work the tax changes will generate. Af- federal estate-tax exemption was raised to Donald Hamburg, a New York City estate

fluent folks should have old trust plans $5 million, leaves the “exemption amount” lawyer.

reviewed for booby traps as soon as pos- in a trust for his kids from his fi rst mar- Th e fix can be as simple as amend- VIKTOE KOEN FOR FORBES
sible, because they may need to redo or riage and the rest to his current wife. But ing your will. In some cases—particularly
scrap them. Ditto those living in 15 states if he drops dead now, the kids’ trust would if there are no second marriages, minor
FEBRUARY 28, 2018 FORBES | 97

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