Just How Rich Are Philly’s 8 Richest People?

Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, former Sixers owner and current Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin, and Comcast CEO Brian Roberts are among the richest people in the Philadelphia area, according to a new Forbes ranking. (Lurie and Rubin photos via Getty Images; Roberts photo provided by Comcast)

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Just How Rich Are the Richest People in the Philadelphia Area? A New Forbes Ranking Shows Us the Way

God bless Forbes. The publication just came out with its latest “World’s Billionaires List” aka “The Richest People in the World.” And its arrival is always a bit like when the Sears catalog would show up when I was a kid, just in time for me to make my Christmas list. I just love hearing what people in the Philadelphia area are worth — or at least what Forbes estimates they’re worth.

The only Philly-area person who broke into the top 100 was Jeff Yass, the poker mastermind turned global options trader who runs the Main Line’s secretive Susquehanna International Group. You might also know him as “The Billionaire and Rising GOP Mega-Donor Who’s Gaming the Tax System,” as ProPublica described him in a 2022 headline.

Yass, who has long made Lower Merion Township his home, didn’t just land in the top 100. He landed in the top 50 at number 48 with an estimated net worth of $28.5 billion. Just how rich is that? Well, Elon Musk could buy him more than six times over but it’s still more than the gross domestic product of Iceland. He could buy something like 400,000 Tesla Model X vehicles. Yass is doing alright.

And Yass is twice as rich as the second richest person from the Philadelphia area on the list. That person would be #151, Michael Rubin, the former Sixers partner who is now CEO of sports merchandising company Fanatics. Rubin’s net worth? $11.4 billion. People love to ask questions like, “What would you do if you had a billion dollars?” If you’re Rubin, you get your daughter a tank for her 16th birthday.

It also pays for his 11,000-square foot home on five acres in Bryn Mawr, a $70 million California home originally designed for Ronald Reagan, and a $43 million penthouse (with a pool!) in Manhattan. But, hey, you need digs like that when you’re seen out and about with people like Meek Mill and Megan Thee Stallion:

(Getty Images)

Mars candy heir Victoria Mars, who lives in Delaware County’s Newtown Square, is the third richest local — and the wealthiest woman from the area to land on the Forbes list. She’s #195.

Maybe you can ask her and her $9.6 billion to chip in on your kids’ dental bills when the M&M’s, Skittles and Milky Ways her family’s company makes manifest themselves as cavities. While most of us didn’t see our portfolios do so well over the last year, she reportedly increased her wealth by about 21 percent. She’d also be a lot richer if she had been an only child. When her father died in 2016, Victoria had to split the massive inheritance four ways with her siblings, none of whom live in the area.

And the less rich…

• Sixers partner Josh Harris, #442 with $5.8 billion
• Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, #624 with $4.4 billion
• Campbell’s Soup heir Mary Alice Dorrance Malone, #679 with $4.1 billion
• Phillies owner John Middleton, #852 with $3.4 billion
• Comcast CEO Brian Roberts, #1,725 with $1.7 billion

And, … eh, screw it. I’m not bothering with anybody who couldn’t see their way into the top 2,000 of the richest people in the world list. (Sorry to Urban Outfitters founder Richard “Dick” Hayne, but I don’t get out of bed for #2,259.)

Notably, Malone, who lives way out in Coatesville, was the richest person in all of Pennsylvania in the mid-to-late 2010s. Oh how the mighty have… fallen?

You can sift through the full Forbes list here.

Ed. Note: Some of the people in our report may have mailing addresses or business addresses in the Philadelphia area while not necessarily having their primary address here.

Cops Blame Parents for “Disorderly” Mass of Teens In Center City

Yesterday, I told you about a group of hundreds of teens who took over Market Street between 9th Street and 11th Street on Wednesday with what police called “disorderly” behavior. One 13-year-old boy was arrested after police found him carrying what turned out to be an Airsoft gun, an air-powered gun that looks like the real thing. At a press conference on Thursday afternoon, a police official made it very clear who he thinks is to blame for this incident and incidents like it: parents.

“This is a parental issue,” said Philadelphia Police Captain Ray Evers. “It is not a police issue. This is not a city issue. Parents should be watching their kids, what they’re doing.”

Referring to the Airsoft gun, he added, “There’s no reason a 13-year-old boy should be carrying this downtown.”

By the Numbers

108: Years ago today that Eleanora Fagan was born in Philadelphia. You might know her better as the legendary jazz singer Billie Holiday. She actually grew up in Baltimore but wound up spending plenty of time here throughout her career. Want to know more about Holiday? You’re in luck! Philadelphia Theatre Company just opened this musical about her.

2: Peeps colors Consumer Reports is saying you shouldn’t eat, thanks to the inclusion of Red Dye #3, which can cause cancer in animals and has been connected to hyperactivity in kids. But the Bethlehem-based company that makes Peeps says their use of the chemical is perfectly legit as far as the FDA is concerned.

8: Mayoral candidates who will square off in a televised debate. Fox 29 and Temple University are partnering on the debate, which will air live on Tuesday, April 11th from 6:30 p.m. until 8 p.m. Want primers on each of those eight candidates? Read our thorough guide here. Want tickets to attend the debate live and in person? Go here.

0: Bathrooms, cafes and couches in Center City’s brand new Barnes & Noble.

3: Days next week that are supposed to be in the 80s. Then again, we were supposed to get storms so severe that the Phillies postponed Thursday’s home opener until today. Womp womp.

And from the What-a-Letdown Sports Desk …

For the Sixers vs. the Heat in our house last night, WNBA star Elena Delle Donne rang the bell. Embiid, Melton, Harris, Tucker, Harden to start. There had been talk that Maxey, Melton and Tucker might not play, but only Maxey was on the bench. Something about his neck? Toward the close of the first quarter, Miami had a 16-2 run and led by 13. There’d been two traveling calls on us already, on Melton and McDaniels. End of the first: 41-31 Heat. Some fancy footwork, though:

…was he even looking? https://t.co/5dvw7RiXBx pic.twitter.com/OpFSdDFQWs

— NBA (@NBA) April 6, 2023

The Sixers were having a little trouble against the zone in the second, while the Heat were raining threes, putting us down 17 four minutes in, and then by 25 with less than a minute to go. Damn, my kid had tickets to this mess, too. Lots of Twitter grumbling about the Sixers both getting beat up bad and playing their stars.

An 11-0 Sixers run in the mid-third quarter cut the lead to 15 and inspired some hope. Embiid and Harden both hit threes — maybe my kid’s night wouldn’t be a total bummer! But nemesis Jimmy Butler came to life, as he so often does against his former team, and suddenly it was 20 points again. Early in the fourth, Doc pulled the starters, effectively throwing in the towel.

It’s one of those nights. Some Sixers fans are trying to beat the traffic while their squad is down 26 midway through the fourth quarter. pic.twitter.com/nuzLNYHwC7

— Keith Pompey (@PompeyOnSixers) April 7, 2023

Final tally: 129-101. That was likely it for James and Joel for the remaining two regular-season bouts, vs. the Hawks tonight at 7:30 and the Nets Sunday at 1 p.m. At least they get a week off between the end of the season and the start of the playoffs.

Don’t forget that the Phils’ home opener against Cincinnati got moved to this afternoon at 3:05.

Nothing bad ever happened at 3pm on the Friday before Easter! https://t.co/eGZ3WZlQgp

— Franzke & LA (@FranzkeLA) April 5, 2023

The rest of the weekend lineup? The Fightin’s play the Reds twice more, on Saturday at 4:05 and Sunday at 1:05. And the Union play Cincinnati as well, in Cincinnati on Saturday at 7.

Oh. The Flyers played.

All Philly Today Sports Desk coverage is provided by Sandy Hingston.