MARS FAMILY, McLean
and Arlington Net
Worth: $10 billion Confidence: B
Headquartered in McLean, Mars Inc. is one of the world’s
largest privately held companies. The 95-year-old candy maker was founded in
Tacoma, Wash., by Frank and Ethel Mars. Their signature product — the Milky
Way bar — was created in 1920. Mars now operates three core businesses:
snack food, pet care and main meal foods. Although the Mars family no longer
oversees day-to-day management, they still own the company, which had sales of
$18 billion in 2004 (the most recent numbers available) and employs 39,000 people
worldwide. Frank and Ethel’s youngest son, John Franklin Mars, 70, still
serves as chairman and lives in Arlington. Older brother, 75-year-old Forrest
Mars Jr., lives in McLean. Younger sister Jacqueline
Mars, 65, lives in Bedminster,
N.J. Forbes magazine estimated the family’s wealth at $10 billion in its
2006 list of the world’s billionaires — good enough for 44th place.
THE WINKLER FAMILY, Alexandria Net Worth: $1.8 billion Confidence: C
The Mark Winkler Co. exited the
Northern Virginia real estate market earlier this year, selling off its vast
portfolio, one of the largest in the
Washington area. The buyers were Maryland-based JBG Cos., which will assume
most of the company’s residential properties, and Duke Realty Co. of
Indianapolis, buyer of the bulk of the company’s commercial properties.
The deal was valued at $2.3 billion. Sale included more than 5,000 apartments,
nearly 3.6
million square feet of commercial office space in 35 buildings, and 161 acres
acquired over the firm’s 60-year history. Changing hands are such properties
as MCI’s former world headquarters in Washington and the Mark Center
in Alexandria. Fairfax County also purchased
a 180-unit Reston apartment complex to preserve affordable housing. The family
business will continue solely as an
investment company with six employees operating out of an Old Town Alexandria
office. Unaffected by the sale is the Winkler Botanical Preserve, a 44-acre
preserve
with 300,000 plants at the Mark Center. Founder Mark Winkler’s widow,
Catherine, 92, continues to live in Northern Virginia. Daughter Tori Winkler
Thomas is chairman.
SHEILA C. JOHNSON,
The Plains and Wellington, Fla. Age: 56
Net Worth: 1.5 billion Confidence: A
Last year was a busy time for Johnson
who remarried and chaired the inaugural committee of Virginia’s new governor,
Timothy M. Kaine. Johnson, and her former husband, Robert Johnson, founded Black
Entertainment Television in 1980. Its sale in 2000 to Viacom for $3 billion reportedly
made her the country's first black female billionaire. In September she married
William T. Newman, chief judge of Arlington Circuit Court. An elaborate wedding
at her Salamander Farm estate in Virginia's hunt country included 700 guests,
including Kaine and former Virginia Gov. Mark R. Warner. Johnson was the largest
individual contributor to Kaine’s gubernatorial campaign, donating $404,490.
She’s president and general manager of the Washington Mystics of the
Women's National Basketball Association and a minority owner of the Washington
Wizards
of the NBA and the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League. Johnson
has many philanthropic interests, primarily causes helping children, and
serves as CEO of Salamander Hospitality. The company opened Market Salamander
in Middleburg
and plans to open a resort and spa there by spring of 2008.
WINNIE JOHNSON-MARQUART, Virginia
Beach Age: 46
Net Worth: $1.5 billion Confidence: B
Johnson-Marquart is
one of four children of the late Sam
Curtis Johnson, the face of SC Johnson & Son for years in a series of
folksy TV commercials. The Racine, Wis.-based company was started in 1886
by Sam Johnson’s
great-grandfather. Sam Johnson transformed the floor wax company into a creator
of a variety of household products including Glade air freshener and Off
insect repellent. It is now headed by the fifth generation of Johnsons, Dr.
H. Fisk
Johnson. Johnson-Marquart inherited $1.5 billion when her father died in
2004. She ranks No. 512 on Forbes’ list of the world’s billionaires.
The mother of four children graduated from Cornell University, her father’s
alma mater. She is married to Michael Marquart, who runs Windmark Studios,
a music recording studio in Virginia Beach. She
serves as president of The Johnson Family Foundation and is a member of the
board of trustees at Norfolk Academy.
She was heavily involved in a $40 million fund-raising
campaign for the school’s
John H. Tucker Jr. Arts Center, which was dedicated in January. The arts
center includes the Samuel C. Johnson Theater.
FRANK BATTEN SR., Virginia Beach Age: 79
Net Worth: $1.4 billion Confidence: B
Retired chairman, CEO and founder of Norfolk-based Landmark Communications.
Remains
chairman of
the privately
held company’s executive
committee. Along with wife Jane was ranked 30th on BusinessWeek’s 2005
list of “The 50 Most Generous Philanthropists.” Couple has given
away about $400 million of their fortune. With a net worth of $1.4 billion,
Batten ranks as world’s 562nd richest person on Forbes’ billionaire
list, a position that ties him with several well-known personalities, including
media
mogul Oprah Winfrey. Recent donations include a $7 million challenge grant
to the Virginia Zoo, the largest municipal gift in Norfolk history. Another
$2 million
went to Hollins University’s Batten Leadership Institute, funded by
the couple in 2002. Tidewater Community College received $1 million. Batten
also
contributed $25,000 to Virginians for Responsible Government, a PAC business
leaders set up last year to help re-elect the “Gang of Five” Republicans
who bucked their party and voted for tax increases. Son Frank Jr. now runs
Landmark and has served as rector at Old Dominion University, where his father
was the
first rector and has a long relationship.
RAJENDRA and NEERA SINGH, Alexandria Net Worth: $1 billion Confidence: A
The couple, pioneers in the
wireless industry, turned their investments into a billion-dollar fortune.
(See profile)
SMITH/KOGOD FAMILY,
Crystal City and Washington Net Worth: $1 billion Confidence: A
The Charles E. Smith Cos. were founded in 1946
and eventually grew into Virginia’s largest real estate development
company, going public in 1994. Charles E. Smith Residential, which specializes
in buying,
building and operating apartment buildings in Washington, merged with real
estate investment trust (REIT) Archstone Communities Trust of Englewood,
Colo., in 2001
(now Archstone-Smith). In January, Archstone-Smith paid $342 million to acquire
The Gershwin, a 40-story, 550-unit high-rise apartment complex in Manhattan.
Another division, Charles E. Smith Commercial Realty, is part of Vornado
Realty Trust, a REIT whose 25 million square feet of office holdings include
about
60 buildings in the Washington area. Charles E. Smith died in 1995 at 94.
Son Robert
H. Smith, 77, remains a director of Vornado and Archstone-Smith. Son-in-law
Robert P. Kogod, 74, also serves as a director at both REITs.
STEPHEN M. CASE, McLean Age: 47 Net
Worth: $900 million Confidence: B
The
co-founder of America Online aims to exert the same impact on consumer-driven
health care as he did on digital communication. Stepped
down
as chairman of AOL after disastrous merger with media giant Time Warner Inc.
Case now spends most of his time overseeing Revolution Health Group, a startup
he bankrolled with $500 million of his money. Since its launch last year,
RHG has assembled a portfolio of 12 companies ranging from specialty health-care
providers to luxury resorts. Among the investors in RHG is former Secretary
of State Colin Powell. Case also is chairman of Executive Resorts, a company
he
started to sell exotic vacation homes to wealthy individuals. Also invests
in real estate, most notably pineapple farming in Hawaii, where Case was
born.
ROGER SANT,
Middleburg and Georgetown Age: 74 Net
Worth: $800 million Confidence: A
Chairman
emeritus and co-founder of AES Corp. Sant retired May 11 from company’s
board of directors. He started the Arlington-based global energy company
in 1981 with Dennis Bakke and served as its chairman until
2003. During his tenure, Sant saw many changes, with the company hitting
a rough patch in the early 2000s when it was forced to sell off assets. “Now
that it’s stable and back on its feet, I’m very pleased,” says
Sant. He leaves on a high note with 2005 revenue exceeding $11 billion. Sant
owns nearly
23 million shares, or about 3.5 percent of the company — valued at
$385 million — as well as other investments. He plans to spend more
time serving on nonprofit boards. He and wife Victoria have stepped up philanthropy,
awarding
$49 million in gifts or pledges during the past year. Donations include $10
million to the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, where Sant serves
on the orchestra’s
board of trustees. The money will endow the music director’s post.
The Sants also pledged $10 million to create the first endowed position in
ocean
research at the National Museum of Natural History and last month gave $20
million to protect the Amazon rain forest through the couple’s Summit
Foundation.
CARL D. SILVER,
Fredericksburg Age: 80
Net Worth: $800 million Confidence: B
The real estate developer and founder of the Silver Cos. still goes to work
most
days, but son Larry runs the company. Silver had
a pacemaker put in last year but told the local newspaper he has no plans
to
retire. He splits
time between Fredericksburg and Bradenton, Fla., where the company has an
office and Silver owns a second home. He’s been divesting personal
real estate holdings and, stepping up philanthropy, donating $2 million to
help build the
Lloyd F. Moss Free Clinic in Fredericksburg, which will provide free medical
and dental care to the uninsured. The 16,000-square-foot-facility will be
named the Carl D. Silver Health Center. “The disadvantaged person,
when sick, hurts just as much as the advantaged person,” Silver said
in a news conference. In February, Silver Cos. donated 2,000 square feet
of space for
the new home
of the Center for African-American Genealogical Research Inc., a nonprofit
that hopes to give researchers a place to work and to mentor at-risk youth.
Development
continues on the Silver Cos. 2.4-million-square-foot Celebrate Virginia mixed-use
project off I-95.
RICHARD D. FAIRBANK, McLean Age: 55
Net Worth: $750 million+ Confidence: B
Chairman and CEO of Capital One Financial Corp. In March, credit card company
paid
$14.6 billion to acquire
North Fork Bancorp, a regional bank
based in Melville, N.Y., with branches throughout New York City area. Combined
with a 2005 acquisition of New Orleans-based Hibernia Corp., the latest purchase
transforms Capital One into a broadly based financial services company, offering
banking services, credit cards, auto loans and home loans. The company is
country’s
11th largest bank with assets of $146 billion. Capital One earned $1.8 billion
in 2006 — its 11th straight year of record earnings — and that
helped ensure Fairbank a nice payday. He takes no salary but receives compensation
in
the form of stock options. He owns nearly 2.4 million shares outright and
has unexercised-but-vested options on another $266.5 million worth of shares
for
an estimated combined value of $445 million. In addition, he has options
to purchase another 8.6 million shares. Fairbanks also is a partner in Washington-based
Lincoln
Holdings LLC, which owns the Washington Capitals pro hockey franchise and
Washington Mystics pro women’s basketball franchise. In addition, he
has other business holdings.
RANDAL J. KIRK, Radford Net Worth: $700 million Confidence: A
Chairman, CEO and founder of Radford-based New River Pharmaceuticals.
A two-for-one stock split nearly doubled the number of Kirk's company shares
to 21 million, boosting his net worth.
(See profile)
FRANK BATTEN JR., Norfolk Age: 47
Net Worth: $700 million Confidence: C
Chairman and CEO of Landmark Communications Inc. Company recently reduced
concentration
in classified
advertising by dividing
assets of Trader
Publishing with Cox, creating a new company for its half of the venture.
The private company’s key properties include The Virginian-Pilot, The
Roanoke Times and the Weather Channel. New acquisitions have focused on smaller
and less
expensive nondaily newspapers, which face little competition. “I am
always looking for the next big thing; the next Trader or the next Weather
Channel,” Batten
told the Virginian-Pilot. He was among larger contributors to Gov. Tim Kaine’s
campaign, donating $50,000. The Aimee & Frank Batten Jr. Foundation donated
$3.9 million to charity in 2004: largest donation was $1 million to Samaritan’s
Purse, an international Christian relief and evangelism organization.
GOTTWALD FAMILY, Richmond Net Worth: $600 million+ Confidence: C
The Gottwalds retain significant
ownership in three Richmond-based,
publicly owned companies — Albemarle Corp., Tredegar Corp. and NewMarket
Corp. Strong rallies in all three stocks since late year have boosted value of
the family’s holdings. Albemarle, a maker of specialty chemicals, is no
longer under the family’s day-to-day control, although William M. Gottwald,
58, serves as chairman. His father, Floyd D. Gottwald Jr., 83, is vice chairman.
Together, they control 20.7 percent of the company’s stock valued at nearly
$400 million. Another son, John D. Gottwald, 51, is CEO of Tredegar, which manufactures
plastic film and aluminum extrusions. William also is a vice chairman at Tredegar.
The Gottwalds control 20.9 percent of Tredegar’s shares. Thomas E. Gottwald,
45, Floyd’s nephew, is president and CEO of NewMarket, a holding company
for two subsidiaries — Afton Chemical Corp. and Ethyl Corp. — which
make performance additives for petroleum products. Bruce C. Gottwald, 72, Thomas’ father
and Floyd’s younger brother, is chairman at NewMarket. Family members control
12.8 percent of NewMarket’s stock. The family dynasty began in 1918
when the late Floyd Gottwald Sr. was hired as a clerk in the export department
of
Albemarle Paper Manufacturing Co.
WES FOSTER, McLean Age: 71 Net
Worth: $500 million+ Confidence: C
Chairman,
CEO and co-founder of Long & Foster Cos., largest privately
owned real estate firm in U.S. Real estate market may have cooled some, but
company posted its best year yet in 2005. Sales hit $65.8 billion, a 17 percent
year-over-year
increase. Solid sales continued during first months of 2006, though pace
moderated in March. “It is still a healthy marketplace, and we anticipate
that sales through 2006 will happen at a slower but steady pace,” Foster
said in a company statement. The 37-year-old Fairfax firm continues to grow,
expanding
to 230 offices and more than 15,500 employees — 900 more than a year
ago — in
Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, West Virginia, Delaware, North
Carolina, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. New technology, training and acquisitions
fueled growth. The 1956 Virginia Military Institute graduate pledged $200,000
from the firm to Hurricane Katrina relief and challenged company employees
to match it.
ROBINS FAMILY, Richmond Net Worth: $400
million+ Confidence: C
Many of Richmond’s institutions,
including the University of Richmond, the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden,
Maymont, the Richmond SPCA and the
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts have been benefactors of the Robins family’s
generosity. The late E. Claiborne Robins Sr., who headed the A.H. Robins
Co., began family’s philanthropic efforts with a $50 million gift to
the University of Richmond, his alma mater. Matriarch Lora Robins, son E.
Claiborne Robins Jr.
and daughters Ann Carol Robins Marchant and Betty Robins Porter serve as
directors of the family’s Robins Foundation, which disbursed grants
of $5.6 million in 2005. The foundation has supported many of the same causes
as the family,
with major commitments to early childhood education, the performing arts
and Jamestown Settlement. Claiborne Jr. also runs E.C. Robins International,
which
includes ECR Pharmaceuticals, Virginia Air Corp., ECR Pharma Gmbh and Robins
Cellars, a wine distribution service. He serves as chairman of the board
of trustees at the Virginia Historical Society.
THEODORE J. LEONSIS, McLean Age: 50 Net
Worth: $425 million Confidence: A
One
of the last remaining founding members of AOL LLC who is still with the company.
Has occupied many executive positions at AOL, which
recently
changed its name from America Online. Now heads a group of brands that includes
AOL, AOL.com, Aim, Mapquest, ICQ, Weblogs and Baltimore-based Advertising.com,
an interactive marketing firm for which AOL paid $435 million in cash in
2004. The National Hockey League lockout ended with a new collective bargaining
agreement,
allowing Leonsis’ Washington Capitals to resume play. Leonsis expects
the team to “have a good year financially,” although the team
has struggled on the ice. He owns the team through Lincoln Holdings, an investment
group that
includes Capitals President Richard Patrick, Capital One Financial Chairman
Richard Fairbank and Sheila C. Johnson, co-founder of Black Entertainment
Television.
Also owns Washington Mystics, a women’s basketball team, and 44 percent
of the Washington Wizards NBA team, and a local Ticketmaster franchise. Leonsis
sits on boards of several charities, including Best Buddies and the Leonsis
Family Foundation, which has given nearly $762,000 to organizations that
help underprivileged
children.
C. DANIEL CLEMENTE,
McLean Age: 69 Net Worth: $410 million Confidence: C
Diverse
business interests include law, real estate and financial services. A lawyer
by training, Clemente
spent
several years running his firm
before gravitating to commercial real estate. Serves as chairman of the board
of Clemente Development Co., which leases a portfolio of office buildings
in downtown Washington. Additionally, Clemente continues to practice law,
serving
as a consultant to wealthy individuals. Is a family trustee for Cargill Inc.,
a huge agricultural company with $60 billion in annual sales. Clemente donated
$5,000 to Federal Victory Fund in 2005, a political action committee that
provides money exclusively to Republican candidates, including Virginia Sen.
George
Allen, a possible presidential contender in 2008. Rescued Digital Commerce
Corp. of
Vienna from bankruptcy several years ago and is still listed as firm’s
chairman and CEO. Also founded Community Bank and Trust in Springfield and
First Commercial Bank of Arlington.
ESTES FAMILY, Richmond Net Worth: $400
million+ Confidence: C
Family
owns Estes Express Line trucking company, now
in its 75th year. The full-service, coast-to-coast
North American
transportation provider has more
than 13,000 employees and 27,000 tractors and trailers. W.W. Estes founded
company in 1931and was succeeded by his son Robey W. Estes Sr. Today Robey
W. Estes Jr.,
serves as president and CEO. Estes is the largest family-owned less-than-truckload
(LTL) carrier in the nation with $1.1 billion in revenue in 2005. Last
year
company acquired Los Angeles-based carrier G.I. Trucking, expanding Estes’ U.S.
territory to 46 states. It also opened a warehousing and logistics center
in York, Pa. Company also includes Estes Air Transportation Service, which
provides
delivery services through alliances with major airlines.
KIRBY FAMILY, Claremont. Net Worth: $350 million (Includes
assets held in trust or by other family members)Confidence: B
Philanthropy in the Kirby family began in 19th century. That is
when the late Fred Morgan Kirby established the family fortune by merging
a string
of variety stores with F.W. Woolworth. Over the years, family has offered
support for colleges, libraries, churches, hospitals and many charitable
organizations.
In Virginia, the family’s Guilford Foundation supports institutions
such as the Massey Cancer Center, MCV Foundation, James River Association,
Sacred
Heart Center, St. Christopher’s School, Hampden-Sydney College and
the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation. The family owns 9 percent of the stock
of Alleghany
Corp., a New York-based holding company with primary investments in financial
and industrial companies. Roger H. W. Kirby is president of Guilford Co.,
a private investment firm in Richmond. He
serves as a trustee at his alma mater, Hampden-Sydney
College.
