Massachusetts Residents Who Made the ‘Forbes’ Billionaires List

Author Cort Freeman

October 7th 11:04 AM

Massachusetts Residents Who Made the ‘Forbes’ Billionaires List (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Forbes just released its list of the top 400 billionaires in America and the list featured some familiar names from Massachusetts. You probably already know some of them!

You can’t blame a rich person for wanting to live in Massachusetts. You get a bit of everything from amazing food to the scenic coast–what’s not to love? With the amount of money they’re making, they can enjoy all that The Bay State has to offer, which is a luxury that not everyone can afford.

Which Massachusetts Residents Made The Forbes Billionaires List?

This is certainly one list you’d love to find yourself on. However, only 400 people are lucky (or fortunate) enough to make the list. Several Massachusetts residents ended up making the final cut! In fact, nine people on the list call Massachusetts home! That’s a significant number of people!

First on the list, making the most money, is Abigail Johnson the CEO of Fidelity Investments. According to Yahoo! Finance, she has a net worth of $31.3 billion. Up next, someone close to Abigail, it’s her brother Edward Johnson IV! He reportedly has a net worth of $12.6 billion. However, not everyone on the list is from Fidelity Investments or in the family (although those two are not the only ones on the list, spoiler alert). Robert Kraft, the famed owner of the New England Patriots, is third on the list with $11.8 billion. He probably has Tom Brady to thank for a lot of that money. Safe to say he changed things in Foxborough a bit and now the team is worth much more money than it would have been all those Super Bowl rings later.

Then, fourth on the list is another Johnson! It’s Abigail’s sister, Elizabeth Johnson, who reportedly has a net worth of $10.6 billion, per Yahoo! Finance. Also on the list is Jim Davis and his family. Jim is the chairman of New Balance and has a net worth of $6.5 billion. Robert Hale, Jr. of Granite Telecommunications ($5.8 billion), Amos Hostetter, Jr. of Piot House Associates ($3.8 billion), and Bill and Ted Alfond, the heirs to the Dexter Shoe Company fortune, also made the list at $3.4 billion each respectively, per Yahoo! Finance.

That’s a long list and clearly it’s good to keep a solid relationship with your family members! According to Forbes, there are 21 billionaires in the state of Massachusetts and not all of them ended up making the list.

Cort Freeman was born and raised in Metro Detroit. He was named Clarkston High School 2009 Class Clown 13 years after graduating. Totally normal thing to happen. That’s thanks to his time spent as an Intern at Comedy Central and Social Media Correspondent for The Colbert Report. Cort has done comedy across the country, both standing up and sitting down. When he’s not trying to make you laugh on-air and online, he’s probably at home enjoying his favorite shows like Seinfeld, South Park, and The Office. He’s also totally uncomfortable writing about himself in the third person. Cort enjoys writing about comedy, food, sports, and entertainment. So, basically anything and everything.

Make Your Money Grow with These Low-Risk Investments

If you have some money wasting away in a savings account that doesn’t have interest, then you might want to consider making your money grow with low-risk investments. Financial experts say that certain low-risk investments can really help pad your savings.

What Are Low-Risk Investments?

Before we get into the best low-risk investments, let’s look at what exactly is a low-risk investment. The official definition is basically what you would expect from the definition of a low-risk investment. According to the financial experts at Capital.com, it’s “an investment where there is perceived to be just a slight chance of losing some or all of your money. Low risk investments offer you a security blanket as they’re not likely to suddenly drop in value.”

In contrast, according to Investopedia.com, “A high-risk investment is one for which there is either a large percentage chance of loss of capital or under-performance—or a relatively high chance of a devastating loss.” They add that, “The first of these is intuitive, if subjective: If you were told there’s a 50/50 chance that your investment will earn your expected return, you may find that quite risky.” So, for example, a 50/50 risk might not seem risky to some, but it might seem risky to others. An investment with a 99% risk will obviously seem risky to everyone. But, with high-risk investments come big payouts, so that’s what lures people in. For example, a separate article from Investopedia.com states that some high-risk investments can double your money. That’s obviously a much bigger return than you would see in your average investment. As they state, “Make no mistake, there is no guaranteed way to double your money with any investment. But there are plenty of examples of investments that doubled or more in a short period of time.”

So, if you’re interested in making a ton of money, or losing it all, high-risk investments such as investing in foreign emerging markets may be of interest to you. “A country experiencing a growing economy can be an ideal investment opportunity,” experts at Investopedia.com state. “Investors can buy government bonds, stocks, or sectors with that country experiencing hyper-growth or ETFs that represent a growing sector of stocks.” They add “spurts in economic growth in countries are rare events that, though risky, can provide investors with a slew of brand new companies to invest in to bolster personal portfolios.”

Now, let’s move onto some low-risk investments for those who don’t want to risk losing their money. Of course, talk to your financial advisor before making any of these moves.

Invest in certificates of deposit (CDs)
You’ve probably heard of CDs being low-risk investments. Fidelity.com explains that “CDs provide reliable, fixed-rate returns on a lump sum of money over a fixed period of time, such as six months, one year, or five years.” They add that the great thing is that if you “get a traditional CD at a bank or credit union where they are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) or the National Credit Union Association (NCUA).” Usually, CDs have a minimum deposit, and you’ll have to pay a penalty if you take your money out too soon.

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High-yield savings accounts
High-yield savings accounts are like your regular savings account, but they earn more interest. “You can use these accounts for long-term savings goals or to hold extra money from your checking account,” CreditKarma.com states. “For example, if you want to start saving for a house or building up an emergency fund, this could be a great option.”

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U.S. treasury bills, notes and bonds
Forbes.com says that right now, the risk level for U.S. treasury bills, notes and bonds is “very low.” They add that, “U.S. Treasury securities are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. Historically, the U.S. has always paid its debts, which helps to ensure that Treasurys are the lowest-risk investments you can own.”

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Money market funds
Fidelity.com states that, “Money market funds are mutual funds that invest in short-term, low-risk assets like Treasury and government securities, commercial paper, or municipal debt—depending on the focus of the fund.” They add that, “Because their underlying investments are typically high quality, they are generally less volatile than other types of mutual funds, such as stock funds.”

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Fixed annuities
Fixed annuities are a pretty safe bet. As Forbes.com explains, “Fixed annuities are a popular type of annuity contract that are frequently used for retirement planning, but can also be useful for medium-term financial goals.” They add that, “Sold by insurance companies and financial services companies, a fixed annuity guarantees a fixed rate of return over a set period of time, regardless of market conditions.”

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Invest inside your comfort zone
People talk about stepping outside of their comfort zone in life, but really, investing isn’t a place to do this. You know how much money you have to “play” with, so if you’re worried about putting too much money in the market, these low-risk investments could still help you make money on your money.

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