Local News These Massachusetts billionaires made Forbes’ 2026 list of the 400 richest Americans Most of the Bay State’s billionaires returned to the list this year, while two no longer made the cut. Abigail Johnson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Fidelity Investments, during a discussion at the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce annual meeting in 2022. (Photo by: Barry Chin/Globe Staff)
Making it onto Forbes’ list of America’s 400 richest people is harder than ever.
This year, you’d need a net worth of at least $4.4 billion to make the cut — $600 million more than last year and $2.7 billion more than a decade ago.
Forbes said the rise comes as the artificial intelligence and data center boom pushes fortunes higher and the U.S. stock market hovers near a record high. There are now a record 590 American billionaires who still aren’t wealthy enough to make the Forbes 400.
The 400 people who did make the list are richer than ever, with a combined net worth of $8 trillion, up from $6.6 trillion last year.
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Elon Musk tops the list again. His fortune nearly doubled following the IPO of his rocket company, SpaceX, bringing his estimated net worth to $908 billion. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos follows with $378 billion, while Alphabet board member Larry Page ranks third with $278 billion.
Here in Massachusetts, the list is filled with familiar names. Abigail Johnson, the heir and CEO of Boston-based Fidelity Investments, once again leads the state’s billionaires, with a net worth of more than $40 billion.
Notably falling off the list were Phillip T. Ragon and Alan Trefler, who last year tied for the 352nd spot. Ragon founded InterSystems, a software company for healthcare providers and banks. Trefler started the software company Pegasystems, which streamlines business and enhances customer engagement.
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Forbes calculates each person’s net worth by considering their assets, including company stakes, stocks, real estate, and other valuable possessions.
See who made the list this year:
1. Abigail Johnson, 64, $41.6 billion
Johnson moved up from 27th on the list to 25th, as her net worth increased to $41.6 billion, up from $35 billion last year.
She has served as CEO of Fidelity Investments since 2014, when she took over for her father, and has been chairman since 2016.
Johnson’s grandfather founded the mutual fund giant in 1946. She worked there each summer while in college, joining full-time in 1988 after earning her MBA from Harvard University.
She owns an estimated 29% of the firm, which, as of December 2025, manages discretionary assets totaling $7.1 trillion. Her company has embraced digital assets, with Fidelity being the first to launch a platform in 2018 that allows institutional investors to custody and trade Bitcoin, Ether, and Litecoin.
2. Edward Johnson IV, 61, $16.3 billion
Another grandchild of Fidelity’s founder and a brother of Abigail Johnson, Edward Johnson IV is the second-richest person in Massachusetts and the 73rd-richest overall.
Up from 76th on last year’s list, Johnson has a net worth of $16.3 billion, up from $14.2 billion.
Johnson serves as president of Pembroke Real Estate, which Fidelity’s parent company, FMR, owns. Forbes said he holds a 10% stake in FMR.
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The Johnson family donates to Harvard, Historic New England, and the Institute of Contemporary Art.
3. Robert Kraft, 85, $15.2 billion
Robert Kraft bought the New England Patriots for $172 million in 1994. The team is now worth over $10 billion and has won six Super Bowls.
Kraft also owns a Major League Soccer team, the New England Revolution.
He also started a professional video gaming team in Boston, part of the Overwatch esports league, in 2017.
Kraft is the 81st-richest person in America, down from 78th last year. However, his net worth has grown from $13.8 billion last year to $15.2 billion this year.
4. Elizabeth Johnson, 63, $14.4 billion
A third grandchild of the founder and a sibling of the CEO of Fidelity is amongst the wealthiest Americans.
Elizabeth Johnson ranked 89th on the overall list with a net worth of $14.4 billion, up from $12.3 billion last year.
Like her brother, Edward IV, she owns an estimated 10% stake in FMR.
She founded a stable for show jumping horses, Louisburg Farm, in Wellington, Florida, in 2013.
5. Jim Davis & family, 83, $6.7 billion
Jim Davis and the family behind New Balance are 256th overall, with their net worth rebounding from $5.2 billion last year to $6.7 billion this year.
Davis and his wife bought the small shoemaker in 1977 and turned it into a $9.2 billion company, based on 2025 sales.
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His family owns 95% of the private company to date.
In college, he studied biology and chemistry in hopes of becoming a doctor, until one of his professors suggested he pursue sales.
6. Robert Hale Jr., 60, $6.5 billion
Falling down one spot to the sixth-wealthiest person in the commonwealth, Robert Hale Jr. is the 261st-richest person in the nation.
Hale is the CEO and founder of Granite Telecommunications, a wholesale telecommunications provider for businesses and governments in the U.S. and Canada. Granite generated over $1.7 billion in sales last year, servicing over 1.8 million voice and data lines.
Hale has donated over $470 million to cancer research, educational institutions, and other causes.
7. Amos Hostetter Jr., 89, $4.5 billion
Amos Hostetter Jr. is the last Massachusetts resident on the list at number 380.
Hostetter made his fortune by investing in what became Continental Cablevision in the 1960s; he sold it to U.S. West in 1996 for $11 billion.
Through his family’s Barr Foundation, Hostetter has donated over $1.9 billion to education, the arts, and efforts to fight climate change.
Also, he runs the early-stage investment firm Pilot House Ventures.
Beth Treffeisen Reporter Beth Treffeisen is a general assignment reporter for Boston.com, focusing on local news, crime, and business in the New England region.
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