Thomas Secunda
The 1996 book, The Millionaire Next Door, by William Danko, told the story about how millionaires have become wealthy, mostly by living unassuming lives and by not spending lavishly.
According to Forbes Magazine, and their yearly richest people in the world, now called
Forbes’ 35th Annual World’s Billionaires List: Facts And Figures 2021, by Kerry Dolan, 10 Billionaires call Westchester County home. Two live in Rye, and one each in Mt. Kisco, Katonah, Scarsdale, Croton on Hudson, Yorktown, Larchmont, Tarrytown and Bedford.
David Siegel, Two Sigma Investments, $6.5 billion, Scarsdale– David Siegel,59, is the co-founder of Two Sigma Investments, a Hedge Fund with $60 Billion in assets. Siegel got a computer science Ph.D. from MIT.
Thomas Secunda, Bloomberg LP, $3.5 billion, Croton-on-Hudson– Thomas Secunda,66, is a co-founder of financial services and media company Bloomberg LP. Together with Michael Bloomberg, Secunda help build the companies terminal business, which continues to be Wall Street’s top seller and accounts for 80% of the companies revenues.
David Gottesman, First Manhattan Co., $2.8 billion, Rye. David “Sandy” Gottesman’s made his fortune by becoming an early investor in Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffet’s company. He is the founder of the investment firm First Manhattan Co., which has $20 Billion in assets.
Jeffrey Talpins, Element Capital Management, $2.1 billion, Larchmont. Jeffrey Talpins,46, manages the hedge fund Element Capital Management, with $17 billion in assets. Talpin is one of the young traders on Wall Street who has worked for Citigroup and Goldman Sachs, has a diversified portfolio in his fund, has one of the best returns of any Hedge Fund (almost 20% per year), and is ultra secretive. He does not want to be seen, but the best chance is around Larchmont on weekends.
Leonard Schleifer, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, $1.8 billion, Tarrytown. Leonard Schleifer,68, co-founded the biotech-pharmaceutical company, whose HQ’s are in Tarrytown. Schleifer remains CEO and has been at the helm as the company released six FDA approved medicines, and last year began efforts to create an antibody for COVID-19.
Nelson Peltz, Trian Fund Management, $1.6 billion, Bedford. Nelson Peltz, 78, is one of the better know members of this list, because of his history on Wall Street in the 1980’s as a leader in corporate buyouts leveraged by junk bonds. Since then he is the founder of Trian Fund Management, which has $8.5 Billion in assets. Peltz like to target a company and improve its value, like he did with Pepsico, selling his shares in 2016 for a 50% return.
Barry Silbert, cryptocurrency, $1.6 billion, Rye. Barry Silbert,44, is another one of the young traders on the list. He is the founder and CEO of Digital Currency Group (DCG), a conglomerate of five cryptocurrency-focused companies, including digital asset manager Grayscale, which oversees $28 billion worth of Bitcoin, Ether and other assets. He is a former investment banker and Nasdaq trader.
Michael Steinhardt, hedge funds, $1.2 billion, Mount Kisco. One of the founding fathers of the Hedge Fund, Michael Steinhardt, 78, closed his fund in 1995, after a run of great returns from the 1980’s. He then returned to Wall Street with the fund WisdomTree Investments, where he served on the board and is a shareholder. WisdomeTree focuses on ETF investments.
George Yancopoulos, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, $1.1 billion, Yorktown Heights– George Yancopoulos, 61, is the chief scientific officer of biotech firm Regeneron. He has an MD and a PHD from Columbia and was a biology professor at the age of 28. He joined Regeneron one year after it was founded in 1989, and has led the invention of approved drugs at the company.
Yancopoulos is more well known in his community than his fellow billionaires. He gave a recent speech at last year’s Yorktown High School graduation (drive-in) where he said, ““I believe Black lives matter, though I do not think it should be a crime to say that all lives matter.”
George Soros, Katonah. George Soros, 90, became known in 1992 when he made $1 Billion by shorting the British Pound, and became the mane who broke the Bank of England. He managed money until 2011, when he then shifted $18 Billon of his wealth to his Open Society Foundation, with assets of $8.4 Billion. More known for his work for progressive causes, Soros has been critical of former President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi. His helicopter can frequently be seen flying into his Katonah property, but he also owns several other houses and large apartments in NYC and the Hamptons.
Are there other Westchester Billionaires that were missed by Forbes or may be flying under the radar? Perhaps. If you know of someone, email us at dmurphy@risingmediagroup.com.
