Six Northwestern alumni appear on the 2025 Forbes 400 list. Released Tuesday morning, the yearly list ranks the 400 richest American citizens that own assets in the United States by net worth.
First released in 1982, the Forbes 400 is a difficult list to make it on. The minimum net worth to make the Forbes 400 is $3.8 billion, more than twice what it was a decade ago.
From Elon Musk to Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, the 44th edition of the list details billionaires’ net worth, source of money, state of residence, age and philanthropy score.
No. 123 Patrick Ryan (Kellogg ’59)
Founder and executive chairman of Ryan Specialty Holdings, a wholesale brokerage and specialty insurance firm, Patrick Ryan has a net worth of $10 billion as of Sept. 9.
For 47 years, Ryan has been a member of the NU Board of Trustees. He has gifted the University an extraordinary amount of money, including $480 million in 2021 — the largest gift in University history at the time.
Several buildings are named in honor of the Ryans’ gifts to the University such as the Welsh-Ryan Arena, Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Center for the Musical Arts, Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Hall, Ryan Fieldhouse and Ryan Field.
No. 153 Neil Bluhm (Pritzker ’62)
A real estate tycoon, Bluhm made the list with a net worth of $8.7 billion as of Sept. 9. He owns several Chicago properties, including 900 North Michigan and the Ritz-Carlton Chicago, as well as casinos in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Chicago.
Bluhm has also made significant gifts to NU, including a $45 million gift in 2022 to establish the Northwestern Medicine Bluhm Heart Hospital at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. He is a Life Trustee of the University.
No. 181 Leonid Radvinsky (Weinberg ’03)
Owner of OnlyFans, Leonid Radvinsky has a net worth of $7.8 billion as of Sept. 9. OnlyFans reported $1.4 billion of revenue in 2024, taking in a total of $7.2 billion from subscribers.
While at NU, Radvinsky founded a porn website referral business, Cybertania. Radvinsky paid himself $1.8 billion in dividends from 2021 through early 2025.
No. 201 Mark Walter (Pritzker ’85)
CEO of the investment firm Guggenheim Partners, Mark Walter has a net worth of $7.3 billion as of Sept. 9. Also a University Trustee, during NU’s “We Will” campaign, Walter and his wife gave $40 million in 2014 to support University athletics and recreation and scholarships for the law school.
No. 219 Karen Pritzker (Weinberg ’80)
Karen Pritzker is one of 13 billionaire Pritzker heirs with a net worth of $6.7 billion as of Sept. 9. The family’s wealth comes from the industrial conglomerate Marmon and Hyatt Hotels.
Pritzker founded a film production company, KPJR Films and has produced five documentary films, including “Paper Tigers” and “The Big Picture: Rethinking Dyslexia.”
No. 382 Gov. JB Pritzker (Pritzker ’93)
Karen Pritzker’s brother, JB Pritzker, is the governor of Illinois and has a net worth of $3.9 billion as of Sept. 9.
JB Pritzker and his wife, MK Pritzker, gifted $100 million to NU’s law school. In honor of their donation, the school was named the Pritzker School of Law in 2015.
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