In many countries, doctors are at the top of the earning scale. However, most practicing physicians are affluent but not necessarily rich, except those who either mixed their profession with business or solely focused on business, leaving the lab coat aside to become extremely wealthy.
In this list, we’ll be ranking and revealing the richest physicians in the world, including those who have made their fortune in fields completely unrelated to the health business. Focusing on professionals from the USA to the Middle East, get ready to meet the World’s Wealthiest Doctors!
Thomas Frist Jr.
The richest doctor on this list is Thomas First Jr., owner of the American corporation HCA Healthcare. He graduated from the Washington University School of Medicine in the late 1950s, and later went on to work as a flight surgeon for the US Air Force.
In 1968, Thomas, alongside his father Thomas F. Frist Sr., and businessman Jack C. Massey, founded the Hospital Corporation of America (HCA). Thomas’ father was also a physician, who graduated from Vanderbilt University in the 1930s.
The HCA exponentially grew with time, including after merging the company HealthTrust Inc. and Columbia in the 1990s.As of mid-2024, Thomas is the richest man in Tennessee, with an estimated net worth of $28.3 billion.
Miriam Adelson
If you’re familiar with the Las Vegas Sands’ business empire, then you’d be surprised to know that Miriam Adelson is a physician. She graduated from the Tel Aviv University Faculty of Medicine and worked as a physician treating people with drug addictions for several years before marrying the late Sheldon Adelson in 1991, whom she’d met a couple of years before.
Sheldon Adelson had been building his fortune in the 1950s by funding dozens of businesses in a wide variety of fields, however, the biggest part of his fortune came from his gambling and hotel empire, which now extends to several countries around the world. Though the family’s resorts were sold in 2022, Miriam still owns the Las Vegas Review-Journal and has a majority share of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team, on top of owning a research clinic in Las Vegas. She has a fortune of $27.3 billion and is one of the 70 richest people in the world.
Miriam Adelson in the house! pic.twitter.com/28UxnqVOhZ
— Sports Rabbi (@thesportsrabbi) October 1, 2023
Sulaiman Al Habib
The third richest physician on this list for good reasons, is Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib, who owns the Saudi Arabia-founded company of the same name which is today’s largest healthcare provider in the Middle East, extending to the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.
Al Habib graduated from the Riyadh-based King Saud University as a surgeon, and from the British Royal College of Physicians as a pediatrician, in London, UK. His first clinic opened in 1993 and extended to an extensive large chain of medical facilities and pharmacies. Al Habib’s fortune could also be partially attributed to his real estate investments.
These days, Al Habib’s fortune has been estimated by Bloomberg at $12 billion , turning him into the third richest individual in the Middle East who has no relation to Royalty.
Patrick Soon-Shiong
South African Physician, philanthropist, and businessman Patrick Soon-Shiong has been one of the richest people in the health field for a while. He graduated from the Johannesburg-based University of Witwatersrand in 1975, and furthered his studies at the University of British Columbia, American College of Surgeons, and others. He also became a certified surgeon after receiving training at the University of California.
Patrick’s most notable business and medical contributions include the creation of Abraxane, a highly effective drug against cancer. He also created several healthcare institutions, owns the Los Angeles Times, has shares in The Lakers basketball team, and is a philanthropist committed to the Giving Pledge campaign.
According to Forbes, Patrick’s wealth hit its highest point so far in 2015 at $12.5 billion. However, his fortune had decreased to $6.2 billion by 2024.
Uğur Şahin
German-born Uğur Şahin is a graduate of the University of Cologne. He specialized in immunotherapy, immunology, and molecular medicine, working at the University Hospital of Cologne in the 1990s, before moving to other medical centers in Germany and Switzerland.
Besides co-founding a research center focused on cancer immunotherapy, Uğur and his wife Özlem Türeci founded Ganymed Pharmaceuticals and BioNTech, the latter with which he became a billionaire in 2020, when the company started developing a COVID-19 vaccine in association with Pfizer.
Uğur became a billionaire in 2020 and hit his highest wealth point in 2022 at $5.3 billion. According to Forbes as of 2024, his fortune is $3.7 billion.
Leonard Schleifer
American businessman and doctor Leonard Schelifer has been in the pharmaceutical field for several decades. After graduating as a physician from the University of Virginia, Leonard rejected the chance of becoming an academic, to fund the biotechnology business Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, alongside a couple of associates.
It wasn’t until 2011 that the company released its first successful drug Eylea to treat blood vessels in the eyes, becoming a billionaire for the first time in 2013. According to Forbes, his net worth as of mid-2024 is $3.5 billion,.
August Troendle
American businessman August Troendle is the founder of Medpace Holdings, Inc., an international research company, which he founded in 1992 under the name Medical Research Services, in Ohio.
Not much is known about August, except that he’s a medical doctor who graduated from the University of Maryland. His net worth as of 2024 is estimated at $3.3 billion.
Rajendra Agarwal
Not to be confused with the Indian politician of the same name, Rajendra Agarwal is one of the owners of Macleods Pharmaceuticals Ltd. He founded the company alongside his brothers in 1986 in India, and from there developed drugs for tuberculosis and infectious diseases.
Macleods has extended to several countries across the globe, including in Asia and Latin America. Rajendra is a doctor by profession and has an estimated net worth of $1.9 billion as of 2024, according to Forbes.
Phillip Frost
American businessman and doctor Phillip Frost was born in 1936. He graduated from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine ,and worked for the US Public Health Service, taught at the University of Miami School of Medicine, and co-owned Key Pharmaceuticals from 1971 to 1986.
Phillip has been chairman of several pharmaceutical companies throughout the years, on top of owning the Opko Health medication company. According to Forbes, his fortune in mid-2024 is $1.8 billion.
Gary Michelson
Born in 1949, Gary Michelson is a businessman, inventor, orthopedic surgeon and philanthropist, who graduated from the Philadelphia-based Drexel University and worked at the Hahnemann Medical Hospital.
Gary has dedicated a huge part of his medical career to researching and developing inventions focused on alleviating and treating spine-related issues and assisting devices employed in spine surgeries. His net worth as of 2024 is $1.8 billion.
All in all, each of the aforementioned people has notably succeeded through their business sense and medical genius, accumulating such massive wealth that common people wouldn’t dream of.
