Jim Goodnight and John Sall, co-founders of the Cary software firm SAS, were among three North Carolinians on Forbes magazine's annual list of the world's billionaires.
Forbes listed Goodnight’s net worth at $7.3 billion, putting him 125th on the list, and Sall’s at $3.7 billion, ranking him 296th.
The third North Carolinian on the list was Charlotte businessman C.D. "Dick" Spangler. Spangler ranked 804th on the list, with a fortune estimated at $1.6 billion, according to the magazine.
All told, Forbes reported that a record 1,226 people around the globe have a net worth in the ten digits. That’s up 1 percent from last year’s total.
Carlos Slim of Mexico remained the world’s richest man for the third year in a row with a $69 billion fortune, down $5 billion from last year. Forbes attributed the drop in Slim’s fortune to the decline in share prices for regional cell phone carrier America Movil, his largest holding.
Business reporter David Bracken came to the N&O in 2004. He covers commercial and residential real estate. Contact David at 919-829-4548 or