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.
The push by local and state governments to save money during the downturn has been a boon for Cary-based SAS.
The software company announced this morning that it had exceeded the 6 percent job growth it projected at the beginning of the year.
"As computers process more information at greater speeds, people are realizing the potential hidden in their data," SAS CEO Jim Goodnight said in a statement. "SAS is being asked to answer questions and solve problems that couldn't be answered or solved before."
To meet that demand, SAS late last year announced that it was creating an Analytics Lab for State and Local Government where employees would develop products as well as work with government agencies on projects tailored to their needs.
Executives said at the time that the lab would hire 100 employees over the next two years to handle the business. In eight months, it has hired 50, putting the company ahead of its intended hiring rate, according to a company statement.
So far, SAS has added 447 employees in the United States this year. It now employs 12,370 worldwide.
SAS boss Jim Goodnight's billions are enough to put him at No. 141 of Forbes magazine's list of the world's richest people.
With an estimated net worth of $6.9 billion, the SAS CEO and co-founder remains the richest North Carolinian, and one of only three Tar Heels on the Forbes list.
His SAS colleague John Sall ranks at No. 323 with $3.4 billion.
Last fall, on Forbes list of the richest Americans, those estimates put Goodnight at No. 35, with Sall at No. 91.
Goodnight and Sall met at N.C. State and started SAS in 1976. The company sells software that allows banks, retailers, government agencies and other customers analyze vast amounts of data to spot trends and hone strategy.
WRAL will air a documentary tonight in which CEOs of three North Carolina tech companies reveal the secrets to success.
The CEOs of Cree, Red Hat and SAS reveal how their companies earned billions while others went belly up. The program is hosted by WRAL News anchor Gerald Owens.
SAS plans to hire more than 100 employees during the next two years for a new initiative aimed at selling more of its business-analytics software to state and local governments.
Gov. Bev Perdue joined SAS co-founder and CEO Jim Goodnight at the company's Cary headquarters this morning to announce the new Analytics Lab for State and Local Government and its expansion plans.
Perdue talked enthusiastically about the work SAS is doing for the state, including a new contract that calls for SAS to prevent ineligible people from entering the state's $8.5 billion Medicaid program, and applauded the company for not seeking any government incentives in conjunction with its expansion.
"They didn't get a flat dime" from the state, said Perdue. "They have done this because they love North Carolina. They are as proud of our state as we are of SAS."
SAS has long provided analytics software for state and local governments, with that business expanding to the point that the company has decided it makes sense to have a dedicated staff develop new off-the-shelf products and working with government agencies on efforts tailored to their needs.
The new lab is starting out with a staff of more than 200 culled from its existing staff and expects to expand by at least 50 percent over the next two years to handle its expanding business. The vast majority of those new staffers will be based in Cary, with a few scattered at government agencies across the country that undertake new projects with SAS software, said spokesman Trent Smith.
The Wake Education Partnership is praising its "Cornerstone Investors," those who've pledged to give $10,000 or more to support the group's work.
In an e-mail message today, the WEP says they're renaming this group from "Major Donors" to "Cornerstone Investors" to have a more fitting title to honor this "distinguished group of supporters."
Many of the area's largest businesses are on the list of 22 cornerstone investors, including The News & Observer, Capitol Broadcasting Co., the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce, SAS and GlaxoSmithKline.
The forum Thursday at Lacy Elementary School's PTA meeting produced more than a few highlights.
You had, as previously noted, school board members Ron Margiotta and Deborah Prickett objecting to the use of student achievement in the Alves plan. You had a somewhat modified version of the presentation on the Alves plan from what was given last week to the Garner Chamber of Commerce.
You had Dana Cope questioning Tim Simmons about the Alves plan and objecting to board member Carolyn Morrison's vote this year against returning the Lacy nodes from Stough Elementary.
Several of the Triangle's most successful corporations also rank among the country's largest privately owned companies.
In Forbes latest annual list, which is based on annual revenue or estimated revenue, Quintiles of Durham comes in at No. 133 with $3 billion. Raleigh-based General Parts, owner of the Carquest Auto Parts chain, is No. 148 with $2.79 billion. And Cary-based SAS is No. 188 with $2.31 billion.
While such lists might seem irrelevant, they give companies exposure that can help win new customers and recruit new employees.
Forbes also has a profile of Quintiles founder and CEO Dennis Gillings. The story trace the history of how the UNC Chapel Hill professor, a "30-year-old Brit with longish hair and bushy sideburns," got the idea of handling clinical drug research for big pharmaceutical companies in 1975, founded Quintiles in 1982 and expanded it to become the world's largest contract research organization.
SAS has seen a surge of business in the third quarter that puts the company on track for a 5 percent revenue gain this year.
Jim Goodnight, the co-founder and CEO of the Cary business-analytic software company, told the Reuters news service that global demand has picked up for the company's data-mining products, especially in Latin America and Asia.
Goodnight talked to Reuters during a break Friday at a meeting in Chicago of the Business Council. Goodnight is a member of the association, which includes more than 100 CEOs at major corporations.
SAS was founded three decades ago and has made a profit in every year of its existence, weathering the recession while other high-tech companies downsized or capsized. Last year, the company generated $2.31 billion in revenue, up 2.2 percent from the year before.
SAS co-founder and CEO Jim Goodnight remains the richest man in North Carolina, by far.
Goodnight, 67, took the No. 35 spot on Forbes latest list of the 400 richest Americans, with an estimated net worth of $6.9 billion.
His partner at Cary-based SAS, John Sall, 62, came in at No. 90, with a net worth of $3.4 billion.
Goodnight held the No. 33 spot on last year's Forbes list, with an estimated net worth of $6.8 billion. Sall had the No. 91 spot with $3.4 billion.
Goodnight shares the No. 35 spot on this year's list with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, 26.
Goodnight and Sall met at N.C. State and started SAS in 1976.
