Tire company founder tops Forbes’ list of wealthiest in Arizona
May 11, 2015, 8:09 AM | Updated: 8:09 am
And the title of the wealthiest person goes to …
Forbes recently identified the richest person in each state, and in Arizona, that man is Discount Tire founder Bruce Halle, who comes in at 89th overall on the list.
The 84-year-old Paradise Valley resident has a net worth of approximately $6 billion.
Halle’s Scottsdale-based company has grown to more than 900 stores in 28 states across the U.S., according to Discount Tire’s website.
The Phoenix Business Journal noted Halle’s net worth is larger than the top person in a couple of neighboring states, including New Mexico (Mack Chase, $650 million) and Utah (John Huntsman, $1.1 million).
Yet, that $6 billion looks like chump change compared with the richest men in California, Nevada and Colorado. Oracle founder and owner of his own Hawaiian island Larry Ellison has a net worth of $52.8 billion, making him the richest man in the Golden State. With $29.7 billion to his name, casino mogul Sheldon Adelson is tops in Nevada, and Colorado’s richest man is Dish Network CEO Charles Ergen, whose net worth is a tidy $18.2 billion.
According to Forbes, most of the men and women on the list were self-made, rather than heirs to an empire.
Arizona’s second-richest person, according to the list is U-Haul Vice President Mark Shoen, who is worth about $4.6 billion. U-Haul was founded by Shoen’s father.
