In this article, we will look at the 25 Richest Billionaires in Service Industry.
US Service Sector Rebounds
On June 5, Reuters reported that the US economy is presenting a rather mixed picture with the services sector which represents most of its economy, rebounding after a brief contraction in April. The measure of business activity has also improved the most in three years which may support the Fed’s pause of the interest rate cuts. The index grew by 10.3 points, reaching a post-November 2022 high of 61.2, the largest since the first quarter of 2021. The ISM services PMI, which measures the economic activity across industries including accommodation and food services, recreation, finance, and healthcare, among others, also rose to 53.8 in May, compared to 49.4 in April. The reading in May was the highest since August 2023.
Post-Pandemic Revival of the Cruise Travel Services Industry
Tourism is one of the fastest growing industries in the service sector, expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 12.4% and reach $2 trillion by 2030, as per estimates by Grand View Research. This growth is expected to propel companies like Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE:CCL), a leading leisure travel services company with operations across North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. The group operates a fleet of over 90 ships through 9 cruise line brands and offers vacation packages to major cruise destinations worldwide. It is led by one of the richest billionaires in the service industry, Micky Arison.
Established in 1972 in Miami, the company is a major player in the cruise industry in the United States and the world. However, the pandemic affected the cruise industry and forced the company to cease operations. Management slashed its operating expenses and capital expenditures and raised billions in new debt and equity financing to keep the company afloat. The company has been effectively managing its debt and working toward reducing interest expenses to achieve a streamlined capital structure and return to investment-grade credit. It recorded a strong 2023 with full year revenues hitting an all-time high of $21.6 billion and started the new year with the best booked position in terms of price and occupancy. Its occupancy returned to 102% in the first quarter of 2024.
Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE:CCL) not only reached its pre-pandemic booking levels but also attracted 12.5 million guests with 3.5 million new passengers in 2023 who had not previously taken a cruise. The cruise industry, which was previously considered a market for baby boomers, is now getting more attention from younger people. According to research by JP Morgan, the cruise industry will represent 3.8% of the $1.9 trillion global vacation market by 2028, benefitting the companies operating in the cruise travel services market.
CCL experienced a hit during the pandemic due to worldwide lockdowns and muted tourism activity. However, it’s slowly deleveraging and reduced its debt by $1.8 billion in Q1 2024. Its revenue for the quarter reached $5.41 billion, up 22% year over year. Now that travel activity has resumed, CCL can recover to profitability.
The cruise company continues to invest in new ships. It has ordered its first newbuilds in five years. The company will be adding two ships that will be available in 2027 and 2028. It is focusing on its cruise line portfolio, with new ships such as Carnival Jubilee and a private destination, Celebration Key expected to grow bookings. It is also on investors’ radar as 56 portfolios have stakes in the stocks worth $1.49 billion at the close of Q1 2024. Among those, Steve Cohen’s Point72 Asset Management grew his position in the company by 228% to $208 million.
Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE:CCL) is currently trading at 16 times its forward earnings, in line with its sector median. The group reported a loss per share in 2023 of $0.06, however, analysts expect things to turn around and CCL to deliver an EPS of $1 this year. If CCL beats analysts’ expectations, as it has 6 times over the past 8 quarters, it will grow its EPS by over 1750%. CCL is up 15% over the past 12 months as of the time of this writing, and the Street-median target points to a further 26% upside.
Although we acknowledge the potential for CCL to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than NVIDIA but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
Photo by Stephanie Klepacki on Unsplash
Methodology
To compile our list of the 25 richest billionaires in the service industry, we consulted the real time billionaires data from Forbes. The billionaires from the service industry are ranked in ascending order of their net worths, as of June 11.
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25 Richest Billionaires in Service Industry
25. Michael Minhong Yu
Net Worth as of June 11: $2.3 billion
Michael Minhong Yu is ranked among the richest billionaires in the service industry. He is the founder and chairman of a leading educational services provider, New Oriental Education and Technology Group in Beijing. He has a net worth of $2.3 billion, as of June 11.
24. Bertil Hult
Net Worth as of June 11: $2.6 billion
Bertil Hult is a college dropout who started his business in a dormitory’s basement in 1965, now offering educational travel and language training in 111 countries. His company, EF Education First is managed by his three sons. As of June 11, his net worth is $2.6 billion.
23. Glen Taylor
Net Worth as of June 11: $2.8 billion
Glen Taylor turned a wedding service business that he bought in 1975 for $2 million into a printing firm with over $2 billion in sales. Taylor has worked as a CEO in his namesake company till 2015 and now serves as the chairman. The billionaire also owns stakes in the NBA team, the Timberwolves, the WNBA team, the Lynx, and the United FC soccer team. As of June 11, his wealth is $2.8 billion.
22. Fernando Chico Pardo
Net Worth as of June 11: $3.3 billion
Fernando Chico Pardo started a stock brokerage company called Acciones y Asesoría Bursátil at the age of 27 in Mexico City. The company later became part of a banking and financial group, Grupo Financiero Inbursa. The billionaire left Inbursa in 2003 and became the controlling shareholder of Asur which operates airports in Mexico and San Juan, Puerto Rico. He also controls Promecap which is a private equity fund. He has a net worth of $3.3 billion, as of June 11.
21. Sunny Varkey
Net Worth as of June 11: $3.5 billion
Sunny Varkey manages one of the leading K-12 schools, GEMS Education. He is ranked among the richest billionaires in the service industry with a net worth of $3.5 billion.
20. Anthony Pritzker
Net Worth as of June 11: $3.7 billion
Anthony Pritzker controls a private equity company, The Pritzker Group. The company owns and operates industrial corporations, particularly in the packaging industry. It also has shares in Elon Musk’s SpaceX. The billionaire manages Pritzker Private Capital which has raised $4.5 billion from investors since drawing out from Pritzker Group in 2017.
19. Maggie Hardy
Net Worth as of June 11: $4.1 billion
Maggie Hardy is the chief executive officer and owner of the leading private building materials supplier in the United States, 84 Lumber. She took over the business when she was 26 years old in 1992. 84 Lumber operates approximately 310 facilities across the US and generates nearly $8 billion in revenue. Hardy also owns a resort in rural Pennsylvania. Her net worth is $4.1 billion.
18. Klaus-Peter Schulenberg
Net Worth as of June 11: $4.1 billion
Klaus-Peter Schulenberg is the CEO and founder of the European ticket and live entertainment company, CTS Eventim. He is one of the wealthiest billionaires in the service sector and has a net worth of $4.1 billion.
17. Jim Davis
Net Worth as of June 11: $4.1 billion
Jim Davis is the co-founder of one the biggest staffing companies in the United States, Allegis Group. He launched the company with his cousin, billionaire Steve Bisciotti in 1983. The company now operates across four continents and has over $15 billion in annual revenues. He is worth $4.1 billion, as of June 11.
16. Steven Udvar-Hazy
Net Worth as of June 11: $4.2 billion
Steven Udvar-Hazy is a Hungarian US immigrant, who started his own airline in his 20s. Later he shifted to the airplane leasing business. International Lease Finance Corp., his first airplane leasing firm was sold to AIG for $1.3 billion in 1990. In 2010, he started his second airplane leasing company Air Lease Corp. He serves as the Chairman of the company.
15. Danielle Bellon & family
Net Worth as of June 11: $4.3 billion
Danielle Bellon inherited her husband’s (Pierre Bellon) food service and catering company, Sodexo. He expanded the company to 56 countries. After his demise in January 2022, his daughter Sophie became the CEO of the company. Their son chairs the family holding company, Bellon SA. Their other daughter Nathalie Bellon-Szabo leads the events hospitality arm, Sodexo Live.
14. Jeremy Jacobs Sr & family
Net Worth as of June 11: $4.4 billion
Jeremy Jacobs is the chairman of a food services and hospitality company, Delaware North. The company serves 500 million people across four continents annually. Jacobs also owns the NHL’s Boston Bruins ice hockey team. As of June 11, the family is worth $4.4 billion.
13. Jean (Gigi) Pritzker
Net Worth as of June 11: $4.9 billion
Jean (Gigi) Pritzker is one of the 13 billionaire heirs to the leading hospitality group, Hyatt Hotels. She is also a movie producer. She founded a media and entertainment company called Madison Wells Media in 2015. Some of the popular movies she has produced include Drive, Rabbit Hole, Hell or High Water, and the Oscar-winning The Eyes of Tammy Faye.
12. Liu Yonghao & family
Net Worth as of June 11: $5.3 billion
Liu Yonghao is the chairman of New Hope Group, which has stakes in agribusiness, dairy, fast foods, real estate, and chemicals. The company has over 135,000 employees and more than 600 subsidiaries across the world. He is ranked 12th on our list of the richest billionaires in the service industry.
11. Shari Arison
Net Worth as of June 11: $5.4 billion
Shari Arison is the heir to her father’s fortune Carnival Corp. She has invested in multiple projects including thermo-solar power plants and desalination plants. She also has a 5% stake in Bank Hapolim. Her net worth is $5.4 billion, as of June 11.
10. Tom Golisano
Net Worth as of June 11: $5.6 billion
Tom Golisano is the founder of the payroll company, Paychex in 1991. Golisano served as the chief executive officer of the company until 2004 and now serves as the director of the company. Gosilano ran for governor three times under the Independence Party of New York. He is worth $5.6 billion.
9. Frits Goldschmeding
Net Worth as of June 11: $5.9 billion
Frits Goldschmeding has raised his fortune from his 32% stake in the staffing company, Randstad Holding. The company operates across 38 countries. It acquired the job site Monster.com in 2016 for $400 million. He is one of the richest billionaires in the service industry.
8. Rakesh Gangwal
Net Worth as of June 11: $6.3 billion
Rakesh Gangwal’s fortune comes from InterGlobe Aviation, the parent company of the largest airline by market share in India, IndiGo. He co-founded the airline along with fellow Indian Billionaire Rahul Bhatia. He is worth $6.3 billion, as of June 11.
7. Gary Rollins
Net Worth as of June 11: $6.5 billion
Gary Rollins controls one of the biggest pest control companies in North America, Orkin. The company posted a revenue of $2.7 billion in 2022. As of June 11, Rollins has a net worth of $6.5 billion.
6. Torstein Hagen
Net Worth as of June 11: $7.2 billion
Torstein Hagen founded the cruise company, Viking Cruises in 1977 with four riverboats. He has served as the CEO of the cruise line Royal Viking and was forced to step down in 1984 as a result of a failed bid to buy the company. The company has more than 70 river cruise ships and operates in Europe’s waterways. He is worth $7.2 billion, as of June 11.
5. Rahul Bhatia
Net Worth as of June 11: $7.4 billion
Rahul Bhatia is the co-founder of the leading group that owns the IndiGo airline in India, InterGlobe Aviation. IndiGo has a 62% market share in India as of 2024. It operates a fleet of over 350 aircraft and flies to 118 destinations. He is ranked 5th on our list of the richest billionaires in the service industry.