Local man now one of the richest people in America, according to Forbes

RICHEST IN TENNESSEE• Thomas Frist Jr., 76, founder of Hospital Corp. of America in Nashville, $7.6 billion (No. 62)• Martha Ingram, 79, Ingram Industries, Inc., in Nashville, $3.9 billion (No. 129)• Frederick Smith, founder and CEO in Federal Express in Memphis, $3.5 billion (No. 155)• Brad Kelley, 57, tobacco and real estate holdings in Franklin, Tenn., $2.1 billion (No. 302)• Forrest Preston, 81, founder of Life Care Centers of America in Cleveland, Tenn., $2 billion (No. 324)• Jimmy Haslam, 60, CEO of Pilot Flying J, in Knoxville, $1.8 billion (No. 353)• Jon Yarbrough, 57, Video Gaming Technologies in Franklin, Tenn., $1.7 billion (No. 368)

photo Forrest Preston is owner and founder of Life Care Centers of America, a nursing home and rehabilitation center private company based in Cleveland, Tenn.

RICHEST IN AMERICA• Bill Gates, Microsoft Corp., $81 billion• Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway, $67 billion• Larry Ellison, Oracle Corp., $50 billion• Charles Koch, Koch Industries, $42 billion• David Koch, Koch Industries, $42 billion

photo Bill Gates

RICHEST IN GEORGIA• Ann Cox Chambers, Cox Media, $16.1 billion• Jim Kennedy, Cox Media, $8 billion• Bernard Marcus, Home Depot, $3 billion• Gary Rollins, Rollins Inc., $2.7 billion• Randall Rollins, Rollins Inc., $2.7 billionSource: Forbes magazine, 2013 list of 400 richest Americans

Forrest Preston has capitalized on America's aging population to become one of the richest persons in America, according to Forbes magazine.

The 81-year-old founder of the Cleveland, Tenn.-based Life Care Centers of America was ranked as the 364th wealthiest person in the United States with a net worth of $2 billion.

From his start in 1970 when he opened the Garden Terrace Convalescent Center in Cleveland, Tenn., Preston built the nation's largest privately owned chain of nursing homes, assisted living facilities and retirement living communities. With more than 200 facilities in 28 states from Massachusetts to Hawaii, Life Care Centers generates revenues of more than $2.9 billion a year.

Forbes listed Preston among its annual list of the 400 richest Americans for the first time. Preston was one of 27 new entries on the Forbes 400 list released Monday.

But another local billionaire, Mohawk Industries CEO Jeffrey Lorberbaum, fell off the top 400 list this year. Lorberbaum's holdings in the Calhoun, Ga.-based floorcovering firm fell by about $100 million from the previous year to $1.5 billion in Forbes newest ranking.

Lorberbaum, the 60-year son of the founder of Aladdin Mills Inc., heads the world's biggest floorcovering firm. He was one of 113 billionaires in the United States that didn't make the Forbes 400 richest list this year.

"The billionaire's club is getting crowded, making the Forbes 400 more exclusive than ever," said Max Jedeur-Palmgren, a reporter on Forbes' wealth team that tracks America's richest persons. "The past year saw new fortunes get made, and old ones rise to new heights. It was enough to push up the minimum net worth for the most exclusive club in America to a record $1.55 billion. That is a quarter billion more than the $1.3 billion required last year to make the list."

Bolstered by the stronger U.S. stock market during 2013, the combined wealth of those on the top 400 list rose 13 percent to $2.29 trillion.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates topped Forbes' latest list of America's richest for the 21st straight year. Gates' net worth totaled $81 billion, up $9 billion from 2013. Microsoft accounts for just 20 percent of Gates current holdings, Forbes said.

Gates friend, Warren Buffett, chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway , occupies the number two spot on the Forbes 400 list, the same spot he has been since 2001. Forbes said Buffet is worth $67 billion. Berkshire Hathaway is the parent company of Shaw Industries in Dalton, Ga., and Clayton Homes in Knoxville.

Larry Ellison, who just announced that he was giving up the CEO role at software giant Oracle, was listed No. 3 on the Forbes list with a net worth of $50 billion.Brothers Charles and David Koch, co-owners of Koch Industries Inc., stay tied for fourth with $42 billion each.

The biggest gainer in the Forbes list was Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, No. 11, whose net worth grew $15 billion since last year to $34 billion.

The richest persons in Tennessee and Georgia remained, respectively, HCA founder Thomas Frist Jr., in Nashville, worth $7.6 billion, and two of the heirs who own much of Cox Media in Atlanta -- Ann Cox Chambers and Jim Kennedy.

Contact Dave Flessner at dflessner@timesfreepress.com or at 757-6340.

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