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World's financial meltdown hits SAS billionaires, too

Jim Goodnight

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• Web only: One-on-one with Jim Goodnight, CEO of SAS

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• Jim Goodnight data at Forbes
• John Sall info at Forbes
• C.D. Spangler
• Forbes' new billionaires list
• SAS

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Jim Goodnight, John Sall, C.D. Spangler and Bruton Smith, four of the richest men who call North Carolina home, certainly haven’t been immune from the world’s financial chaos, plunging portfolios and recession.

Since the Wall Street meltdown in September, each man has seen his personal value fall by more than $1 billion, according to the latest data from Forbes magazine.

In its “World’s Billionaire” list published late Wednesday, Goodnight’s holdings were listed as being worth $6.1 billion. That’s $2.6 billion less than his net worth as listed in Forbes’ “400 Richest Americans” report last September. Still, Goodnight rose 27 spots on the list to 75th.

John Sall, who partnered with Goodnight to launch software giant SAS in 1976, is listed in the new report as having holdings of $3.1 billion. That’s $1.3 billion less than reported in the “400” last September. Sall is tied for 196th spot in the new 400 list.

Despite the onset of a global recession, SAS revenue rose again last year to $2.26 billion, an increase of more than 5 percent.

Spangler, meanwhile, didn’t make the “World’s Billionaire" list. In September, his worth was cited as $2 billion. Spangler owns National Gypsum and C.D. Spangler Construction. The construction industry has been among the hardest hit by the economic meltdown.

Neither did Smith, who owns Speedway Motor Sports and Sonic Automotive. In fact, he didn’t even make the “400” list in September after having holdings of $1.2 billion earlier in the year.

Bill Gates tops the new world billionaires list with a net worth of $40 billion, followed by Warren Buffett at $37 billion.

Overall, the number of billionaires on the Forbers global report shrank to 793 from 1,125 a year ago. Losses for the richest were $1.4 trillion, Forbes said.