Dayton-area businessman one of America’s richest people

Clayton Mathile.

Clayton Mathile.

Three Ohioans have been named among the 400 richest Americans — including one from the Dayton area — a new ranking from Forbes shows.

Clayton Mathile is Ohio’s third wealthiest person and the 363rd richest in the country, according to Forbes. Mathile, 78, lives in Brookville and is currently worth around $2.3 billion.

Mathile helped start Iams pet food in Dayton in 1970.

He eventually sold the company to Procter & Gamble for $2.3 billion in 1999. When P&G bought Iams for $2.3 billion, Mathile gave his employees $100 million of his cut, according to Forbes.

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Mathile’s net worth was as high as $3.8 billion in 2017, according to Forbes.

The richest man in Ohio is Les Wexner, who is worth around $4.4 billion, according to Forbes. Wexner, who hails from the Columbus area, founded L Brands which is the parent company of both Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works.

Wexner, 82, is one of America’s longest serving CEOs and has led his company since its creation more than 50 years ago, according to Forbes. Forbes ranked Wexner the 154th wealthiest person in America.

The second richest person in Ohio is Denise York, 68, of Youngstown, who is the owner of the NFL team the San Francisco 49ers, according to Forbes. York was ranked the 268th wealthiest American by Forbes.

York and her family own 90 percent of the 49ers, which according to Forbes is the fifth most valuable team in the NFL. York’s father bought the 49ers in 1994 for $13 million and Forbes now estimates it is worth $3.5 billion.

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