From soup and bras: How the richest people in Ohio and nearby states made their fortunes

Les Wexner and Ed Razek pose backstage at the 2016 Fragrance Foundation Awards presented by Hearst Magazines - Show on June 7, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images for Fragrance Foundation)

Credit: Astrid Stawiarz

Credit: Astrid Stawiarz

Les Wexner and Ed Razek pose backstage at the 2016 Fragrance Foundation Awards presented by Hearst Magazines - Show on June 7, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images for Fragrance Foundation)
Local News
By Chris Stewart
May 2, 2017
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Les Wexner and his family have the highest net worth among Ohioans, according to Forbes, the financial magazine and website that has tracked the world's wealthiest individuals for three decades. Forbes placed Wexner's wealth at $6.4 billion in its 2017 annual list of billionaires.

» RELATED: Forbes 2017 Billionaires List: Meet the richest people on the planet 

Wexner founded The Limited with a $5,000 loan from his aunt in 1963 and a single Columbus retail location. In 1982 he purchased Victoria's Secret for $1 million when it was just a small chain of lingerie shops in San Francisco. He built several other well-known brands in addition to Victoria’s Secret, including Pink, Bath & Body Works, Express, the Limited Too, Lane Bryant and Abercrombie & Fitch, according to Forbes.

» $3M 'Fantasy Bra,' Lady Gaga rock Victoria's Secret Fashion Show 

Clay Mathile, former Iams owner and Aileron founder. Staff photo by Ty Greenlees

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The second-richest Ohioan with a fortune of $3.8 billion is local businessman Clay Mathile. Mathile sold The Iams Company to Procter & Gamble for $2.3 billion in 1999.

» RELATED: Dayton tech business ‘crushes’ misconceptions 

These are the richest people in the states bordering Ohio: 

Indiana: Carl Cook, net worth $7.4 billion 

Cook is CEO of Cook Group, a medical device company started by his parents in Bloomington. The company makes or distributes pacemakers, stents and catheters and other products to 135 countries.

Kentucky: B. Wayne Hughes, net worth $2.8 billion 

Hughes is the cofounder of Public Storage, now the largest storage chains in world with more than 2,300 locations throughout the United States and Europe, according to Forbes.

Michigan: Hank and Doug Meijer, net worth $7.2 billion 

The brothers are co-chairmen of the grocery store chain Meijer founded by their father and grandfather. The company operates more than 230 stores in the Midwest, including the Dayton area, and plans to expand to Cleveland in 2018, according to Forbes.

Meijer will start renovations March 27 at its Tylersville Road store in West Chester Twp. The project will feature a total remodel of the clothing department, a new pharmacy drive-up window, an updated exterior, and a new pizza and sushi area. NICK GRAHAM/STAFF

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» RELATED: Meijer to add home delivery services in Ohio and Midwest

» RELATED: 5 things to know about Meijer home delivery

Pennsylvania: Mary Alice Dorrance Malone, Net worth $3.9 billion 

Dorrance Malone is the largest shareholder in Campbell Soup Company. Her grandfather invented a condensed soup formula in 1897, transforming the company into a household name.

West Virginia: Jim Justice II, net worth $1.6 billion 

Justice inherited a coal business from his father and owns mines in five states. In 2016, West Virginians elected him governor.

The state of Washington claims the world’s richest man: Bill Gates, worth $86 billion.

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