12 WA residents made Forbes's list of 2025 billionaires
SEATTLE - Forbes has released their annual list of billionaires for 2025, and 12 of them live right here in Washington.
Leaders from big companies in the state like Amazon, Microsoft, Starbucks and video game giants made up most of the list.
Many are from Eastside, where cities like Medina rank the most expensive places to live in the United States outside of California.
Here are all the Washington billionaires as listed in Forbes and GeekWire this year:
Steve Ballmer, $118 billion. (#10)
- Former CEO of Microsoft.
- Led the company from 2000 to 2014, and is now owner of the Los Angeles Clippers NBA team; founder of USAFacts; and co-founder of Ballmer Group
Bill Gates, $108 billion. (#13)
- Microsoft co-founder.
- Chair of the Gates Foundation and founder of Breakthrough Energy.
Melinda French Gates, $30.4 billion. (#58)
- Pivotal Ventures founder.
- Left her position as co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation after a nearly 24-year run.
MacKenzie Scott, $28.2, billion. (#68)
- Previously married to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos for 25 years. Jeff Bezos left Washington for Miami in 2023.
- Known now for her roles in philanthropy and publishing.
Gabe Newell, $9.5 billion. (#293)
- Valve Corp. President.
- Video game developer who co-founded the company in 1998 with former Microsoft colleague Mike Harrington.
Charles Simonyi, $7.2 billion. (#453)
- Early Microsoft employee.
- Behind some of the company’s most successful software, including Word and Excel.
Howard Schultz, $3.5 billion. (#1045)
- Former Starbucks CEO.
- Known for turning what was a regional coffee company into one of the world’s top brands.
John Stanton, $2.4 billion. (#1513)
- Chairman of the Seattle Mariners baseball team.
- Now serves as managing partner of a group of investors that has owned the franchise since 2016.
Craig McCaw, $2 billion. (#1763)
- Wireless pioneer.
- Took over his dad’s cable-TV business in 1966 with his brothers.
Rich Barton, $1.2 billion. (#2623)
- Co-founder and CEO of Seattle real estate company Zillow Group.
- Also co-founded travel giant Expedia.
Orion Hindawi, $1.1 billion. (#2790)
- Tanium co-founder.
- Started the cybersecurity firm with his father in 2007 before they moved from San Francisco to Seattle in 2020.
David Hindawi, $1 billion. (#2933)
- Tanium co-founder, father to Orion Hindawi.
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The Source: Information for this article comes from Forbes Magazine and Geek Wire.
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