With an estimated net worth of $2.8 billion, this man is the richest in Kentucky

B. Wayne Hughes is not relinquishing his rank; he remains the wealthiest Kentuckian in the latest accounting of billionaires in every state.

Hughes, the founder of Public Storage and a Goliath in the horse racing industry, retained his crown as Kentucky’s richest man with an estimated $2.8 billion net worth, according to finance publication Forbes and the website 24/7 Wall Street.

The 85-year-old Lexington billionaire is the world’s 804th richest man, ahead of the likes of Oprah, Ted Turner and Michael Jordan. Hughes has held the title of Kentucky’s richest man for several years, 24/7’s rankings show.

Hughes founded Public Storage in 1972 and the company now has more than 2,500 sites worldwide. The storage business is the largest of its kind in the world.

According to Bloomberg, Hughes founded the company with a $50,000 investment after noticing a self-storage warehouse loaded to capacity in Texas. He has since retired as chief executive officer and chairman.

A native of Oklahoma, Hughes has also owned race horses since the 1970s. In 2004, he acquired Lexington’s Spendthrift Farm, which has raised nine Kentucky Derby champions, according to the farm.

So what can $2.8 billion get? It can buy 93,333 cars at 30,000 each or 14,000 houses at $200,000 each. A professional sports team may be an option. Forbes’ list of most valuable sports teams in the world said 2018 World Series champion Boston Red Sox was worth $2.8 billion and the 2018 Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles were valued at $2.65 billion.

Last week, Forbes said Amazon founder Jeff Bezos was the world’s richest man with an estimated net worth of $131 billion. Fifteen of the 26 wealthiest people in the world are from the United States, according to the Forbes ranking.

This story was originally published March 11, 2019 at 1:24 PM.