⬅ # 558 John Bicket|# 560 Erich Wesjohann ➡

# 559 Herbert Wertheim 

$5.82B

Real Time Net Worth
as of 11/18/2024
$35.0M (0.60%)

# 559 Herbert Wertheim 

$5.82B

Real Time Net Worth
as of 11/18/2024
$35.0M (0.60%)
OccupationFounder and President, Brain Power Incorporated
Source of WealthInvestments
Age85
ResidenceCoral Gables, Florida
Marital StatusMarried
Children2
EducationAssociate in Arts/Science, Brevard Community College; BS, Southern College of Optometry; Doctorate, Southern College of Optometry
Age-Adjusted Net Worth$1.07B
Herbert Wertheim
Herbert Wertheim
United States
Net worth: $5.82B

Self-Made Score 

Movado Museum Classic Men's Watch - Swiss Quartz Movement

Wealth History

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Biography

Overview

Herbert "Herbie" Wertheim, born May 23, 1939, is an American optometrist, inventor, billionaire businessman, and philanthropist.
He built his fortune through five decades of stock market investments, leveraging profits from Brain Power Inc., a company he founded and still leads, specializing in optical tints for eyeglasses with over 100 patents and copyrights.
Wertheim is most recognized for being the largest individual shareholder in aerospace firm Heico and his significant philanthropic contributions, notably to Florida's public universities.

Early Life

Born on May 23, 1939, in Philadelphia, to Jewish parents, his family later moved to Miami Beach, Florida, where they lived above their bakery.
Diagnosed with dyslexia, Wertheim struggled in school and faced truancy charges at age 16 before joining the U.S. Navy.
He studied physics and chemistry in the Navy, later investing in his first stock, Learjet, during his time in naval aviation.

Education

Wertheim graduated from Brevard Community College and the University of Florida, majoring in electrical engineering.
He holds a B.S. in optical engineering and a Doctor of Optometry from the Southern College of Optometry.

Business Ventures

Founded Brain Power Incorporated (BPI), which specializes in optical tints for eyeglasses, amassing over 100 patents and copyrights.
Since 1970, he's channeled profits from BPI into stock market investments, becoming the largest individual shareholder in aerospace firm Heico.

Philanthropy

Donated over $100 million to Florida's public universities, notably funding the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine at FIU and the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering at UF.
Contributed to various educational, cultural, and healthcare organizations globally through the Dr. Herbert and Nicole Wertheim Family Foundation, serving as chairman since 1977.
Supported initiatives like the Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing and Health Sciences and funded projects ranging from wildlife conservation to public broadcasting.

Awards and Recognition

Inducted into the Horatio Alger Association in April 2011, recognizing his achievements despite challenging beginnings.
Elected as a director and research advisor at the La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology in July 2013.

Herbert Wertheim's Wealth is Equivalent to:

4,477,290 Herman Miller Aeron Chairs

Herman Miller Aeron Chair

1,100,473 Gold Bars (50 gram)

24K Solid 50g Gold Ingot

59,441 Tiny Homes

Tiny House, Two Bedroom Solar Prefab Home

How long would it take you to become as rich as Herbert Wertheim?

If you started with $10,000 and invested an additional $500 each month at a 43.43% CAGR, it would take you 5 years to reach Herbert Wertheim's net worth of $5.82B.

Is this realistic? It depends how closely the VIX-TA-Macro Advanced model performs to its history in the future. Since Grizzly Bulls launched on January 1, 2022, it's returned 58.67% compared to 23.91% for the S&P 500 benchmark.

Enter data in all but one field below, then calculate the missing value

Herbert Wertheim is very wealthy, but what's stopping you from reaching that same level of success? As summarized in our five fundamental rules to wealth building, becoming wealthy in a modern capitalist economy is not complicated. There's actually only three variables:

  1. Your starting capital
  2. Your earnings after expenses
  3. The compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of your savings

Most people start with zero or very little, so if you weren't born into wealth, don't fret! The majority of the fortunate folks listed in our Grizzly Bulls’ Billionaires Index came from middle class or lower backgrounds. The most distinguishing characteristic of the group is their ability to consistently earn a high CAGR on their savings.

Every billionaire has a unique strategy to achieve high CAGR. For Herbert Wertheim, Investments is the primary source. Whether you choose to invest your savings in your own businesses or the businesses of others is not as important. The salient piece of the puzzle is ensuring that your hard-earned savings are generating sufficient CAGR to reach your long term goals.

Most people simply invest their money in index funds and call it a day. There's nothing wrong with this approach, but it guarantees relative mediocrity. To achieve greatness, you need to invest your money to earn higher than average returns. In the long run, better investors will always finish ahead of better earners.

Source: Grizzly Bulls reporting

Methodology: Grizzly Bulls' Billionaires Index is a daily ranking of the world's billionaires and richest people. Grizzly Bulls strives to provide the most accurate net worth calculations available. We pull data from public equity markets, SEC filings, public real estate records, and other reputable sources.

The index is dynamic and updates daily at the close of U.S. stock market trading based on changes in the markets, economy, and updates to Grizzly Bulls' proprietary algorithm of personal wealth calculation. Stakes in public companies are tracked daily based on the relevant closing prices of the underlying securities. Additionally, stakes in private companies, cash, real estate, and other less easily valued assets are updated periodically through careful analysis of insider transactions, comparable public company sales / EBITDA multiples, etc.

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Edited by: Lee Bailey