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Grizzly Bulls’ Billionaires Index

⬅ # 751 Ryan Cohen|# 753 Abdulla bin Ahmad Al Ghurair ➡

# 752 John Catsimatidis 

$4.28B

Real Time Net Worth
as of 7/25/2024

# 752 John Catsimatidis 

$4.28B

Real Time Net Worth
as of 7/25/2024
OccupationOwner, Gristedes; Owner, United Refining
Source of WealthOil, Real Estate
Age75
ResidenceNew York, New York
Marital StatusMarried
Children2
EducationDrop Out, New York University
Age-Adjusted Net Worth$1.55B
John Catsimatidis
John Catsimatidis
United States
Net worth: $4.28B

Self-Made Score 

Wealth History

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Biography

Overview

John Catsimatidis is an American billionaire businessman and radio talk show host, known primarily for his ownership of New York City supermarket chain Gristedes and his real estate investments.
Catsimatidis also owns the oil refinery United Refining in Pennsylvania, which he acquired out of bankruptcy, and holds about $2 billion in real estate assets across New York, Florida, and Pennsylvania.

Early Life and Education

Born on September 7, 1948 on the Greek island of Nisyros, Catsimatidis immigrated to the United States with his parents at six months old.
Growing up in West Harlem, he attended Brooklyn Technical High School, later receiving a congressional nomination to West Point.
Opting for electrical engineering at New York University, Catsimatidis worked in a small supermarket during college, eventually acquiring ownership.
Although he completed four years of college, Catsimatidis dropped out eight credits short of graduating.
His father transitioned from being a lighthouse operator in Greece to working as a busboy in New York, instilling a strong work ethic in Catsimatidis.

Business Career

In 1971, Catsimatidis opened his first Red Apple grocery store in Manhattan's Upper West Side, pioneering innovations like extended hours and free delivery.
Expanding rapidly, he acquired 36 Gristedes supermarkets and 11 Charles & Co. specialty-food stores in 1986.
His business empire grew to include 50 Gristedes supermarkets, 371 gas stations across three states, $500 million in real estate, and an oil business.
In 1986, Catsimatidis acquired United Refining Co., owner of gasoline refineries in Pennsylvania and Alabama.
He engaged in a bid to take over bankrupt SemGroup LP in 2008, eventually settling with the company and acquiring a piece of its asphalt business.

Radio Hosting

Catsimatidis hosts 'The Cats Roundtable' on WABC, a syndicated talk radio show airing on Sunday mornings.
He also hosts 'Cats at Night,' a one-hour show on WABC weeknights, available as a podcast.
In 2019, Catsimatidis acquired WABC radio station for $12.5 million, expanding his media presence.
His radio shows provide a platform for political discussion and feature prominent guests from various sectors.
Catsimatidis utilizes his radio presence to engage with audiences and promote his business interests and philanthropic endeavors.

Personal Life and Other Ventures

Catsimatidis shared his life journey in the memoir 'How Far Do You Want To Go?: Lessons From A Common-Sense Billionaire,' published in February 2023.
Beyond his business ventures, Catsimatidis is a minority investor in the political newspaper and website The Hill.
He remains active in political circles, having been the runner-up in the Republican nomination for mayor of New York City in 2013.
With a diverse portfolio spanning real estate, oil, supermarkets, and media, Catsimatidis exemplifies entrepreneurial versatility.
His success story, from immigrant beginnings to billionaire status, underscores the American dream narrative.

How long would it take you to become as rich as John Catsimatidis?

If you started with $10,000 and invested an additional $500 each month at a 44.11% CAGR, it would take you 5 years to reach John Catsimatidis's net worth of $4.28B.

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 52.22% compared to 16.62% for the S&P 500 benchmark.

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John Catsimatidis 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 John Catsimatidis, Oil and Real Estate are the primary sources. 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.

Edited by: Lee Bailey