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Grizzly Bulls’ Billionaires Index

⬅ # 679 Romesh Wadhwani|# 681 Charles B. Johnson ➡

# 680 Martha Ingram 

$4.98B

Real Time Net Worth
as of 12/23/2024

# 680 Martha Ingram 

$4.98B

Real Time Net Worth
as of 12/23/2024
OccupationFormer Chair, Ingram Industries
Source of WealthBook Distribution, Transportation
Age89
ResidenceNashville, Tennessee
Marital StatusWidowed
Children4
EducationBS, Vassar College
Age-Adjusted Net Worth$700.14M
Martha Ingram
Martha Ingram
United States
Net worth: $4.98B

Self-Made Score 

Breitling Avenger Seawolf Automatic Chronometer Yellow Dial Men's Watch

Wealth History

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Biography

Overview

Martha Robinson Rivers Ingram, born August 20, 1935, is an American billionaire businesswoman and philanthropist.
She succeeded her husband as chairman and CEO of Ingram Industries in 1995, one of America's largest privately-held companies.
Ingram and her family own book distribution and marine firm Ingram Industries.
Ingram stepped down as chairman in 2008, with her sons Orrin and John taking over as CEO and chairman, respectively.

Early Life

Born in Charleston, South Carolina, Martha Rivers attended Ashley Hall and graduated from Vassar College with a Bachelor of Arts in history in 1957.
Early in her career, she worked at WCSC-AM/FM and WCSC-TV, radio and television stations owned by her father.

Career

Appointed as director of public affairs at Ingram Industries by her husband in 1979, Martha became chairman and CEO after his death in 1995.
She is the co-author of three books, including biographies of her husband and Kenneth Schermerhorn, the music director of the Nashville Symphony.
Ingram spun off the computer distribution business into Ingram Micro in 1996, later acquired by Chinese company HNA in December 2016.

Philanthropy

Co-founder of the Schermerhorn Symphony Center, Martha has been involved in various philanthropic endeavors.
She served as Chairman of the Board of Trust of Vanderbilt University and contributed significantly to the Vanderbilt Blair School of Music.
Recognized as one of the most generous philanthropists, Ingram received the Joe Kraft Humanitarian Award and the Eli & Edythe Broad Award for Philanthropy in the Arts.

Awards and Honors

Inducted into the South Carolina Business Hall of Fame and the Junior Achievement National Business Hall of Fame.
Received the Golden Plate Award from the American Academy of Achievement and was honored with a star on the Music City Walk of Fame.

Personal Life

Married E. Bronson Ingram II in 1958, they had three sons and a daughter.
Her husband was the son of business magnate Orrin Henry Ingram, Sr., with whom he built the foundation of Ingram Industries.
One of her sons, Orrin H. Ingram II, serves as the CEO of Ingram Industries and chairman of Ingram Barge Company.

Political Activity

In 2015, Martha donated to Democratic candidate Megan Barry's campaign for Mayor of Nashville, showcasing her political involvement.

Ingram Industries

Company Overview
Ingram Industries, headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, was founded by E. Bronson Ingram II in 1978.
Its businesses include marine transportation, aggregate supply, book distribution, and print on demand book manufacturing.
The company is divided into two units: Ingram Marine Group and Ingram Content Group.
Orrin H. Ingram II serves as the chief executive officer of the company.

History
Ingram Industries acquired Micro D in 1989, which later evolved into Ingram Micro.
In 2002, the company acquired Midland Enterprises, significantly expanding its marine transportation capabilities.
Subsidiaries include Ingram Barge Company, Ingram Content Group, and Ingram Entertainment.

Martha Ingram's Wealth is Equivalent to:

3,834,488 Herman Miller Aeron Chairs

Herman Miller Aeron Chair

942,479 Gold Bars (50 gram)

24K Solid 50g Gold Ingot

50,907 Tiny Homes

Tiny House, Two Bedroom Solar Prefab Home

How long would it take you to become as rich as Martha Ingram?

If you started with $10,000 and invested an additional $500 each month at a 42.82% CAGR, it would take you 5 years to reach Martha Ingram's net worth of $4.98B.

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 67.72% compared to 25.94% for the S&P 500 benchmark.

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

Martha Ingram 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 Martha Ingram, Book Distribution and Transportation 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.

Affiliate Disclosure: Some of the links on this page are affiliate links. This means that, at no additional cost to you, we may earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. We only recommend products or services we believe will add value to our readers.

Edited by: Lee Bailey