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Fort Collins philanthropist Pat Stryker has enjoyed a small financial rebound in the past year—billionaire-small that is. Her fortune increased from $1.2 billion to $1.5 billion last year, according to Forbes magazine’s list of the world’s richest people. “The past year has been a pretty good year to be a billionaire,” Coloradoan editor Bob Moore points out on his blog. Despite the jump in her net worth, Stryker is only the 655th wealthiest person in the world this year, down from 601st a year ago. Other familiar names hit the list, too, including number 148, Charlie Ergen of satellite-TV companies Dish Network and EchoStar ($5.2 billion); number 374, James Leprino of cheesemaker Leprino Foods ($2.5 billion); number 400, John Malone of Liberty Media ($2.4 billion); number 880, Gary Magness, TCI heir ($1.1 billion); and number 937, Pat Bowlen and family, Denver Broncos owner ($1 billion).
Stan Kroenke, a part-time Coloradan who owns the Pepsi Center, Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche, and many other sports enterprises, is number 342 on the list with $2.9 billion, points out the Denver Business Journal. The richest Coloradan remains media mogul Philip Anschutz, who ranks number 123 and has a net worth of $6 billion, up from last year’s $5 billion. Anschutz “has netted billions of dollars selling shares of Qwest Communications in past years,” writes Forbes. Anschutz’s Clarity Digital Group, which runs Examiner.com news sites, recently hired Jim Davidson as president, a former vice president at AOL and chief executive for Laborfair.com (via The Associated Press).