5 North Shore Billionaires Make Forbes Richest 400 List

It’s hard out there for a billionaire. At least those hoping to make the Forbes 400 list of the richest Americans.

This year you had to be worth at least $1.55 billion — the most since Forbes started the list in 1982 — to make the cut. That meant 113 billionaires didn’t make the list.

Seventeen billionaires from Illinois did, including five from the North Shore.

· J. Christopher Reyes, of Lake Forest, is the highest ranking non-Chicagoan from Illinois on the list. With a net worth of $3.6 billion, the co-chairman of Reyes Holdings came in at No. 145.

· His brother and co-chairman, Jude Reyes, is ties at No. 145 with the same net worth. He lives in Kenilworth. Their company is a food and beverage distributor.

· Next up, at No. 269, is Patrick Ryan of Winnetka. The insurance executive is worth $2.4 billion.

· Also in Winnetka, and in spot No. 290, Josephine Louis and family are heirs to the SC Johnson family fortune and have a net worth of $2.2 billion.

· Last on the list from Illinois, with a net worth of $1.5 billion, is Eric Lefkofsky of Glencoe. He is chairman of Groupon and ranks No. 399 on the list.

The rest of the Illinois billionaires on the list include a number of Pritzkers, as well as Citadel founder Ken Griffin, the highest ranking Illinois resident, Sam Zell and “Benie Babies baron” Ty Warner.

You can see the full list here.