The world’s richest scientists have acquired massive fortunes. And the exciting aspect is that they come from professions as diverse as engineering, biology, zoology, and medicine.
Most of them have committed their lives to their particular industries, so they deserve recognition, fame, and possibly fortune.
However, in addition to spending their entire lives in laboratories, some scientists are also entrepreneurs.
They have contributed to the world’s most significant scientific and medical breakthroughs.
Famous artists, sports legends, and successful businesspeople are usually among the world’s wealthiest.
However, it appears that some of the world’s finest minds also have some of the most significant money, which we think is quite fair.
Below are the richest scientists in the world;
1. James Watson: Estimated Net worth $18 Billion
James Watson is a zoologist, geneticist, and molecular biologist. In 1953, he and Francis Crick co-authored an academic paper proposing the double helix structure of the DNA molecule.
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Watson, Crick, and Maurice Wilkins in 1962. “For their discoveries concerning the molecular structure of nucleic acids and their relevance for information transfer.”
Watson received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Chicago in 1947 and his doctorate from Indiana University in 1950.
Watson worked at the University of Cambridge’s Cavendish Laboratory in England after a postdoctoral year in Copenhagen with Herman Kalckar and Ole Maale.
He met his future collaborator, Francis Crick. Watson was also a member of the Harvard University Biology Department faculty from 1956 until 1976, where he promoted molecular biology research.
Watson was the director of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) from 1968 to 1972, during which time he significantly increased the lab’s funding and research.
Additionally, He moved his research focus at CSHL to cancer research, making it a world-leading molecular biology research center. However, He became president in 1994 and served for ten years.
He was then named chancellor, a position he held until 2007 when he resigned due to a contentious comment about a genetic link between IQ and race.
CSHL withdrew Watson’s honorary titles and dissolved all relations with him in 2019. following the screening of a documentary in which Watson restated his views on race and genetics. Watson has also written several science books.
2. Ugur Sahin: Estimated Net worth $15.2 Billion
Ugur Sahin is the CEO and co-founder of BioNTech, a German biotech company that collaborated with Pfizer to develop the first COVID-19 vaccine authorized in the United States.
BioNTech began developing a coronavirus vaccine in early 2020, partnered with Pfizer in March, and received FDA approval in December.
Furthermore, Sahin owns about 17% of BioNTech, which went public on the Nasdaq in October 2019. He was born in Turkey and raised in Germany.
Sahin and his immunologist wife, zlem Türeci, co-founded Ganymed Pharmaceuticals in 2001; Astellas Pharma bought the company for $460 million in 2016.
In addition, BioNTech was formed by Sahin and his wife Türeci in 2008, with German billionaire brothers Thomas and Andreas Struengmann.
3. Gordon Moore: Estimated Net worth $10.9 Billion
Gordon Moore co-founded the semiconductor company Intel in 1968, served as its CEO from 1975 to 1987, and was chairman from 1979 to 1997.
Moore was one of the “traitorous eight” who left Nobel Laureate Bill Shockley’s corporation in 1957 to form Fairchild Semiconductor.
Furthermore, Moore is best known for proposing “Moore’s Law,” which states that computer processing power will double yearly.
In 2000, he and his wife founded the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. It has nearly $6 billion in assets and annually distributes $300 million in awards.
The foundation promotes environmental conservation, patient care, scientific research, and San Francisco Bay Area initiatives.
4. James Dyson: Estimated Net worth $9.8 Billion
James Dyson is one of the world’s richest scientists. The bagless vacuum cleaner was invented by a British inventor, entrepreneur, industrial designer, and landowner.
However, Dyson studied art, furniture, and interior design before becoming an engineer.
He also created a trolley for launching boats and the Wheelboat, a land and water vessel. James Dyson and his wife Deidre, with whom he has two sons and a daughter, now live in Singapore.
Although they live in Singapore, they possess various properties worldwide. British residences include Dodington Park, a 300-acre estate in Gloucestershire, and a massive Chelsea house.
Additionally, Land in Oxfordshire, Lincolnshire, and Gloucestershire is still theirs. They also own a 299-foot superyacht and a holiday property in France.
Dyson is a philanthropist who established a nonprofit foundation that encourages design and engineering education.
5. Ronda Stryker: Estimated Net worth $7.2 Billion
Ronda Stryker is the granddaughter of Homer Stryker, the founder of Stryker Corporation, a medical equipment manufacturer.
Stryker Corporation creates and distributes goods such as joint replacement and trauma surgery implants.
Furthermore, some medical disciplines utilize Endoscopic and communications systems, patient handling and emergency medical equipment, neurosurgical, neurovascular, and spinal devices, and other medical device products.
However, Ronda has been a director of Stryker Corporation for over 30 years. She has been at the forefront of many company innovations and product development. She is retiring in 2021.
Typically, Stryker graduated from the University of Northern Colorado with a bachelor’s degree and Western Michigan University with a master’s. She also serves on the board of fellows at Harvard Medical School.
6. Gayle Cook: Estimated Net worth $6.2 Billion
Gayle Cook is the sixth richest scientist in the world and another titan in the medical equipment industry. In 1963, she and her husband co-founded Cook Group.
She was born in Bloomington, Indiana, and received a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts from Indiana University in 1956.
Although the arts and medicine have little in common, she spotted an opportunity to form the Cook Group and seized it.
Unfortunately, the cook’s husband died in 2011, but not before they could see and appreciate the fruits of their labor.
Although She is still a member of the company’s Board of Directors, she is also interested in restoring old structures.
She restored the Colonel William Jones House in Gentryville, the James Cochran House in Bloomington, and the West Baden Springs Hotel.
Moreover, she’s also co-authored two books about historic preservation, both of which have received positive reviews from readers and critics.
7. Robert Langer: Estimated Net worth $4.9 Billion
Robert Langer is one of the richest scientists in the world. Mr. Langer is a professor and scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he directs the Langer Lab.
Langer is a founding shareholder of Moderna, a biotech company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He owns a 3% stake in the company and has never sold a share.
He also has stock in SQZ Biotechnologies and Frequency Therapeutics, which were started by postdocs from his lab.
Additionally, with over 320,000 citations and over 1,500 articles published, Langer is the most quoted engineer in history.
He also has over 1,400 patents and has been licensed to biotech and pharmaceutical businesses over 400 times.
8. Hao Hong: Estimated Net worth $3.9 Billion
Hao Hong is the 8th richest scientist in the world. He earned his Ph.D. in pharmaceutical chemistry at the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences.
He started Asymchem Laboratories in 1995 and is Currently its chairman. His firm offers a variety of pharmaceutical outsourcing solutions.
9. Xie Liangzhi: Estimated Net worth $3.2 Billion
Sinocelltech Group, a supplier of biological products in Beijing, is chaired by Xie Liangzhi.
Furthermore, Xie has a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. From 1997 until 2002, he worked as a senior engineer at Merck & Co. in the United States.
10. Gan Zhongru: Estimated Net worth $3.1 Billion
He is the 9th richest scientist in the world. Gan Zhonghu is the co-founder and chairman of Gan & Lee Pharmaceuticals, a Chinese biochemist and entrepreneur.
The company was created in 1998 and is currently publicly listed.
It specializes in manufacturing insulin and injectable pens for people with diabetes. In addition, Gan Zhongru earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Peking University before teaching at the university’s biology department.
He went to Michigan State University to pursue a Ph.D. and worked at Merck.
11. Carl Hansen: Estimated Net worth $2.9 Billion
Carl Hansen is also one of the richest scientists in the world. He is a co-founder of AbCellera, a biotech company based in Vancouver.
The company uses machine learning and artificial intelligence to find antibody therapies for diseases.
Hansen continues to work as a professor at the University of Columbus after founding the company in 2012.
However, The Canadian scientist, on the other hand, left the institution in 2019 to focus on his business. The company has grown from strength to strength since then.
12. Zhu Yiwen: Estimated Net worth $2.8 Billion
Zhu Yiwen is a Chinese neurosurgeon and business owner. He studied neurosurgery and graduated from Nanjing Medical University with a master’s in clinical medicine in 1992.
In 2007, Zhu Yiwen started his career as a doctor at Xuzhou Medical University’s Affiliated Hospital. Furthermore, in 2009, he founded Hygeia Healthcare Holdings Co. Ltd. In China, his company runs radiation centers and oncology-focused hospitals.
13. Rajendra Agarwal: Estimated Net worth $2.6 Billion
Rajendra Agarwal is one of the richest scientists in the world. In 1986, a medical practitioner who grew up in a family with a pharmacy in Jaipur founded Macleods Pharmaceuticals with his two brothers to manufacture anti-TB drugs.
However, Macleods Pharmaceuticals, a privately held company, is one of India’s top ten pharmaceutical companies. Furthermore, Macleods manufactures generic medications for various ailments, including asthma, osteoporosis, and diabetes.
In addition, Agarwal’s older brothers, Girdharilal Bawri and Banwarilal Bawri, both billionaires, hold the chairman and joint managing director positions.
14. Banwari Lal Bawri: Estimated Net worth $2.6 Billion
Banwarilal Bawri is the joint managing director of Macleods Pharmaceuticals, a privately held company that ranks among India’s top ten pharmaceutical companies.
However, Bawri, whose family ran a pharmacy in Jaipur, founded Macleods Pharmaceuticals in 1986 with two siblings to manufacture anti-TB drugs.
In addition, Macleods manufactures generic medications for various ailments, including asthma, osteoporosis, and diabetes.
Girdharilal Bawri, Bawri’s older brother, is the chairman, while Rajendra Agarwal, Bawri’s younger brother, is the managing director.
15. Girdharilal Bawri: Estimated Net worth $2.6 Billion
Macleods Pharmaceuticals, one of India’s top ten pharma companies, is chaired by Girdharilal Bawri.
In addition, Bawri, who grew up in a family with a pharmacy in Jaipur, founded Macleods Pharmaceuticals with his two siblings in 1986 to manufacture anti-TB drugs.
Furthermore, Macleods manufactures generic medications for various ailments, including asthma, osteoporosis, and diabetes. Rajendra Agrawal and Banwarilal Bawri, his younger siblings, are joint and joint managing directors.
16. Jin Lei: Estimated Net worth $2.1 Billion
Jin Lei is the CEO of GenSci Pharmaceutical, a recombinant human growth hormone company.
Additionally, In 2019, GenSci merged with Changchun High & New Technology Industries Group, listed in Shenzhen.
Jin has a Ph.D. from California and a master’s from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. After getting his degree, Jin worked for Genentech, a biomedical company in the United States.
Jin returned to China in 1995 and, with the help of Changchun High & New Tech, co-founded GeneScience Pharmaceuticals in 1996.
17. Dai Lizhong: Estimated Net worth $1.9 Billion
Dai Lizhong, a Chinese scientist and entrepreneur, earned undergraduate and graduate degrees from Peking University before earning a Ph.D. from Princeton University.
He subsequently went to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for postdoctoral work in biochemistry.
Dai Lizhong worked for Gen-Probe, a diagnostic product maker, in the United States between 2000 and 2008. He is now the Chairman of Sansure Biotech, a company that sells diagnostic kits.
18. August Troendle: Estimated Net worth $1.47 Billion
August Troendle is also one of the richest scientists in the world. Before creating Medpace in 1992, August Troendle studied medicine at the University of Maryland.
Medpace is a corporation that conducts clinical trials and performs contract work for pharmaceutical companies that produce medical devices and pharmaceuticals.
Furthermore, Troendle’s fortune grew dramatically after he took his company public in 2016. During the COVID-19 pandemic, his company began providing antibody and swab testing, which is how he became a billionaire.
19. Hu Gengxi: Estimated Net worth $1.3 Billion
Hu Guangxi is a biochemist with a Ph.D. from the China Academy of Science’s Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology.
He completed his education at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology after graduating. After that, he returned to China to establish the Human Genome Center.
Furthermore, He currently serves as Chairman of Zhejiang Wolwo Bio-Pharmaceutical.
This firm specializes in anti-allergen products and produces and distributes skin-prick diagnostic tests. In 2020, Hu Gengxi was ranked the 307th richest person in China on the Forbes China Rich List.
Hu Guangxi is a Chinese actor who currently resides in Shanghai.
20. Li Wenmei: Estimated Net worth $1 Billion
Li Wen-mei is the co-founder and general manager of Guangzhou Wondfo Biotech, a medical diagnostic test manufacturer. Furthermore, Li founded the company alongside his wife, Wondfo Chairman Wang Jihua.
In addition, Li graduated from Jilin University with a master’s degree and taught at the University of South China in the 1980s. Wanfu, Wondfo’s precursor company, was formed by Li and Wang in 1992.
21. Chen Baohua: Estimated Net worth $1 Billion
Chen Baohua is the general manager of Zhejiang Huahai Pharmaceutical, a pharmaceuticals provider listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
Furthermore, Chen graduated from the Zhejiang University of Technology with a degree in chemical analysis.
In addition, He worked at a state-run pharmaceutical factory after graduating.
Chen quit his job and co-founded Huahai’s precursor in the eastern Chinese city of Linhaiat with less than $3,000 in 1989 when he was only 29.
22. Yuan Jiandong: Estimated Net worth $1 Billion
He is the founder and Chairman of BrightGene Bio-Medical Technology. Yuan is a Chinese chemist who studied chemistry at Peking University and graduated with a bachelor’s degree.
After that, the scientist earned a Ph.D. in chemistry from the State University of New York. Furthermore, Yuan worked for Enzo Biochem in the United States after graduating in 1998. After returning to China in 2001, he started his own business.
When thinking of rich lists, celebrities, heirs, heiresses, the nobility, and company founders come to mind. Many leaders in their fields, including some of the world’s most well-known scientists, have become wealthy.
These individuals have often amassed wealth due to their research or ideas, and others in the industry hold them in high regard.
