A physician with a net worth of $17 billion made Forbes' 2022 list of the 400 wealthiest Americans, based on data from September 2022.
Thomas Frist Jr., MD, co-founded Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare in 1968 with his father Thomas Frist Sr., MD, a cardiologist and internist, and Jack Mackey, an investor who owned Kentucky Fried Chicken, according to Bloomberg. Dr. Frist now owns more than 20 percent of the company.
HCA was one of the earliest for-profit healthcare operators in the U.S. The company owns and operates 187 hospitals and 2,000 care sites, including ASCs, freestanding ERs, urgent care centers and physician clinics in 21 states and the United Kingdom.
Dr. Frist received a medical degree from Washington University in St. Louis before becoming a flight surgeon in the U.S. Air Force. In 1977, Dr. Frist was appointed president of HCA, and 10 years later, he became the company's chair and CEO. While he no longer has an executive position at the company, his sons are board members.
Along with others on Forbe's list, Dr. Frist's net worth saw a drop in 2022, from $21.8 billion. He ranks 42nd on the list.