WisBusiness: Menard tops state’s wealthiest list with $7.3 billion

By Brian E. Clark
WisBusiness.com

The wealth of home improvement store magnate John Menard Jr., Wisconsin’s richest individual, rose to $7.3 billion in 2007 from $5.2 billion the previous year, according to Forbes Magazine. His home town is listed as Eau Claire.

Next in line is Herbert Kohler, of bathroom fixture and golf resort fame, who is worth $4 billion. His fortune was pegged at $4.5 billion in 2006, according to Forbes. He lives in Kohler.

Following Kohler is Diane Hendricks of Afton. Her late husband – building supply entrepreneur Kenneth Hendricks – died in a December fall from the roof of their Rock County home. The magazine put her net work at $3 billion, tying her with Donald Schneider of Green Bay, who made his fortune in trucking.

Also on the list are H. Fisk Johnson, Imogene Powers Johnson, S Curtis Johnson and Helen Johnson, who have individual fortunes of $2.2 billion. They all live in Racine, according to Forbes, and are heirs to the SC Johnson and Sons companies’ fortune.

In addition, former Kohl’s CEO William Kellogg of Menomonee Falls, who is worth $1.2 billion, made the list. But Robert Galvin of Marshfield, a former Motorola CEO who was included last year with a $1 billion fortune, did not make the cut for 2007.

See Forbes article at http://www.forbes.com/