Introduction

Teresa Heinz Kerry is a well-established businesswoman and philanthropist with an estimated net worth of $750 Million. 

Wrongful Death Lawsuit

Following the death of her first husband, Senator John Heinz, in 1991, Kerry filed a lawsuit for wrongful death against the owners of two aircraft involved in a mid-air collision. The plane her husband was travelling in collided with a Bell 412 helicopter, killing everyone who was on board both the aeroplane and the helicopter. Following their investigation of the crash, the National Transportation Safety Board determined that the pilots of both aircraft were at fault due to errors in judgment.

In 1997, Kerry successfully sued both the owners of the helicopter and the plane, Piper Aerostar, and the lawsuit was settled for $15 million in Kerry’s favor. $3 million was given directly to Kerry in her role as co-executor of the Heinz estate, and the remaining $12 million was split between Kerry and her two sons.

Chinese Investment Firm Controversy

Although not strictly a legal issue, Kerry found herself in the spotlight in 2021 when government filings revealed that she had an interest in Chinese investment firms. This was an issue as her husband, John Kerry, was the U.S. climate envoy at the time and regularly negotiated with China on climate cooperation. The former U.S. chief ethics lawyer, Richard Painter, stated that it could create legal and ethical issues as Chinese officials could hold the investments hostage.

According to the Office of Government Ethics, Kerry has an interest of at least $1 million in Teng Yue Partners. This hedge fund specialises in Chinese equity investments, though the assets were held in trust and not managed by Kerry or her husband. Despite the speculation, there’s no public record showing that Kerry was asked to sell her investments, and John Kerry continued his work as the U.S. climate envoy.

Philanthropy

Although Kerry chose not to take a leadership role at Heinz, she did take the lead in the family’s philanthropic activities. She oversees the Heinz Endowments and the Heinz Family Philanthropies, two of the largest private charitable foundations, whose annual grants total more than $90 million. The Heinz philanthropic donations support a range of diverse initiatives, with a focus on environmental conservation, women’s issues, health, education, and community development.

Alliance for Health homes

With environmental issues at the heart of Kerry’s philanthropic endeavors, she has launched several green initiatives, including the Alliance to End Childhood Lead Poisoning in 1990. It later changed its name to the Alliance for Healthy Homes, with the sole aim of preventing lead poisoning in children throughout the United States.

In 1993, Kerry co-founded Second Nature with her husband, U.S. Senator John Kerry, environmental scientist Dr. Anthony D. Cortese, and Bruce Droste, an environmental educator. Second Nature is a nonprofit dedicated to making sustainability a core part of campus life, collaborating with U.S. colleges to integrate sustainability into research, teaching, and campus operations.

Women’s Retirement Initiative

In addition to focusing on the environment, Kerry has founded charities that support the financial security of women’s futures. In 1997, Kerry launched the Women’s Retirement Initiative. The following year, she founded the Women’s Institute for a Secure Retirement (WISER), which has since become a leading advocate for policies that benefit older women facing financial insecurity.

Kerry has acknowledged the roots of the Heinz company, which was founded in Pittsburgh, and has gifted the city numerous grants through Heinz Endowments. Heinz has helped to improve many aspects of the city, including parks and concert halls. For example, in 2021, they donated over $30 million to support community projects, including Bike Share Pittsburgh, which received $750,000 to purchase electric bikes. $1.75 million was allocated to the historic New Granada Theater in the Hill District, allowing it to be renovated and restored.

Kerry’s philanthropic endeavors have not gone unnoticed. In 2003, she received the Albert Schweitzer Gold Medal for Humanitarianism. In 2007, the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy was awarded to her on behalf of the Heinz family, recognizing her impact on the institutions and initiatives she had helped establish.

Real Estate

Kerry is the proud owner of a six-floor, $7 million townhouse in Boston’s Beacon Hill neighborhood. She and her husband also own a $5 million ski retreat in Idaho, a $4 million estate in Pennsylvania near their home base in Pittsburgh, and a $5 million home in Washington, D.C.’s Georgetown neighborhood. 

Highlights

Here are some of the best highlights of Teresa Heinz Kerry’s career:

• The widow of former U.S. Senator John Heinz
• Heinz is Chair of the Heinz Endowments

Introduction

Alexis Ohanian is an American Internet entrepreneur and investor with an estimated net worth of $100 Million.

Reddit

Over several decades, Ohanian has created numerous successful companies in tech, investing, and sports. In 2005, he co-founded Reddit with his University of Virginia roommate, Steve Huffman, and the two pitched the idea to venture capital firm Y Combinator. They were fortunate to secure $12,000 in seed funding from the VC firm, which enabled them to launch Reddit. Within 12 months, Reddit was sold to Condé Nast for a reported $10-$20 million. Ohanian stayed with Reddit until 2009, returning briefly in 2015 as their Executive Chairman until his resignation in 2020.  

Initialized Capital

Inspired by his own startup journey, Ohanian teamed up in 2011 with Harjeet Taggar and Garry Tan of Y Combinator and launched Initialized Capital, a venture capital firm. Ohanian and his co-founders wanted to support software and tech founders at the seed stage of their businesses with mentorship and access to influential networks within Silicon Valley. Over ten years, Initialized Capital raised more than $3.2 billion in assets and has invested in 23 companies, including Coinbase, Cruise Automation, Instacart, and CoinTracker.

Seven Seven Six

Ohanian left Initialized Capital in 2020 to set up another venture capital firm, Seven Seven Six (776). He wanted to leverage his experience and extensive network of contacts to help launch and scale early startups, many of which were still just ideas. Ohanian scaled 776 rapidly, with a portfolio of 38 companies, managing $750 million in assets. 

Angel City FC Acquisition

In 2020, Ohanian became the largest shareholder and founding controlling owner of Angel City FC (ACFC). The professional women’s soccer team is based in Los Angeles and was established by actress Natalie Portman, venture capitalist Kara Nortman, and entrepreneur Julie Uhrman. In July 2024, Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger and his wife Willow Bay acquired a controlling stake in the club, valued at $250 million. Ohanian played a key role in the club’s growth and remains on the club’s board.

Los Angeles Golf Club Acquisition

Continuing his interests in sport, Ohanian was named as the principal Owner of the Los Angeles Golf Club (LAGC) in June 2023. The club’s ownership group also includes Ohanian’s wife, her sister Venus Williams, and Michelle Wie West. Ohanian’s key aim with the club is to make golf more accessible and to blend the sport with technology and entertainment to appeal to a new and more diverse fan base.

Athlos Track & Field

In 2024, Ohanian and the American Olympic Track and Field Champion Gabby Thomas launched Athlos, a women-only professional track and field event. He was motivated by the lack of lucrative opportunities for women in track and field outside of the Olympics. The first meet was held at New York’s Icahn Stadium in September of that year and featured 36 top competitors.

The meet had a record-breaking $663,000 prize purse, with $60,000 awarded to each event winner to highlight the value of women’s athletics. Ohanian was responsible for the event being shown on platforms like ESPN+, YouTube, and DAZN, to ensure that Athlos reached millions of viewers and attracted new fans to the sport. He also introduced distributing 10% of all commercial income evenly among the athletes, which was unusual and possibly a first, as funds are usually distributed based on performance or contract.

Chelsea F.C. Investment

Following his success with ACFC, in May 2025, Ohanian bought a 10% stake in Chelsea Women’s Soccer Club in the United Kingdom. The investment was worth around £20 million ($26.86 million) and valued the club at £200 million ($268.57 million), making it one of the most valuable women’s soccer clubs in the world. He said his goal is to help Chelsea FC Women’s Club become a global brand and to use his expertise and network to boost the club’s international profile, particularly in the United States.

Ohanian has consistently shown his passion for backing tech founders and his commitment to giving women’s sport the recognition and investment it has lacked for so many years.

Bored Ape Yacht Club Lawsuit

In 2023, Ohanian was named in a class action lawsuit along with several other high-profile celebrities, including his wife, Gwyneth Paltrow, Madonna, and Snoop Dogg. Investors in Yuga Labs’ Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and Apecoin alleged that the celebrities, including Ohanian and Williams, fraudulently promoted NFTs.

However, the celebrities had never revealed their financial interests or how much compensation they would get as a result of their involvement. The case alleged that the celebrities who had endorsed the NFTs were benefiting from the inflated value. Yuga Labs stated that the claims were false, and as of today, the case is ongoing. 

Real Estate

Brooklyn Condo

In 2011, Ohanian purchased a two-bedroom, 1,385-square-foot apartment in Brooklyn Heights for $1.245 million. Before he sold the unit, Alexis had been renting it out to people for $7,500 per month since 2016. In May 2022, he listed the apartment for sale at $2.3 million. It was scooped up in December that year for $2.05 million.

Highlights 

Here are some of the best highlights of Alexis Ohanian’s career: 

• Co-founder and executive chairman of Reddit
• Ohanian launched Breadpig (2007)
• Ohanian spoke at TED about a whale named Mister Splashy Pants (2009) 

Introduction

Patrick Bet-David is an Iranian-American entrepreneur with an estimated net worth of $200 Million.

PHP Agency

Bet-David built his financial empire on two main ventures, PHP Agency and Valuetainment. He launched PHP Agency (People Helping People) in 2009 as a life insurance and annuity marketing company. The business employed a controversial multi-level marketing (MLM) structure, where agents earned commissions not only on their sales but also on sales made by people they recruited. The more individuals that each salesperson recruits, the more they earn.

PHP’s MLM model has been criticized for relying too heavily on recruitment, with only a few agents earning significant income. YouTuber Coffeezilla investigated PHP Agency and concluded that many recruits lose money. Despite this, PHP Agency received an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau and has not faced any industry penalties.

Growth

By 2017, his PHP business had grown to over 5,000 licensed agents and now served 49 states across the US. In the same year, it raised $10 million in private equity to enable its continuing growth. One of the investors was the former boxer-turned-entrepreneur Oscar De la Hoya. He was particularly impressed by the work PHP had done with the Hispanic market. Recognizing that the Hispanic community often faces challenges in accessing insurance, PHP aimed to support this underrepresented group. At its peak in 2024, PHP claimed to have over 45,000 agents, with Bet-David crediting PHP’s rapid expansion to investments in technology and a focus on diverse, often underserved, communities.

Acquisition

In July 2022, PHP Agency was acquired by Integrity Marketing Group, one of the largest distributors of life and health insurance in the United States. As part of the deal, Bet-David became a Managing Partner at Integrity, but there is no official public disclosure of the exact value of Bet-David’s earnings from the sale. He remained actively involved during the sale and reportedly completed his earn-out by 2024.

Valuetainment

On November 9, 2012, Bet-David stepped out into content creation when he launched his YouTube channel Valuetainment. Typically, for Bet-David, the channel’s prime focus was on business strategy and entrepreneurship. It very rapidly grew a loyal following, and by 2024, it had more than 475 million views and over 6.4 million subscribers.

His YouTube channel was so successful that Valuetainment expanded into podcasting, public speaking, live events, online education, and merchandise. Bet-David began to interview high-profile guests, including Kobe Bryant and Mark Cuban. Under the umbrella of the Valutainment brand, Bet-David launched The PBD Podcast, which became one of the top-ranked business podcasts on Spotify, further increasing his reach. 

Vault Conference

With the success of PHP, Bet-David had proved that he knew what he was doing in business. To help other entrepreneurs, he launched the Vault Conference in 2020. It has since evolved into an annual high-ticket event featuring keynote speakers, workshops, and networking sessions.

Ticket prices started at $495, reaching $5,000 plus for a VIP experience. Typically, 1,000 to 2,000 people attend the conference, which generates approximately $2 million to $5 million in gross revenue per event. It is a significant source of revenue for Valuetainment and serves as a sales funnel for Bet-David’s coaching programs and products.

Real Estate

In June 2021, Patrick Bet-David paid $20.4 million for a 10,436-square-foot, six-bedroom, 7.5-bathroom home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The property was initially listed for $25 million before Bet-David bagged himself a $4.6 million discount. The entrepreneur has provided a personal video tour of the home on his YouTube channel, which you can view below. Recent estimates place the home’s value at approximately $22.4 million, costing Bet-David up to $360,000 per year in property taxes.

Continuing with his investments in Florida, Bet-David made the move into commercial real estate in September 2024. He paid $25 million for an office and hangar complex in a bankruptcy sale. Located near Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport, the complex has 20,150 sq ft of office space, an 18,048 sq ft private aircraft hangar, and a two-bedroom apartment.

Although he hasn’t explicitly stated what the complex will be used for, it is likely to support Valuetainment’s media, logistics, and event production needs as the company continues to grow.