Forbes put out its annual envy-inducing list of the grotesquely rich yesterday. And though New York City lost out to Moscow as this year's billionaire capital of the world, the Empire State was definitely well represented.
While the vast majority of New York's 67 billionaires reside in and around the Big Apple, upstate did manage to crack the Forbes list. Not counting a few guys in the Hudson Valley south of Poughkeepsie, upstate can lay claim to two billionaires. (Two-and-a-half if you count Paychex founder Tom Golisano, who now resides in Florida.)
So who is upstate's richest man?
Jeremy Jacobs, with a whopping net worth of $2.1 billion. That makes him the 564th richest person on the planet.
The 71-year-old is the CEO of sports concessions giant Delaware North and the owner of the NHL's Boston Bruins. He resides in the Buffalo suburb of East Aurora (in this mansion).
Among other things, Jacobs is currently leading up the search for the University at Buffalo's next president.
And the other upstate billionaire?
Alan Gerry, with a net worth of $1.2 billion. He's "only" the 993rd richest person in the world.
The 82-year-old self-made billionaire made his money in the cable television business, building Cablevision Industries into a TV giant out of his tiny hometown of Liberty, N.Y.
The Binghamton-area billionaire (and high school dropout) is also the driving force behind the so-called Woodstock Museum at the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts.
