2. David Murdock
Company: Dole Food Products, Castle & Cooke
Net Worth: $2.3 billion*
David Murdock has had an interesting career. The billionaire, who has a net worth of over $2 billion, got out of the Army after World War II and realized he was in need of some quick cash. He turned a small profit flipping a diner, and he then used that capital to develop property in Arizona.
David Murdock ©Jemal Countess / Gettyimages.com
Murdock expanded his burgeoning empire to residential and commercial real estate throughout Arizona, Hawaii, and California. Murdock entered a new segment of the business world: food. He became the owner of Dole, a huge food-production company and competitor of Del Monte and Coca-Cola, in 2003. Essentially, real estate and canned fruit have made Murdock an extremely wealthy man.