The two richest physicians have a combined net worth of $31.3 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index as of Feb. 21.
Here's what you need to know about the two physicians:
1. Thomas Frist Jr., MD, co-founder and shareholder of Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare, tops the list of billionaires in U.S. healthcare, according to Bloomberg.
His net worth is $22.6 billion, according to the report, a jump from $17 billion in September, according to Forbes.
Dr. Frist co-founded 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. The younger 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 emergency rooms, urgent care centers and physician clinics in 21 states and the United Kingdom.
2. . Patrick Soon-Shiong, MD, invented the cancer drug Abraxane and has a net worth of $8.7 billion, according to Bloomberg, a jump from $5.7 billion in September, according to Forbes.
Dr. Soon-Shiong was a practicing transplant surgeon before inventing Abraxane. He sold his drug companies in 2008 and 2010 for a combined $9.1 billion. In 2016, he created biotech startup NantHealth, and he owns NantWorks, a network of health startups. In 2018, he bought the Los Angeles Times and The San Diego Union-Tribune.