At the stroke of midnight on Jan. 1, Forbes updated its annual list of the richest people in the world, which includes 34 U.S. healthcare billionaires in 2024, including eight who made their wealth in the spine and orthopedic industry.
Here are the eight U.S.-based musculoskeletal billionaires of 2024 and their billionaire rankings worldwide:
282. Reinhold Schmieding, $7.7 billion, started orthopedic surgical tools company Arthrex in 1981 and still owns more than 90% of the company.
344. Ronda Stryker, $6.9 billion, is a director of medical equipment company Stryker Corp.
445. John Brown, $5.7 billion, ran Stryker Corp. for 32 years.
636. Jon Stryker, $4.3 billion, inherited a stake in Stryker Corp.
905. Pat Stryker, $3.2 billion, inherited a stake in Stryker Corp.
1,647. Gary Michelson, MD, $1.8 billion, is a retired orthopedic and spine surgeon who holds over 340 U.S. patents.
1,647. Amy Wyss, $1.8 billion, worked at her father's medical equipment firm Synthes for years before it sold to Johnson & Johnson.
2,020. David Paul, $1.4 billion, is the founder and executive chair of spine manufacturer Globus Medical.