Ronald Perelman Net Worth - Pulptastic

May 06, 2024

What is Ronald Perelman’s net worth?

Ronald Perelman, an American businessman and investor, has a net worth of $4 billion dollars. He is best known for his company MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings Inc., through which he acquired cosmetics company Revlon in the 1980s.

Perelman has investments in various industries, including groceries, cigars, licorice, makeup, cars, television, camping supplies, banks, and comic book publishing. He was once considered one of the richest people in America and was known as one of the most-feared corporate raiders in the 1980s.

Perelman’s net worth has fluctuated throughout the years, reaching a high of $20 billion. However, his fortune took a major hit amid the COVID-19 crisis, dropping from $14 billion to $4 billion in under a year in 2020.

Ronald Perelman’s Early Life and Career

Ronald Owen Perelman was born in Greensboro, North Carolina on January 1, 1943. He was raised in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia. Perelman’s father Raymond was a successful buyout artist who taught his son about running a company. By 11, Ronald regularly attended meetings with his father and received harsh criticism for business mistakes.

In 1964, Ronald graduated from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He received his master’s in 1966. During his Freshman year at Wharton, Perelman and his father paid $800,000 for a Brewery, selling it for $1.8 million three years later, netting a $1 million profit. Ron and his father continued buying distressed assets, improving the core business, and selling the company for a healthy profit.

In the late 1970s, Raymond made it clear he was not stepping down any time soon, and Ronald resigned in anger in 1978. The two barely spoke for the next six years.

Marriage, Adoption, and Business Ventures

In 1965, Ronald Perelman married Faith Golding, a real estate and banking heiress worth $100 million. They adopted three children before having their own. They divorced in 1984.

After resigning from his father’s company, Perelman used funds borrowed from his wife to purchase Cohen-Hatfield Jewelers. Selling off the retail locations, he earned $15 million within a year by focusing on wholesale. He then acquired MacAndrew & Forbes, a licorice and chocolate distributor, for $45 million in 1980, selling off the chocolate assets and taking the company private for $95 million in 1984. Through MacAndrew & Forbes, Perelman acquired and sold dozens of companies in various industries, including Technicolor Inc., Compact Video, Consolidated Cigar Holdings Ltd, Pantry Pride supermarkets, and New World Entertainment.

Perelman’s Famous Acquisition of Revlon

Ronald Perelman financed many of his transactions using Michael Milken’s infamous junk bonds. His most famous deal was the 1985 acquisition of cosmetics company Revlon to Pantry Pride. Before he showed any interest, Revlon’s public market cap value was $365 million.

Ron ended up paying $1.75 billion for the company using around $3 billion in borrowed debt to finance the deal. Why $3 billion? After paying roughly $1.8 billion to Revlon shareholders, he also incurred $900 million in financing costs and fees.

For the next several decades the company struggled under its multi-billion-dollar debt load. Not long after the deal, Revlon lightened its load by selling some assets. For example Ron sold Revlon’s vision care division for around $575 million. Today he owns 87% of Revlon.

Acquisition of Five Bankrupt Savings & Loans

In the late 1980s Ron acquired five bankrupt Savings & Loans. In 1993 the banks were sold to Bank of America for $1 billion.

Ronald Perelman’s Marriages

Ronald Perelman has been married five times. His second marriage was to Claudia Cohen in 1990, and they had a daughter named Samantha. They divorced in 1993. Perelman then married Patricia Duff in 1995, and they had a daughter named Caleigh in 1996. However, they divorced the same year. In 2000, Perelman married actress Ellen Barkin, but their marriage ended in 2005. He then married Anna Chapman in 2010, and they have two children together.

Ronald Perelman’s Art Collection

Ronald Perelman is the owner of an impressive and valuable collection of art. At its peak, the collection was valued at $6 billion. The collection includes works by renowned artists such as Jasper Johns, Francis Bacon, Mark Rothko, Ed Ruscha, Gerhard Richter, Cy Twombly and many others.

In recent years, Ronald has sold off many pieces from his collection.

Perelman’s Primary Residence and Assets

Ronald Perelman’s primary residence is a 40-room mansion on Georgica Pond on 60-acers in East Hampton, which dates back to 1899. The property’s value is estimated to be north of $200 million due to its size and rarity for the area. Perelman also owned a Gulfstream G650 at one point.