Ronald Perelman Net Worth

Ronald Perelman has an estimated net worth of $1.5 billion, according to Forbes Real-Time Billionaires, Ronald Perelman profile (figures as of October 20, 2026). That is down from a peak of $9.4 billion.

Ronald Perelman is an American businessman and investor known for building MacAndrews & Forbes into a broad holding company. He became a prominent dealmaker through leveraged buyouts and by buying, reshaping, and selling businesses across many industries. His company has held interests in groceries, cigars, licorice, makeup, cars, photography, television, camping supplies, security, gaming, jewelry, banks, and comic book publishing. Forbes tracks his wealth in finance and investments and describes him as self-made.

His rise came through a long run of acquisitions and restructurings. After early dealmaking with his father, he struck out on his own in 1978 and soon bought Cohen-Hatfield Jewelers. He later acquired MacAndrews & Forbes and used it as the base for larger moves, including Technicolor, Consolidated Cigar, Compact Video, New World Entertainment, and Revlon. Over time, he also held significant stakes in companies such as Deluxe Entertainment, SIGA Technologies, Scientific Games, Valassis, Scantron, RetailMeNot, vTv Therapeutics, Merisant, and Harland Clarke.

How Ronald Perelman built his fortune

Perelman made his money by buying companies, cutting them back to core operations, and then keeping or selling assets depending on the opportunity. That approach first stood out in 1978, when he bought Cohen-Hatfield Jewelers and quickly narrowed it to its wholesale business. He then bought MacAndrews & Forbes, a licorice extract and chocolate distributor, and turned it into the center of a much larger portfolio. Forbes says his wealth came from leveraged buyouts, a method that shaped many of his deals.

MacAndrews & Forbes expanded into entertainment, consumer brands, and other sectors. The company acquired Technicolor, Consolidated Cigar, Compact Video, and New World Entertainment, and it later became the vehicle for major holdings like Revlon, Deluxe, SIGA Technologies, and Scientific Games. Forbes notes that his holdings ranged from candy to cosmetics. In 2020, he sold the majority of his shares in AM General, and Forbes says he also sold assets worth billions after the Covid-19 pandemic hit several of his businesses hard.

What happened to his Forbes net worth

Forbes estimated Perelman at $9.4 billion in 2019, then $6.9 billion in 2020, $3.7 billion in 2021, $2.6 billion in 2022, and $1.8 billion in 2023. Forbes kept him at $1.8 billion in 2024, then put him at $1.6 billion for 2025 and 2026. As of October 20, 2026, Forbes' real-time billionaires tracker lists him at $1.5 billion. That is a steep drop from the levels Forbes recorded earlier in the period.

The facts in the record point to a few reasons for that shift. Forbes says he sold assets worth billions in late 2020 to reduce debt after the pandemic hurt his businesses. Revlon was also a key part of his long business story, but Forbes says he lost his holdings during the company’s 2023 bankruptcy proceedings. The background facts also show he sold significant works of art in 2020, another sign that asset sales became part of the financial picture.