Byron Trott Net Worth

Byron Trott has an estimated net worth of $5 billion, according to Forbes Real-Time Billionaires, Byron Trott profile (figures as of October 20, 2026). That is up from $1.7 billion in 2022.

Byron Trott is an American investment banker and the founder, chairman and co-CEO of BDT & MSD Partners. He became known for advising wealthy families and founder-led companies on major deals. Before starting his own firm, he spent nearly 30 years at Goldman Sachs. He began there in 1982 as a stockbroker, moved into investment banking in 1988, and later became vice chairman of investment banking while working under Hank Paulson.

His wealth comes from investments and from building a merchant bank that offers both advice and capital. In 2009, Trott left Goldman Sachs and launched BDT & Company in Chicago. The firm worked with closely held businesses, including companies owned by billionaires such as Dennis Washington and Shahid Khan. In 2023, he merged BDT & Co. with Michael Dell's family investment firm, MSD Partners, creating BDT & MSD Partners, where he serves as chairman and co-CEO.

How Byron Trott built his fortune

Trott made his name in finance by working closely with families, founders, and private companies. At Goldman Sachs, he advised clients on large transactions, including the $23 billion Mars-Wrigley combination, the Pritzkers’ $4.5 billion sale of Marmon Holdings to Berkshire Hathaway, and Berkshire Hathaway’s $5 billion capital infusion into Goldman Sachs in September 2008. Those assignments helped establish him as a trusted adviser in big, private-company deals.

After leaving Goldman Sachs in early 2009, he started BDT & Company as a merchant bank. The business provided advice and capital to family and founder-led companies, a niche that matched the relationships he had built earlier in his career. In 2023, BDT & Co. merged with MSD Partners, Michael Dell’s family investment firm. The combined company, BDT & MSD Partners, gave Trott a larger platform as chairman and co-CEO in finance and investments.

Forbes net worth timeline

Forbes has steadily raised its estimate of Trott’s fortune in recent years. It placed him at $1.7 billion in 2022, then $2.5 billion in 2023, $3.1 billion in 2024, $3.7 billion in 2025, and $4.3 billion in 2026 on the World’s Billionaires list. Those gains came during a period when his merchant bank expanded and then combined with MSD Partners, adding scale to the business he founded.

As of October 20, 2026, Forbes' real-time billionaires tracker estimated his net worth at $5 billion. The main drivers named by Forbes are investments and his leadership role at BDT & MSD Partners. Trott is also known for working with closely held companies owned by wealthy entrepreneurs, which fits the kind of advisory and capital business his firm has focused on since 2009.