Jim Kavanaugh Net Worth

Jim Kavanaugh has an estimated net worth of $7.7 billion, according to Forbes Real-Time Billionaires, Jim Kavanaugh profile (figures as of October 20, 2026). That is up from $1.9 billion in 2019.

Jim Kavanaugh is an American businessman best known as the CEO and co-founder of World Wide Technology, or WWT. Before business, he played soccer at Saint Louis University, competed in the 1983 Pan American Games, and made the 1984 U.S. Olympic team. He later played professionally after being drafted in 1986. His public profile grew through WWT, the St. Louis technology company he started with David Steward in 1990.

Kavanaugh built his fortune through WWT, which began by selling computers and printers to telecom companies such as AT&T. He personally handled one of the company’s earliest orders by renting a truck and driving 500 PCs to Omaha. WWT later expanded into software and hardware sales for clients including Citi, Verizon, and the federal government. Forbes put his net worth at $7.7 billion on its real-time billionaires tracker on October 20, 2026.

How Jim Kavanaugh built his wealth

Kavanaugh’s wealth comes mainly from World Wide Technology, the IT provider he co-founded with David Steward in 1990. He led the company as CEO while it grew from a startup serving telecom customers into a major technology seller. In its early days, the business focused on computers and printers for companies like AT&T. That hands-on start became part of the company’s story when Kavanaugh delivered 500 PCs himself on one of its first orders.

As WWT expanded, it moved beyond basic equipment sales into a broader mix of software and hardware. Forbes says the company is now a $20 billion sales business, with customers that include Citi, Verizon, and the federal government. Kavanaugh also has other business ties in St. Louis. He bought a minority stake in the St. Louis Blues in 2012, became CEO of Saint Louis FC from 2014 to 2020, and is a minority investor in St. Louis City SC, launched in 2023.

What shaped the Forbes estimate

Forbes has tracked a sharp rise in Kavanaugh’s fortune over time as WWT became a much larger company. Its estimate moved from $1.9 billion in 2019 to $2.2 billion in 2020, then to $2.3 billion in 2021. After that, the jumps were bigger, with Forbes estimating $3.4 billion in 2022, $3.7 billion in 2023, and $4.7 billion in 2024. The growth lines up with WWT’s scale as a large technology supplier.

By 2025, Forbes estimated Kavanaugh at $7 billion, and by 2026 it placed him at $7.7 billion. Alongside WWT, his business profile widened in other ways. He joined the board of Stifel Financial in 2022, adding a public company board role in St. Louis. Earlier in his career, he worked as a sales manager for Future Electronics, which fits the sales-driven path that later helped him build WWT into a major IT provider.