Jimmy Rane Net Worth

Jimmy Rane has an estimated net worth of $1.7 billion, according to Forbes Real-Time Billionaires, Jimmy Rane profile (figures as of October 20, 2026). That is up from $1.2 billion in 2023.

Jimmy Rane is an American businessman best known for founding Great Southern Wood Preserving and leading it for more than half a century. He became a familiar face through TV ads as the cowboy character "the Yella Fella," built around the company’s YellaWood brand. Great Southern Wood makes treated lumber products used for decks, fences, and other outdoor building jobs. Rane retired as CEO in 2025, but he remains chairman.

His business story started with a small lumber treatment plant that he ran with his brother while also working as a lawyer. Great Southern Wood made its first delivery in 1971, and the company kept growing through new plants, branding, and marketing. Rane later turned to the business full-time and pushed it into a much larger operation. By fiscal 2025, the company had nearly $2.5 billion in sales, helping make him a billionaire.

How Jimmy Rane built his business

Rane made his fortune in lumber manufacturing through Great Southern Wood Preserving, the company he founded with his brother in 1970. The business produces pressure-treated lumber for decks, fences, and related projects. In its early years, he treated it as a side business while practicing law and serving as a judge. That changed as sales expanded, and by 1986 he was able to leave law and focus on the company full-time.

A big part of the company’s rise came from branding. After reading about Frank Perdue’s marketing approach, Rane developed the idea of promoting treated lumber through short western films. He later appeared in commercials as the "Yella Fella," a cowboy alter ego tied to the YellaWood name. Great Southern Wood also leaned into college football marketing in the 1980s and 1990s. Rane stayed CEO for more than half a century before stepping down in 2025.

Forbes net worth timeline

Forbes estimated Rane’s fortune at $1.2 billion on its 2023 World’s Billionaires List. That estimate rose to $1.5 billion on the 2024 list, and Forbes kept the same $1.5 billion figure on its 2025 and 2026 lists. The business behind that wealth is Great Southern Wood, which grew from a backyard treating plant with $22,000 in 1971 sales into a company with nearly $2.5 billion in fiscal 2025 sales.

As of October 20, 2026, Forbes' real-time billionaires tracker put Rane at $1.7 billion. That live estimate is higher than the annual Forbes list figure from 2026. His wealth is tied to the treated lumber company he still chairs after retiring from the CEO role in 2025. Rane is self-made, and his fortune comes from the manufacturing business he spent decades building around YellaWood and other treated lumber products.