Judith Faulkner Net Worth

Judith Faulkner has an estimated net worth of $9.6 billion, according to Forbes Real-Time Billionaires, Judith Faulkner profile (figures as of October 20, 2026). That is up from $3.6 billion in 2019.

Judith Faulkner is the founder and CEO of Epic Systems, a healthcare software company in Verona, Wisconsin. She started the business in 1979 in a basement, when it was called Human Services Computing. Faulkner is a computer programmer, and she wrote the original code on a Data General Eclipse 16-bit minicomputer. Epic stayed private from the start. It never raised venture capital, never made an acquisition, and built its software in-house.

Her wealth comes from the company she built over decades. Forbes says Faulkner owns an estimated 42% of Epic, which had $6.7 billion in 2025 sales. Epic supports the medical records of over 250 million patients and is used by major medical centers including Johns Hopkins and Mayo Clinic. Forbes put her net worth at $9.6 billion on its real-time billionaires tracker as of October 20, 2026.

How Judith Faulkner built her fortune

Faulkner made her money by building Epic into a major healthcare software provider. She founded the company in 1979 with $70,000 and began in a Wisconsin basement. At first, the business was called Human Services Computing. She was not backed by venture capital or private equity, and the company has remained privately held. That matters because her wealth is tied to the value of the business and the large ownership stake she still holds.

Epic's reach helps explain that value. Forbes says the company supports the medical records of over 250 million patients and is used by top medical centers such as Johns Hopkins and Mayo Clinic. Faulkner is CEO, and Forbes says she owns an estimated 42% of the company. Epic also develops all of its software in-house and has never made an acquisition, giving Faulkner a rare level of control over how the company grows.

A closer look at her money

Forbes places Faulkner in the technology industry, with wealth tied to healthcare software. In 2025, Epic recorded $6.7 billion in sales, according to Forbes notes. Because Epic is private and Faulkner owns a large share, changes in Forbes' estimate can follow the company's scale and performance. Forbes currently estimates her fortune at $9.6 billion on its real-time tracker as of October 20, 2026.

Faulkner has also said some of her shares are being sold back to Epic. In 2024, Forbes reported that she was regularly selling around $100 million of Epic stock a year to the company, with the proceeds going to her charitable foundation, Roots & Wings. She signed the Giving Pledge in 2015 and agreed to eventually give 99% of her assets to a private charitable foundation.