Nathan Kirsh Net Worth

Nathan Kirsh has an estimated net worth of $18.9 billion, according to Forbes Real-Time Billionaires, Nathan Kirsh profile (figures as of October 20, 2026). That is up from $4.9 billion in 2019.

Nathan Kirsh is a self-made businessman from Eswatini whose wealth is tied to retail and real estate. He leads the Kirsh Group, which holds a majority stake in Jetro Holdings in New York state. That business owns Jetro Cash & Carry and Restaurant Depot. Forbes says the bulk of his fortune comes from that company. His wider group also has investments in Australia, Eswatini, the UK, the US, and Israel.

He built his business over decades, starting with a corn milling and malt venture in Eswatini in 1958. From there, he moved into wholesale food distribution in South Africa, then expanded into supermarkets and commercial property. In 1976, he founded Jetro in Brooklyn. Later, he added Restaurant Depot and ran both under Jetro Holdings. He also owns Tower 42 in London, one of the city’s tallest skyscrapers and home to more than 50 international companies.

How Nathan Kirsh built his fortune

Kirsh first made money in Eswatini, where he launched a corn milling business in 1958. He later expanded into wholesale food distribution in South Africa, then added supermarkets and commercial property development. Those moves gave him a base in both retail and real estate. Over time, his business interests spread across several countries through the Kirsh Group, but wholesale food remained a central part of how he built wealth.

The biggest piece of his fortune comes from U.S.-based Jetro Holdings, according to Forbes. The company owns Jetro Cash and Carry and Restaurant Depot, which supply wholesale goods to bodegas, small stores, and restaurants in the United States. Forbes says Kirsh owns 70% of the business. In 2026, Sysco agreed to acquire Jetro Restaurant Depot LLC for $29.1 billion, including debt, in a deal that involved $21.6 billion in cash and 91.5 million shares.

Forbes net worth trend

Forbes has tracked sharp swings in Kirsh’s fortune. It estimated him at $4.9 billion in 2019, then $2.7 billion in 2020. After that, the estimate moved back up to $4.7 billion in 2021 and $5.3 billion in 2022. By 2023, Forbes put his wealth at $6.5 billion. Those changes line up with the value of a business empire centered on wholesale retail, property, and his large stake in Jetro Holdings.

The estimate kept rising in later years. Forbes placed Kirsh at $7.2 billion in 2024 and $7.3 billion in 2025, then $9.1 billion on its 2026 World's Billionaires List. As of October 20, 2026, Forbes' real-time billionaires tracker listed him at $18.9 billion. That jump came in a year when Jetro Restaurant Depot LLC was set to change hands, putting fresh attention on the value of his ownership stake.