By Patsy Newitt

The wealthiest person in U.S. healthcare, as of Feb. 19, is Thomas Frist Jr., MD, co-founder of HCA Healthcare, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a ranking of the world’s 500 richest people across industries.

Total net worth: $45.4 billion

Year-to-date change: +$4.47 billion

Overall index ranking: 44

Dr. Frist is the major shareholder of Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare, a for-profit operator of about 2,400 care sites, including ASCs, freestanding emergency rooms and urgent care centers and physician clinics.

HCA reported $75.6 billion in total revenue from 2025, an increase of $5 billion from 2024. Net income attributable to HCA Healthcare was $6.8 billion in 2025, an increase of more than $1 billion over 2024.

Dr. Frist co-founded the publicly traded health system with his father in the 1960s. He took it public for the third time in 2011 after two management buyouts and owns over 25% of the company with his family. While Dr. Frist doesn’t have an executive position at HCA, his sons, Thomas Frist III and William Frist, are board members.

Forbes gave him a self-made score of seven and a philanthropy score of two.