Who is the Richest Person in Iowa?

Looking up the wealthiest individuals in your state is liable to make you green with envy, especially when you consider how many Americans live below the poverty line and the sorry state of inflation. However, curiosity got the best of me when I realized I wasn't quite sure who the richest man in Iowa was.

To begin, if you truly think about it, one billion dollars is an unfathomable figure. Furthermore, net worth can be a nebulous/inaccurate figure given the fact that the wealthiest individuals in the world have their money tied to assets (their companies, stocks, investments, real estate, etc). That being said, projections and reliable sources are all we have to go off, and as of 2022, this man is the richest in Iowa...

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Who is Harry Stine?:

According to both Forbes and Siouxland Proud, Harry Stine is the richest Iowan to date. As of 2022, his net worth is reportedly a whopping $7.7 billion, which is more than three times as much as Donald Trump (whose net worth as of 2023 is $2.5 billion, per Forbes).

If the last name sounds familiar, you might be connecting the dots that Harry Stine is the owner/founder of Stine Seed, both the world's largest private seed company and the largest independent seed company in the United States.

How Did Harry Stine Get Rich?:

Stine apparently made his fortune by licensing soybean and corn genetics to agribusiness conglomerates like Syngenta and Monsanto. He holds the distinction of being the only billionaire in the state of Iowa, and with close to 15,000 acres of land via Stine Seed, Iowa's largest land owner as well!

His net worth has fluctuated a bit over the years, but let's just say, he hasn't missed any meals. In 2018, his net worth was $3.2 billion. The following year, his worth fortune skyrocketed to $5 billion, making him the 131st richest person in the country. In 2020, it rose again to $5.7 billion, although he then became the 484th richest person in the world (all figures via Forbes).

Other Facts About Harry Stine:

Facts sourced from Forbes' profile on Harry Stine via Forbes' website:

The son of a hardscrabble farmer, Stine became fascinated with seeds when he was a boy growing up in Iowa.
He started farming at just five years old, driving a tractor to pick up straw bales.
Stine, who is dyslexic and mildly autistic, is also a math and data wiz and a formidable negotiator.
In the 1990s he struck highly lucrative licensing deals with large multinational corporations across the globe, which form the backbone of his empire.
He's donated to numerous Iowa institutions, including McPherson College, Drake University, and Spurgeon Manor, a skilled nursing facility for seniors.