Local players

Friday, Sept. 24, 2004 | 11:42 a.m.

Members of the Forbes 400 with Nevada connections:

16. Pierre M. Omidyar, $10.4 billion, a 37-year-old computer programmer and Henderson resident, was responsible for launching the Internet auction site eBay.

17. The Mars family, $10 billion, own Henderson-based Ethel M. Chocolates. The candy heirs include Forrest Edward Mars Jr., Jacqueline Mars and John Franklyn Mars.

21. Carl Icahn, $7.6 billion, owns the landmark Stratosphere hotel-casino as well as the Arizona Charlie's casinos. Forbes lists the source of his fortune as leveraged buyouts.

30. Kirk Kerkorian, $5.8 billion, owner of the MGM Mirage, is now taking over Mandalay Resort Group.

60. Sheldon Adelson controls Las Vegas Sands Inc., owner of The Venetian, the Sands Expo and Convention Center and his new casino venture in Macau.

74. Donald Trump, $2.6 billion, is a New York-based developer turned reality show celebrity. A veteran of the Atlantic City casino industry, he announced a Las Vegas condo-hotel project this year.

165 (tie). Jackson Thomas Stephens and family, $1.5 billion, control an Arkansas investment bank. Holdings include Stephens Media Group, which owns the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

215 (tie). Phil Ruffin, $1.3 billion, owns the New Frontier, which sits on prime Strip real estate. Earlier this year he entered into an agreement with Trump, who will build a condo-hotel near his casino.

215 (tie). Steve Wynn, $1.3 billion, founder of Wynn Resorts Ltd. is in the process of completing his new megaresort -- Wynn Las Vegas -- on the Strip. He also is building a casino in Macau.

260. David A. Duffield, $1.1 billion, is the co-founder of the software company PeopleSoft. The Incline Village resident has seen his company come under siege in recent months as rival Oracle pursues a hostile takeover.