Forbes classifies billionaires as self-made if they did not inherit their wealth or their company.
Thomas Frist Jr., MD, $22 billion, founded Hospital Corp. of America in 1968.
Reinhold Schmieding, $7.7 billion, started orthopedic surgical tools company Arthrex in 1981 and still owns more than 90 percent of the company.
John Brown, $6.2 billion, ran Stryker Corp. for 32 years.
Patrick Soon-Shiong, MD, $5.9 billion, was a practicing physician before inventing the cancer medication Abraxane.
Ge Li, $5.6 billion, co-founded WuXi AppTec.
Leonard Schleifer, $2.9 billion, co-founded and remains CEO of drugmaker Regeneron.
Wayne Rothbaum, $2.7 billion, is a successful biotechnology investor who became the largest investor in cancer drug developer Acerta Pharma. In 2016, AstraZeneca bought 55 percent of the company for $4 billion.
Timothy Springer, $2.3 billion, was a founding investor in Moderna and works as a professor of biochemistry at Boston-based Harvard Medical Center.
Hao Hong, $2.2 billion, is the chairman of pharmaceutical outsourcing company Asymchem Laboratories.
Alice Schwartz, $2.1 billion, launched lab research facilitator Bio-Rad in 1952.
Robert Duggan, $1.9 billion, led the 2015 sale of biotech firm Pharmacyclics to AbbVie.
Phillip Frost, $1.8 billion, runs diagnostic-maker Opko Health.
Noubar Afeyan, $1.8 billion, is the founder and CEO of life sciences innovation firm Flagship Pioneering.
Robert Langer, MD, $1.8 billion, is a scientist and professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge and a co-founder of Moderna.
Gary Michelson, MD, $1.8 billion, is a retired orthopedic and spine surgeon who holds over 340 U.S. patents.
George Yancopoulos, MD, $1.8 billion, is the chief scientific officer at biotech firm Regeneron.
Osman Kibar, $1.7 billion, is the founder and CEO of San Diego-based biotech firm Samumed.
August Troendle, MD, $1.7 billion, is the president and CEO of clinical research company Medpace.
James Leininger, MD, $1.7 billion, founded medical device company Kinetic Concepts.
Keith Dunleavy, MD, $1.7 billion, is the founder of cloud-based data analytics company Inovalon.
Jeff Tangney, $1.7 billion, co-founded Doximity.
Randal Kirk, $1.6 billion, is a chairman of private equity firm Third Security, and the former CEO of biotech firm Precigen.
David Paul, $1.5 billion, is the founder and executive chair of spine manufacturer Globus Medical.
John Oyler, $1.4 billion, is the CEO and co-founder of biotech company BeiGene. He now owns 5 percent of the publicly traded company.
Joe Kiani, $1.3 billion, runs medical technology firm Masimo Corp.
Alan Miller, $1.2 billion, founded Universal Health Services, a chain of hospitals and health providers, in 1979.
Ning Zhao, $1.2 billion, co-founded WuXi AppTec.
Forrest Preston, $1.2 billion, founded Life Care Centers of America in 1970.
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