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Andy Beal Tops List of Dallasites on Forbes 400

You know what they say. This must mean Beal has lots of problems.
By Tim Rogers |

Forbes just dropped its list of the 400 richest people in America. Sorry. Wealthiest people. “Rich” is such a gauche term. Let’s have a look at the Dallasites who made the list and see how I, Tim Rogers, have personally interfaced with them. Just for giggles.

Andy Beal, No. 45, $10.9B
In 2010, I flew to Cape Canaveral on a 747 chartered by Beal to watch a space shuttle launch. Gabe Kaplan was along for the ride, too, on account of he, like Beal, enjoys high-stakes poker. I beat down Kaplan with questions about cards. He’s not nearly as nice as Beal. I shook Beal’s hand and thanked him for including me. Among the parting gifts given to everyone on the flight was a backpack that I still occasionally use to this day. Friendship rating on scale of 1 to 10: Beal and I are totally close. 8

Jerry Jones, No. 95, $5.6B
I’ve never met Jerry, but around 2000 I was thrown out of Valley Ranch for trying to interview a chef about what he was cooking for the team. Friendship rating: Jerry and I are lifelong enemies. 1

Robert Rowling, No. 108, $5.2B
Strange as it may seem, given that he has an alliterative name, I’ve never met Rowling. Friendship rating: there is hope that one day our families will vacation together. 5

Ray Hunt, No. 122, $4.9B
I talked to him once on the phone. Can’t recall why. He was once a part owner of D Magazine. His building is a block from our office, and I sometimes visit his lobby just to see his badass Foucault pendulum. Friendship rating: we’d probably bro hug if we ran into each other at lunch. 6.5

Trevor Rees-Jones, No. 132, $4.8B
I have an email from 2009 indicating that we made a mistake in the magazine involving TRJ. Friendship rating: it was a great mistake. 9

Kelcy Warren, No. 161, $4.2B
I interviewed him in 2014. We fell so hard for each other that he invited me to his wife’s birthday party at Savor a couple days later. They are both really nice people. Friendship rating: beyond besties. 10

Ross Perot Sr., No. 167, $4.1B
Earlier this year, a handful of D staffers got to tour the new Perot family office. Just by chance, we ran into Ross Sr., and I got to shake his hand and see his own personal office, which includes hundreds of pictures of artifacts from his fascinating life. Friendship rating: out of respect for one of the greatest Americans ever to live, I will not overstate our bond. 5.2

Mark Cuban, No. 226, $3.3B
Man, I hate to bring this up. It happened so many years ago. 2002, to be exact. But Mark Cuban once threatened to slice off my nuts. Those were his words. I’m not making that up. Anyway, I played pickup basketball with him a couple times after that. So no hard feelings. Friendship rating: we will probably play one on one as soon as his kids get older and he has more time. 8

Gerald Ford, No. 278, $2.9B
I’ve been in Ford Stadium. Friendship rating: it was only to drop off my daughter at soccer camp. 2

Ray Davis, No. 288, $2.8B
John Blake once cussed me out big time. John Blake is the head of communications for the Rangers. Ray Davis co-owns the Rangers. Friendship rating: I can tell that Davis values loyalty and that he has Blake’s back. 0

Herbert Hunt, No. 374, $2.1B
Wait a sec. Which Hunt is this? Friendship rating: seriously, there are so many Hunts that it’s hard to keep track of them all, and that’s before we even start talking about the Hills. 1

Ross Perot Jr., No. 374, $2.1B
Remember that tour of the Perot office I told you about? Ross Jr. led the thing. Nice dude. I offered to come lead a morning yoga class for him at the gym in their office. He politely declined. Friendship rating: next time he flies around the world in a helicopter, pretty sure he’ll ask me to be his copilot. 9

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