von Bechtolsheim vs Frist Jr.

Arista Networks and HCA Healthcare.

The differences

Forbes puts Thomas Frist Jr. about $1.4B ahead of Andreas von Bechtolsheim.Forbes figures from 9 Oct 2026 and 9 Oct 2026.
Both started the company their money comes from.
Thomas Frist Jr. is about 17 years older than Andreas von Bechtolsheim.
Andreas von Bechtolsheim is from Germany; Thomas Frist Jr. is from United States.

Put someone else on either side

von Bechtolsheim

Frist Jr.

Net worth, Forbes: $36BForbes, 9 Oct 2026; $37.4BForbes, 9 Oct 2026
Net worth, Bloomberg: $42.5BBloomberg, 14 Oct 2026; $41.5BBloomberg, 17 Oct 2026
Forbes rank: No. 64Real-Time list, 9 Oct 2026; No. 59Real-Time list, 9 Oct 2026
Billionaire since: Not stated; Not stated

How it started: Co-founded itCo-founded Arista in 2004 (as Arastra) after co-founding Sun Microsystems; Forbes says much of his fortune stems from the $100,000 cheque he wrote to Google in 1998; Co-founded itFounded Hospital Corporation of America in 1968 with his father, Dr. Thomas F. Frist Sr., and Jack Massey
Main source: An early Google investment and his Arista Networks stakeForbes' source of wealth is Google; the 2026 Arista proxy shows 14.6% held by his family trust; HCA Healthcare stock, and cash from HCA share sales and dividendsBloomberg: $32.4 billion in HCA stock and $9.18 billion in cash
Companies: Arista NetworksArista Networks: Co-founder and chief architect; HCA HealthcareHCA Healthcare: Co-founder; no executive position
Biggest stake: Arista Networks14.6% owned; HCA Healthcare27% owned

Born: 30 Sep 1955Bavaria, Germany; 12 Aug 1938Nashville, Tennessee, United States
Country: GermanyLives in Palo Alto, California, United States; United States
Education: Graduate degreeMS computer engineering, Carnegie Mellon University (1976); doctoral student in computer engineering at Stanford, 1977-1982; Graduate degreeMD, Washington University School of Medicine (1965); bachelor's degree, Vanderbilt University (1961)
Parents: Grew up on a farm in Bavaria; his father was an elementary-school teacher and his mother a homemakerThe farm was leased to a farmer; Father Dr. Thomas F. Frist Sr. was a Nashville cardiologist and internal medicine specialist who co-founded HCA with him

Giving Pledge: Not a signer; Not a signer
Foundation: Not stated; The Frist FoundationFounded by HCA in 1982 and later made independent; he chairs it
Lifetime giving: Not stated; Not stated

Role now: Founder, no executive roleCo-founder and chief architect of Arista Networks; Founder, no executive roleCo-founder of HCA Healthcare; chairman of the Frist Foundation
Successor: Jayshree Ullal, Arista's founding CEO, is now also its chairpersonArista said in 2015 he has no family relationship with any of its executive officers or directors; Jack O. Bovender Jr. succeeded him as HCA chairman in 2002; his sons Thomas Frist III and William Frist are HCA board members
Public office: None found; None found
Legal record: 2024: US District Court for N.D. California (SEC case)A consent final judgment in an SEC insider-trading case bars him from serving as an officer or director of a public company for five years and ordered a $923,740 civil penalty; Forbes reports he agreed without admitting guilt.; None found