Phillip Frost Net Worth, Biography, Career & Personal Life

Phillip Frost Net Worth  $2 Billion

Phillip Frost currently features in the Forbes list of the wealthiest men in the world. He is one of the topmost entrepreneurs in the United States.

Having started from scratch, he built his fortunes by developing several pharmaceutical companies which he later sold off for a hefty profit. He is currently the chairman and the chief executive officer of Opko Health, a pharmaceutical and diagnostics company based in Miami.

He received his MD from Albert Einstein College of Medicine and has been able to thrive in the tough business world of today thanks to his business acumen.

He is a practicing dermatologist who loves taking care of patients. Together with his wife Patricia, Mr. Frost is famed for his philanthropic work and has spent a big chunk of his wealth on the cause of education and a better life for the needy.

Early Life: Childhood, Family, Education

He was born in Philadelphia, United States, in 1936, into a Jewish family. He had two brothers who were older than him. Their father ran a shoe business and owned a store in the Italian Market. The shop was right beneath a quarter of where the family lived.

There’s not a lot of information regarding Phillip’s school days in the media at this time. However, it is known that when he was thirteen years old, he took up a job in a nearby hardware shop to earn some pocket money.

After coming out of school, Phillip moved to France and enrolled at the University of Paris, and studied there from 1955 to 1956.

He did not finish his courses there but returned to the United States to enroll at the University of Pennsylvania. From there, he graduated in the year 1957 with a degree in French literature.

While working on his bachelor of arts, Phillip had to see a dermatologist for a wart that had appeared on his elbow.

That meeting inspired Phillip to think about a career in dermatology as an option. His problem of financing his studies to pursue his dream was solved when he won a scholarship to Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York.

He completed his MD in 1961 and did his research work at the National Institute of Health in Maryland.

Professional Life: Business Career

From 1963 to 1965, Phillip Frost worked for the United States Public Health Service at the National Cancer Institute.

In 1966, he joined the University of Miami’s School of Medicine as a Professor of Dermatology and worked there until 1972 when he found his job at the university to be too constrictive.

Mr. Frost joined Mt. Sinai Medical Center at Greater Miami in 1972 as the Chairman of the Department of Dermatology and served in that capacity until 1990.

The year 1972 was a landmark year in Frost’s career. Although he was already established as an efficient doctor, the business instinct in him began to kick and he decided to try his hands on different things at once.

He teamed up with Michael Jaharis to acquire a struggling pharmaceutical company named Key Pharmaceuticals. Frost served as the chairman of the board while Jaharis, who had administrative experience, became the chief executive officer.

After a period of trials and tribulations, Key Pharmaceuticals became a profit-making business. In 1986, Schering-Plough acquired the company at a price of $600 million and Phillip earned $100 million out of it.

In 1987, Phillip Frost merged three pharmaceutical firms and created IVAX Corporation where he began to develop new products. Here he served as the chairman of the board of directors as well as the chief executive officer.

In 1990, he finally stopped acting as a practicing dermatologist and focused on expanding his business, and within a short period, IVAX became a major player in Europe and in North and South America.

In January 2006, the Israel-based company Teva Pharmaceuticals acquired IVAX for a sum of $7.4 billion and Frost’s share of profit was $1.1 billion.

He continued to serve as Teva’s vice chairman after the acquisition until 2010 when he was appointed as the chairman of the board.

Mr. Phillip Frost also invested in Protalix BioTherapeutics and maintained a seat on its board of directors until his resignation in 2007.

From there, he became the chairman and chief executive officer of OPKO Health, a pharmaceutical firm that he created by merging a few smaller companies including Froptix Corporation, Acuity Pharmaceuticals Inc., and eXegenics Inc. OPKO has also acquired Bio-Reference Laboratories and is carrying out genetic researches.

He also sits on the boards of different other companies today, including Cocrystal Pharma, Continucare Corporation, Castle Brands, PROLOR Biotech, Inc., and Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services, among others.

Frost made tongues wag in 2011 when he became the largest shareholder in South Florida’s oldest bank Coconut Grove Bank.

He owns 19 percent of ChromaDex and has made quality investments in Sevion Therapeutics, Drone Aviation Holding Corporation, MusclePharm MSLP, and several more.

Philanthropy

Mr. Philip Frost and his family supports scholarships for selected students to attain higher education at the University of Oxford in subjects like mathematics, science, technology, and engineering. The scholarship is mainly open to students from Florida and Israel.

In 2003, the generous businessman gave the sum of $33 million to the University of Miami’s School of Music, which, in recognition of his benevolence, became known as the Phillip and Patricia Frost School of Music.

The family also made a $2 million donation to the Art Museum at Florida International University. It has been renamed the Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum.

Other donations from Phillip and his family include a $35 million gift to the Bicentennial Park for the construction of a science museum building and a $10 million donation to develop the planetarium at the Science Museum.

Mr. Phillip Frost is an honorary member of the board of a number of welfare organizations and institutions such as Temple Emanu-El, Miami Jewish Home for the Aged, Scripps Research Institute, the University of Miami, and Mount Sinai Medical Center.

Frost and his wife have also signed the giving pledge, an initiative by Warren Buffett and Bill Gates, where members promise to give away at least half of their wealth to charity.

Personal Life: Family, Children, Private Interests

Mr. Phillip Frost is married to Patricia Orr, and they do not have any children. Patricia is an elementary school principal, and also a humanitarian just like her husband.

The husband and wife currently live on a property on Star Island. It consists of two plots measuring 6 acres. Apart from a six-bedroom house in the area, it also houses a large greenhouse with over a hundred different types of plants collected from different countries.

Phillip Frost Net Worth: Salary, Income Sources, Assets

At various times in his life, Mr. Philip Frost, whose net worth is currently pegged at 2 billion dollars, has been the richest person in Florida.

Born in 1935. Frost became a qualified medical doctor and entrepreneur who worked in several hospitals before focusing on his business of acquiring and developing pharmaceutical companies before selling them for profit.

He is currently the chairman and the chief executive officer of Opko Health, a pharmaceutical and diagnostics company based in Miami.

He also owns or has shares in companies like Protalix BioTherapeutics, OPKO Health, Cocrystal Pharma, Continucare Corporation, Castle Brands, PROLOR Biotech, Inc., Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services, Coconut Grove Bank, ChromaDex, Sevion Therapeutics, Drone Aviation Holding Corporation, MusclePharm MSLP, and several more.