El Pasoan Paul Foster Makes World’s Richest List – See How Much Forbes Says He’s Worth

The “Forbes World’s Billionaires List: The Richest in 2022” is out and an El Pasoan is stackin’ loot.

You've probably heard of him.

And if you haven't then you've probably shopped or dined in one of his establishments, spent the night or partied at his downtown hotel, used his parking garage, or cheered one of the teams he owns a stake in on a hot El Paso summer night.

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He is Paul Foster, and he's not just the richest and most influential person in our city, he’s one of the wealthiest on the planet.

Foster, who was raised in Lovington, New Mexico, but calls El Paso home, is self-made.

Forbes says he worked his way through college working in the oil fields digging ditches and cleaning tanks, and later made his wealth after he and a few partners took over a bankrupt refinery in 1992. Five years later he bought out his partners, and in 2017 sold Western Refining for $6.4 billion.

These days he owns seemingly most of downtown, and is a partner in Mountain Star Sports Group, which owns the El Paso Chihuahuas and the El Paso Locomotive FC.

He's also a partner in Jordan Foster Construction, and has his hand in numerous ventures around town, including The Fountains at Farah and the private jet terminal, Million Air, at the El Paso International Airport.

And by all accounts, he's also quite the philanthropist donating tens of millions to many charities and schools of higher education.

Wealthiest Ranking

Forbes estimates his current net worth at $1.8 to 1.9 billion, which makes him the one-thousand-six-hundred-and-forty-fifth richest billionaire. That’s up 188 spots from where he ranked in 2021 when he was an impoverished number 1,833 with a net worth of only $1.7 billion.