Until recently, the position of “richest man in the state of North Carolina” didn’t seem like a competitive one. James “Jim” Goodnight, billionaire software developer and co-founder of SAS Institute, had held the position comfortably for several years. Reports published early in April seemed to indicate that Goodnight, whose fortune is currently valued at $6.5 billion, would retain control of the title in 2021, despite developer Epic Games outperforming SAS among North Carolina-based businesses.
