Terry Pegula is a wealthy man, and Forbes shows you just how wealthy he is.

According to the Forbes 400 Richest Americans List, Terry Pegula is worth $6.7 Billion. That's good for the 128th richest American. That's up 60 spots from last year, as he has become a billion dollars richer since 2021. Forbes also scored him a 2 out of 5 in philanthropy.

As a group, the 400 wealthiest Americans are worth $4 trillion. -Forbes

Congrats to Mr. Pegula, who no doubt is a savvy businessman. The owner of the surging Buffalo Bills and rebounding Buffalo Sabres deserves a lot of credit for what he has done for Buffalo and Western New York. His ownership has brought the BIlls out of oblivion, secured the Bills and Sabres from leaving, and he has helped re-invigorate Buffalo's long overdue waterfront. So, to be clear, we thank Mr. Pegula for those contributions.

We also have to address the elephant in the room: Terry Pegula is getting $850 million of New York tax payer's money to build a new, state-of-the-art stadium in Orchard Park. This a move that is upsetting to many, as it's a lot of money to give to someone who just made a Billion dollars and could build the stadium on his own 3x over. On top of that, the new stadium is not being built in Buffalo, as many wanted. It also doesn't have a retractable roof, which some wanted. None of that would matter if we weren't paying for it, but we are.

It's easy to say that's just how the world works, and make no mistake: it does and the deal is done. There's no going back now. Let's just hope Mr. Pegula improves on his philanthropy. A 2 out of 5 isn't encouraging. He let a lot of people go during the pandemic, and since the building of Harbor Center not much more has happened down by the arena. In fact, the arena itself is due for an upgrade. Maybe he uses his billions to fund that? Let's not assume he won't, but judging by the football stadium and how the world seems to work with these issues, it can be hard to be optimistic. 

Nevertheless, congrats to Terry Pegula. Here's hoping he spreads the wealth.

Thank you for reading my article. Please feel free to reach out with your thoughts: Pat@WBUF.com

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