West Virginia’s richest person

The richest person in West Virginia is Jim Justice II: net worth $1.68 billion.

Jim Justice II worth $1.68 billion

He was born in Raleigh County. Jim has his bachelor's degree and his MBA from Marshall.

In the mid-70s, he began working for his father's coal mining company, Bluestone Industries, and then split off to found his own grain farming company, Bluestone Farms.

He became CEO of Bluestone in the early 80s after his father passed away, purchased additional coal mines in Kentucky, Virginia and Tennessee.

Bluestone, now known as the Justice Companies, also oversees farmland in southern states.

In 2009, he sold all of the West Virginia coal mining operations to the Russian company, Mechel OAO for nearly $450 million in cash, and more than 83 million shares in the Russian firm.

The median household income in West Virginia is $41,043.

West Virginia’s largest employer is Wal-Mart.