El Paso businessman Paul Foster's wealth has increased, moving him up on the latest Forbes Magazine list of the world's billionaires.

He's the only El Pasoan on the list.

Foster's net worth was estimated at $4.3 billion as of March 10, 2026, when Forbes published its latest list, ranking him at No. 984 among the world's 3,428 billionaires. He ranked No. 1,141 on the 2025 list when there were fewer billionaires at 3,028.

He has the same wealth as former NBA star Michael Jordan, who also ranks at No. 984. Fourteen people on the list rank at No. 984.

The latest Forbes' billionaires list came out just over a week after Foster had a high-profile health incident at an FC Juarez Bravos soccer team match in Juarez, Mexico, on Feb. 27. He is a co-owner of the team.

Foster had "a spell of low-blood sugar," but is doing well now, a spokesperson for Foster said in a recent email.

"Paul’s incident was nothing serious and he is perfectly fine," the spokesperson said.

Foster's wealth increased by $1.1 billion since Forbes' last billionaires list was published in April 2025. His wealth has steadily risen since 2017 when his net worth was estimated by Forbes at $1.4 billion.

Part of the reason his wealth increased may be tied to one of his companies, Franklin Mountain Energy, or FME, selling its oil and gas assets in late 2024. Foster is one of several partners in the company that received $1.7 billion in cash and 28.2 million shares of stock in the sale of the Houston-based Coterra Energy Inc. Coterra's stock was selling around $32 per share March 13 on the New York Stock Exchange, up from $25.41 per share when the sale was announced Nov. 12, 2024.

Most of Foster's wealth stems from the sale of Western Refining, the El Paso oil refining company he founded and sold in 2017 for $5.8 billion. Western's El Paso oil refinery is now part of Ohio-based Marathon Petroleum Corp.

Foster also has extensive real estate holdings, including two Downtown skyscrapers and The Fountains at Farah shopping center, located near the El Paso refinery in East-Central El Paso. He also has restored historic buildings in Downtown El Paso.

He's also a co-owner of MountainStar Sports Group, which, in addition to the Juarez soccer team, owns the El Paso Chihuahuas minor league baseball team and the El Paso Locomotive minor league soccer team.

He is married to Alejandra de la Vega-Foster, a member of the prominent de La Vega family in Juárez. She is also a part-owner of MountainStar Sports Group and is involved in other businesses.

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Elon Musk tops the Forbes' billionaires' list for the second straight year with his net worth estimated at $839 billion. His wealth substantially increased because of a rise in the value of Tesla, his electric vehicle manufacturing company, and SpaceX, his spaceship and rocket company. Both companies are headquartered in Texas.

The latest Forbes list has 3,428 billionaires, 400 more billionaires than in 2025. They are worth a combined $20.1 trillion.

In Mexico, Carlos Slim Helu tops the country's list of 24 billionaires on the Forbes list. He and his family have an estimated net worth of $114.5 billion, ranking No. 16 on the world list. He and his family control America Movil, Latin America's largest mobile telecom company, and have many other business interests, Forbes reported.

Vic Kolenc may be reached at 915-546-6421; vkolenc@elpasotimes.com; @vickolenc on X, and @vkolenc.bsky.social on Bluesky.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: How rich is Paul Foster? See his ranking on Forbes' billionaires' list