Arie S. Belldegrun

Kite Pharma is a clinical-stage biopharma company that focuses on cancer treatments that will use the human body to attack cancer from within. Their products aim to engineer a person’s white blood cells so that they will recognize and attack cancer cells. Founded by Belldegrun in 2009, Kite went public in the summer of 2014 to raise funds for clinical trials at an opening valuation of $630 million. But it blew past its initial $17 per share price, surging 70% higher to close its first day of trading at $29 per share. The company now boasts a market capitalization of $2.1 billion. Belldegrun, who owns 6.38 million shares or about 15% of the company, now has a stake worth $350 million. This isn’t the first time Belldegrun has touched a biotech startup and watched it turn to gold. He founded Agensys Inc. in 1996 — also working on cancer treatments — and sold it to Japan’s Astellas Pharma in 2007 for a reported $537 million. He also cofounded Cougar Biotech, along with billionaire Alan Auerbach, who now runs Puma Biotechnology in 2003. Johnson & Johnson bought Cougar in 2009 for $1 billion.