Patrick Soon-Shiong
South African-born American doctor and biotechnology entrepreneur; owner of the Los Angeles Times
| Patrick Soon-Shiong
| |
|---|---|
| Image | .jpg) Soon-Shiong at the NHS Confederation conference, 2014 |
| Born | 29 July 1952 (Forbes) South Africa (Forbes) |
| Nationality | American (Forbes) |
| Residence | Los Angeles (Forbes) |
| Occupation | Physician; biotechnology entrepreneur; newspaper owner |
| Known for | Abraxane; NantWorks; ImmunityBio; Los Angeles Times |
| Education | University of the Witwatersrand; University of British Columbia (MSc) (Forbes) |
Patrick Soon-Shiong (born 29 July 1952) is a South African-born American physician and biotechnology entrepreneur. He invented the cancer drug Abraxane and sold his drug companies American Pharmaceutical Partners and Abraxis for a combined US$9.1 billion.[1] In 2018 he bought the Los Angeles Times and the San Diego Union-Tribune.[2][1] On 12 November 2026 the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires list ranked Soon-Shiong 388th in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$9.4 billion; Forbes lists the source of wealth as pharmaceuticals.[1][3] In the annual World's Billionaires list published in 2026, Forbes had ranked Soon-Shiong 308th, at US$10.5 billion.[4]
Medical and pharmaceutical career
Forbes says Soon-Shiong finished high school at 16 and qualified as a doctor at 23.[1] It says Abraxane became a blockbuster because of its effectiveness against pancreatic cancer. He sold American Pharmaceutical Partners in 2008 and Abraxis in 2010, for US$9.1 billion in total.[1] He took the cancer-drug developer NantKwest public in 2015 and the health-technology company NantHealth in 2016, and owns NantWorks, a network of health start-ups.[1] In May 2020, Forbes reports, his company ImmunityBio was selected for the US government's "Operation Warp Speed" Covid-19 vaccine programme.[1] On 22 April 2024 the FDA approved Anktiva (nogapendekin alfa inbakicept-pmln), made by Altor BioScience, for use with BCG in adults with BCG-unresponsive non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer with carcinoma in situ.[5]
Los Angeles Times
On 18 June 2018 Soon-Shiong completed the purchase of the Los Angeles Times, the San Diego Union-Tribune and other California News Group titles from Tronc. He bought them through NantCapital, his personal investment company, and became executive chairman of the California News Group.[2] Forbes puts the price at US$500 million.[1] Forbes also says he holds stakes in Tribune Publishing and the Los Angeles Lakers.[1]
Political activity
Itemised FEC records for the 2022–2026 cycles list a contribution under his name with a Nant company as employer. It is summarised below as filed.[6]
The single non-memo record retrieved for the 2022–2026 cycles is for US$6,600 (a lower bound), to MIKE PENCE FOR PRESIDENT (US$6,600), as named in the filing.[6]
| Cycle | Total (US$, lower bound) | Records | Largest recipient committees (as filed with the FEC) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $6,600 | 1 | MIKE PENCE FOR PRESIDENT ($6,600) |
Wealth history
Forbes has included this entry in its annual World's Billionaires list in 23 of the editions from 2001 to 2026 checked for this profile, starting with 2004. The table gives the rank and estimated net worth in each annual list, and, where applicable, the rank and estimate in the Forbes 400 list of the richest Americans.[4][1]
| Year | World's Billionaires rank | Net worth (US$ bn) | Forbes 400 rank | Forbes 400 net worth (US$ bn) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | – | – | 195 | 1.2 |
| 2004 | 406 | 1.4 | 234 | 1.2 |
| 2005 | 366 | 1.8 | 116 | 2.2 |
| 2006 | 486 | 1.6 | 77 | 3.4 |
| 2007 | 249 | 3.5 | 117 | 3.0 |
| 2008 | 307 | 3.5 | 60 | 5.8 |
| 2009 | 87 | 5.5 | 65 | 4.0 |
| 2010 | 154 | 5.0 | 46 | 5.6 |
| 2011 | 196 | 5.2 | 39 | 7.0 |
| 2012 | 127 | 7.2 | 47 | 7.3 |
| 2013 | 145 | 8.0 | 45 | 9.0 |
| 2014 | 122 | 10.0 | 39 | 12.0 |
| 2015 | 96 | 12.2 | 35 | 12.9 |
| 2016 | 81 | 11.9 | 47 | 9.2 |
| 2017 | 151 | 8.6 | 55 | 8.3 |
| 2018 | 198 | 7.8 | 68 | 7.3 |
| 2019 | 209 | 7.0 | 85 | 6.7 |
| 2020 | 237 | 6.4 | 91 | 6.7 |
| 2021 | 334 | 7.5 | 89 | 8.9 |
| 2022 | 324 | 7.3 | 160 | 5.7 |
| 2023 | 442 | 5.8 | 227 | 4.9 |
| 2024 | 469 | 6.2 | 204 | 6.3 |
| 2025 | 597 | 5.9 | 270 | 5.6 |
| 2026 | 308 | 10.5 | 151 | 10.3 |
International and political links
This section uses the same ten headings for every profile in this series. Only specific, sourced actions are included; company-level and foundation-level actions are labelled as such. Where nothing was found, the entry reads "No documented involvement found in sources checked."
Israel (investments, operations, donations, contracts, statements)
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Zionist or pro-Israel organisations and lobbying groups
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Jewish communal charities
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Gulf states
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
China
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Russia
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
India
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Palestinian or Arab causes
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Home government
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Other international links
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 Forbes, Forbes profile record for Patrick Soon-Shiong (Forbes data feed behind forbes.com/profile/patrick-soon-shiong/) Forbes, live record, read 12 November 2026, accessed 12 November 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Los Angeles Times, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong Restores Local Ownership to the Los Angeles Times and San Diego Union-Tribune, Completing Purchase of California News Group Los Angeles Times (press release), 18 June 2018, accessed 12 November 2026.
- ↑ Forbes, Forbes Real-Time Billionaires data feed Forbes, live; downloaded 12 November 2026 09:42 UTC, accessed 12 November 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Forbes, Forbes World's Billionaires list data feed, annual editions 2001–2026 (one file per year at this path with the year substituted; all 26 files downloaded and read) Forbes, annual lists; downloaded 20 October 2026, accessed 12 November 2026.
- ↑ U.S. Food and Drug Administration, FDA approves nogapendekin alfa inbakicept-pmln for BCG-unresponsive non-muscle invasive bladder cancer U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 22 April 2024, accessed 12 November 2026.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 U.S. Federal Election Commission, OpenFEC Schedule A (itemised individual contributions) query, contributor name "SOON-SHIONG, PATRICK"; 2026 cycle shown in link, the 2022, 2024 and 2026 cycles were queried together with the same parameters; top 100 records by amount; records filtered by employer/occupation and name, memo entries excluded U.S. Federal Election Commission, data as filed; queried 12 November 2026, accessed 12 November 2026.