B Wayne Hughes is the founder and chairman of Public Storage who has an estimated net worth of $1.95 billion as of March 2013. In the “Forbes 400” list, he was ranked the 250th richest person and was listed #785 in the World Billionaires. Currently, he is the richest person in Kentucky.

In 1972, he opened a self-storage facility called Public Storage. Today, it is the largest self-storage company in America which does business as a real estate investment trust (REIT) that pays no federal tax under the current tax law in the United States.

Hughes was the company’s president and co-chief executive officer between 1980 and 1991. In November 1991, he was named the chairman of the board and the sole chief executive officer. He stepped down as the CEO of the firm in 2002 but remains the chairman of the board. He was the chairman of the board and the chief executive officer of Public Storage Properties XI, Inc. from 1990 to March 1998. It was later renamed PS Business Parks, Inc. (PSB). He was also the chairman of the board and the chief executive officer of the 18 affiliated REITs that were merged into the company from September 1994 to May 1998.

B Wayne Hughes is known as an avid supporter of conservative politics and causes. He is also popular in the thoroughbred racing world. He owns a 700-acre Spendthrift Farm in Kentucky. He has already shed some of his assets to his family, including his daughter, Tamara Gustavson. She sits on the board of the Public Storage and became a billionaire in 2010.