George Hearst was the chairman of the board of the Hearst Corporation and he has an estimated net worth of $1.9 billion as of March 2012 according to Forbes. Born George Randolph Hearst Jr. on July 13, 1927 in San Francisco, California, he is the grandson of media baron William Randolph Hearst who started “yellow journalism” or sensational, tabloid-style tales. He is also the sister of fellow billionaire Phoebe Hearst Cooke.

George gained his estimated net worth of $1.9 billion when he succeeded his uncle, Randolph Apperson Hearst, as the chairman of the company since 1996. He has served as the director for more than 40 years. With his earnings, he was ranked 683rd in the list of World Billionaires in 2012 before his death on June 25, 2012.

Today, the Hearst media empire includes newspapers, magazines, TV, and radio stations. The stake in ESPN has now an estimated value of more than $6 billion. It owns 15 daily newspapers including The San Francisco Chronicle, The Houston Chronicle, The San Antonio Express-News and The Albany Times Union. It also owns 36 weekly newspapers and more than 300 magazines, including Cosmopolitan, Esquire, Good Housekeeping and Popular Mechanics.

The Hearst family also has interest in real estate. It owns a 90,000 square-foot Hearst Castle in San Simeon, California where the state pays the family $95 million to preserve the property.