Portrait of Carl Thoma

Rank #730

Carl Thoma

Net worth $5.7B

Private equity · United States

Born
Oct 12, 1948
Age
77
Source
Private equity
Residence
Dallas, Texas
Citizenship
United States
Marital status
Married
Children
2
Education
Bachelor of Science, Oklahoma State University; Master of Business Administration, Stanford Business School

Net worth over time

Biography

  • A cofounder of private equity firm Thoma Bravo, Carl Thoma is one of the deans of the buyout business.
  • A graduate of Oklahoma State University and Stanford's business school, Thoma cofounded GTCR in 1980 and then split from the firm in 1998.
  • Created Thoma Cressey in 1998 and hired a young dealmaker, Orlando Bravo, who would go on to build the firm's software strategy.
  • Thoma and Bravo split from Cressey in 2008. Since, software-focused Thoma Bravo has posted top returns and has grown to manage more than $181 billion in assets.
  • Thoma's family foundation is a major patron of the arts and has more recently focused on sponsoring "full ride" scholarships for rural students in the Texas Panhandle.
  • Carl and Marilynn Thoma met at Oklahoma State. They are avid collectors of art and wine aficionados, operating a vineyard in Oregon's Willamette Valley.