Portrait of James Scapa

Rank #2377

James Scapa

Net worth $1.7B

Software · United States

Born
Jan 23, 1957
Age
69
Source
Software
Residence
Atherton, California
Citizenship
United States
Marital status
Married
Children
4
Education
Bachelor of Arts/Science, Columbia University; Master of Business Administration, University of Michigan

Net worth over time

Biography

  • He took Altair public in 2017 and served as chairman and CEO from the company's founding until it was acquired by Siemens for nearly $10 billion in 2025.
  • Scapa walked away from the all-cash deal with $1.9 billion before taxes and launched a new family office called Escape Investment Management.
  • Scapa grew up in New York as the son of Greek immigrant Holocaust survivors and graduated from Columbia University
  • Scapa grew up in New York as the son of Greek immigrant Holocaust survivors and graduated from Columbia before leaving the East Coast.
  • James Scapa left his job as a computer engineering consultant for General Motors to start software company Altair Engineering with two coworkers in 1985.