Judy Faulkner, founder and CEO of EHR giant Epic Systems, headquartered in Verona, Wis., has placed No. 3 on Forbes’ list of America’s richest self-made women.
Forbes pegs Faulkner’s fortune at $2.4 billion.
On the list, she lands just below TV mogul Oprah Winfrey and ties with Gap founder Doris Fisher. The No. 1 spot went to another Wisconsinite: Diane Hendricks, co-founder of roofing company ABC Supply.
In an interview with Healthcare IT News earlier this year, Faulkner, who founded Epic in 1979, said she continues to work long hours at the office. There’s always plenty to do for her high-profile healthcare customers, many of them giants in the healthcare industry such as Kaiser Permanente, Mayo Clinic and Allina Health, to name just three of Epic’s 300 customers.
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When she does take a little time to herself, you’ll find her in front of the fire, curled up with a good book and a cup of hot chocolate.
Faulkner has been generous with her money. Just last March she and her husband donated $900,000 to Moorestown Friends School, a private school in Moorestown, New Jersey, from which she graduated in 1961.
Back in mid 2015, Faulkner joined Bill Gates, Warren Buffet and several other rich and famous billionaires in the Giving Pledge. She committed to giving 99 percent of her wealth to philanthropy.
[Also: Epic CEO to donate 99 percent of fortune]
Faulkner and her husband, a pediatrician, have three grown children.
In the short letter that accompanied her pledge, Faulkner described her hope for the future:
"I never had any personal desire to be a wealthy billionaire living lavishly. My estate plan has the money from my Epic shares going into a foundation. The foundation will give money to healthcare and do other things as well – reduce the disparity of care, improve education especially for those who don’t have equal opportunities, and if possible, help create a more peaceful world."