Source: finance.yahoo.com (originally published June 2019)
A Billionaire Built Over Six Decades in Biotech
Long before “biotech” became a venture-capital buzzword, Alice Schwartz was already building what would become one of the life sciences industry’s most enduring companies. A co-founder of Bio-Rad Laboratories, Schwartz was 92 years old at the time of writing and ranked number 20 on Forbes’ list of America’s richest self-made women, with an estimated net worth of $1.3 billion. That made her the oldest self-made female billionaire in the United States.
According to Forbes, Schwartz sat on Bio-Rad’s board of directors and remained the company’s largest individual shareholder. Her son Norman serves as chairman and chief executive. Her husband and company co-founder, David Schwartz, died in 2012.
Founded “By Accident” at a Bridge Game in Berkeley
Bio-Rad Laboratories traces its origins to an unlikely setting: a 1952 game of bridge in Berkeley, California. According to a 2007 interview David Schwartz gave to the California Life Sciences Association, he and Alice — both UC Berkeley graduates — were joking with friends about scientific products that hadn’t yet been brought to market when someone mentioned the tobacco mosaic virus.
“I said, ‘gee, that’s an interesting idea,'” David Schwartz recalled. Preparing tobacco mosaic virus for research use was a laborious process at the time, and, as Bio-Rad’s own website has noted, “providing it in a ready-to-use format would save scientists valuable time and effort.” The product itself was not a commercial success, but it catalysed the founding of a company the same year.
From a Single Virus Preparation to 10,000+ Products
What began as a niche reagent business grew steadily into a global life-sciences supplier. Today Bio-Rad manufactures and distributes more than 10,000 products used by research biologists and clinical laboratories worldwide, ranging from pipets and chromatography resins to diagnostic testing systems and digital biology platforms.
The company went public in 1966, initially selling 40,000 shares at $3.50 each, according to Bio-Rad’s corporate history. By the time this article was originally published in 2019, the company had approximately 25 million shares outstanding and a market capitalisation of roughly $8.5 billion. Share prices and market capitalisation will have changed since then.
Alice Schwartz: The Chemistry Maven and Financial Steward
Despite her central role in the company’s success, Alice Schwartz is notably private. Efforts to reach her through Bio-Rad have reportedly been unsuccessful, and she does not appear to give media interviews. What is known comes largely from third-party accounts and her late husband’s recollections.
A 2002 SFGate article described her as “the chemistry maven of Bio-Rad’s early years,” reflecting a hands-on scientific role in the company’s formative period. She later transitioned into managing the company’s finances. In his California Life Sciences Association interview, David Schwartz described Alice as “very knowledgeable, very good with the numbers and very, very bright.”
Forbes’ Self-Made Score and Long-Standing Recognition
Forbes assigned Schwartz a self-made score of 8 on a scale of 1 to 10. The publication defines a score of 8 as representing someone who came from a middle- or upper-middle-class background — a category it places alongside figures like Mark Zuckerberg. A score of 1 indicates an entirely inherited fortune, while a score of 10 represents someone who not only grew up poor but also overcame significant hardship.
According to an archived version of the Forbes website, Schwartz has appeared on the richest self-made women list since it launched in 2015, making her a consistent presence on the ranking across multiple years.
Key Takeaways
- Founded: Bio-Rad Laboratories, 1952, Berkeley, California
- Co-founders: Alice Schwartz and David Schwartz (died 2012)
- Origin story: A casual conversation during a bridge game about unmet needs in scientific research
- IPO: 1966, at $3.50 per share
- Product range: 10,000+ life science and clinical diagnostic products
- Alice’s roles: Early chemistry lead; later financial management; current board member and largest shareholder
- Forbes ranking (2019): #20 on America’s richest self-made women; estimated net worth $1.3 billion
Financial figures and rankings cited in this article reflect data available at the time of the original publication in June 2019. Current figures will differ.