Carl Thoma Net Worth 2026
Forbes puts Carl Thoma's net worth at about $4.5 billion (September 2026), built over four decades in private equity, most of all at Thoma Bravo.
- Full name
- Carl Thoma
- Profession
- Private equity investor; co-founder and managing partner, Thoma Bravo
- Nationality
- American
- Spouse
- Marilynn Thoma
- Relationship
- Married
- Children
- 2
- Source of wealth
- Private equity (Thoma Bravo, GTCR)
In this article
Forbes puts Carl Thoma's net worth at about $4.5 billion (real-time estimate, checked September 25, 2026). The fortune comes from a career of more than four decades in private equity, above all from co-founding Thoma Bravo, the software buyout firm that Wikipedia reports managed more than $183 billion in assets in 2026. The old $54 million figure on this page, and its description of Thoma as a "software engineer," were wrong and unsourced.
What is Carl Thoma's net worth?
On its real-time profile, Forbes estimated Thoma's fortune at $4.5 billion on September 25, 2026, ranking him around No. 960 in the world, and it has included him on its lists 12 times. Forbes rates him self-made, with a score of 8 out of 10. The main assets behind the figure are his ownership in Thoma Bravo and the returns from its funds, plus his personal investments, art collection and an Oregon vineyard. The old page's $2.5 million yearly income table had no source and has been removed.
Where the money comes from
GTCR and Thoma Cressey
After business school, Thoma co-founded the Chicago buyout firm Golder, Thoma, Cressey (now GTCR) in 1980, Forbes reports. He split from it in 1998 and set up Thoma Cressey, where he hired a young dealmaker, Orlando Bravo, who went on to build the firm's software strategy.
Thoma Bravo
In 2008 Thoma and Bravo split from Cressey to form Thoma Bravo, which buys and grows enterprise software companies. Forbes says it has posted top returns since; its assets under management passed $170 billion, and Wikipedia puts the figure at more than $183 billion as of 2026. Thoma remains a founder and managing partner, according to a 2023 Texas Tech announcement. Private equity partners are paid through management fees and a share of fund profits, known as carried interest, which explains how a firm of this size can make its founders billionaires.
Art and wine
Thoma and his wife, Marilynn, run Van Duzer Vineyards in Oregon's Willamette Valley and own one of the country's larger private art collections, spanning Spanish colonial painting, Japanese bamboo art, Native American art and digital art, Observer reported in July 2026. These are assets, but the collection is shared through their foundation rather than held for sale.
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Career timeline
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| Before 1980 | Graduates from Oklahoma State University (B.S.) and Stanford Graduate School of Business (MBA) |
| 1980 | Co-founds GTCR in Chicago |
| 1998 | Leaves GTCR and forms Thoma Cressey; hires Orlando Bravo |
| 2008 | Thoma and Bravo form Thoma Bravo |
| 2021 | Moves from Chicago to Dallas |
| 2023 | Thoma Foundation opens its Dallas headquarters; launches Thoma Scholars at Texas Tech |
| 2026 | Foundation awards more than $160,000 in Spanish Americas art conservation grants; Meadows Museum shows its colonial South American paintings |
Early life and education
Thoma grew up in rural Union County, New Mexico, and Cimarron County, Oklahoma, in the Panhandle region, where his family has roots going back to 1888, according to Texas Tech. He earned a bachelor's degree from Oklahoma State University, where he met Marilynn, and an MBA from Stanford's business school, per Forbes. The old page's claims that he was born in a small town and trained as an engineer were generic and have been replaced. Forbes and Observer both give his age as 77 in 2026.
Philanthropy
The Carl and Marilynn Thoma Foundation lends its collection to museums, runs exhibitions in Dallas and Santa Fe, and gives grants to artists, scholars and conservators, D Magazine reported. It funded free admission at Cleveland's Museum of Contemporary Art, per Forbes. In 2023 the couple launched the Thoma Scholars Program at Texas Tech, covering tuition, housing, books and study abroad for about 20 students from rural high schools in the Oklahoma and Texas panhandles and eastern New Mexico. Oklahoma State has a Carl and Marilynn Thoma Distinguished Chair in Hospitality and Tourism Management. Forbes gives him a philanthropy score of 2 out of 5.
Carl Thoma's wife and family
Thoma is married to Marilynn Thoma, who is from Woodward County, Oklahoma, and had a marketing career at Quaker Oats. Forbes lists two children. The couple moved to Dallas in 2021. The old page's height and weight figures had no source and have been removed.
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Net worth compared
Forbes lists Larry Gies, founder of Madison Industries, among Thoma's private equity peers; Forbes estimated Gies at about $5.3 billion on the same date. Other investors on this site include Alec Litowitz of Magnetar Capital.
How the figure was reached
Thoma has not disclosed his holdings. Because Thoma Bravo is private, the value of his share has to be estimated rather than read from a filing, and the figure can change as Forbes updates its assumptions. It is the only reputable published estimate cited here.
Frequently asked questions
What is Carl Thoma's net worth?
Forbes estimates Carl Thoma's net worth at about $4.5 billion as of September 25, 2026. Most of it comes from co-founding and owning part of Thoma Bravo, the software-focused private equity firm that manages more than $170 billion, after earlier stints co-founding GTCR and Thoma Cressey.
Who founded Thoma Bravo?
Thoma Bravo was formed in 2008 by Carl Thoma and Orlando Bravo when they split from Thoma Cressey. Thoma had hired Bravo at Thoma Cressey, which he set up in 1998 after leaving GTCR, the Chicago firm he co-founded in 1980.
How old is Carl Thoma?
Carl Thoma is 77 years old as of 2026, according to Forbes and a July 2026 Observer interview. He grew up in Union County, New Mexico, and Cimarron County, Oklahoma, and studied at Oklahoma State University and Stanford.
Who is Carl Thoma's wife?
Carl Thoma is married to Marilynn Thoma, whom he met at Oklahoma State University. She worked in marketing at Quaker Oats. Together they run the Carl and Marilynn Thoma Foundation, an art collection and grant-making foundation based in Dallas, and a vineyard in Oregon.
Where does Carl Thoma live?
Carl Thoma lives in Dallas, Texas, according to Forbes. He and his wife Marilynn moved there from Chicago in 2021, and their foundation opened its Dallas headquarters on Cedar Springs Road in 2023.
Follow Carl Thoma
Sources
- Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/profile/carl-thoma/
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thoma_Bravo
- Observer: https://observer.com/2026/07/interview-billionaire-collector-carl-thoma-foundation-dallas/
- Texas Tech University: https://www.ttu.edu/now/posts/2023/08/carl-and-marilynn-thoma-announce-thoma-scholars-program-for-rural-students.php
- D Magazine: https://www.dmagazine.com/micropost/thoma-foundation-conservation-grants-2026/
- Oklahoma State University: https://news.okstate.edu/articles/communications/2023/carl_and_marilynn_thoma_distinguished_chair_in_hospitality_and_tourism_management_awarded_to_dr_brij_thapa
