Jacksonville homebuilding chief Patrick Zalupski, founder and CEO of Dream Finders Homes, is officially in the billionaire club. He landed on Forbes' 2026 billionaires list this month, even after a year that saw Dream Finders' share price slide and Zalupski close a high-profile purchase of the Tampa Bay Rays. For local investors and employees, the listing drives home how tightly his fortune is chained to one publicly traded builder and a freshly acquired Major League Baseball franchise.
Where He Landed On Forbes
Forbes rolled out its 40th-annual World's Billionaires package on March 10, 2026, as part of the magazine’s yearly rankings. As reported by Jax Daily Record, Forbes slotted Zalupski at No. 3,185 with an estimated net worth near $1.1 billion, down from roughly $1.5 billion a year earlier.
Public Stock Squeeze Cut His Stake
The core reason for the downgrade sits in Dream Finders' public valuation. The company’s 2025 Form 10-K reports non-GAAP EBITDA of about $494 million and lays out the share counts in detail. Per Dream Finders’ SEC filing, the company had 57,726,153 Class B shares and 34,543,383 Class A shares outstanding at year-end, and the filing states that Zalupski beneficially owns the Class B stock.
Historical price data show the stock trading in the mid-$15 range in early March 2026, which put Dream Finders’ market capitalization in the neighborhood of $1.4 billion on March 10. That is a far cry from the highs near $31.50 in 2025, when his public holding was worth well over $1.8 billion. Historical price data from Stock Analysis track those swings.
Rays Purchase Reshuffles The Math
Zalupski also led the ownership group that bought the Tampa Bay Rays, a deal widely reported at roughly $1.7 billion and one that plants a major new chunk of private value outside the Dream Finders share price. MLB first highlighted the group’s exclusive talks in mid-2025, and follow-up coverage documented the approval of the sale and the pricing tied to the transaction. Local reporting from iHeart noted the roughly $1.7 billion figure, which helps explain why some observers argue that Forbes’ snapshot of public holdings may understate Zalupski’s overall assets.
Local Play: Partnership And Field Terrace
The mix of homebuilding and baseball is not just on paper. In a March 14 marketing announcement, Dream Finders and the Rays unveiled a partnership that brands a left-field area at Tropicana Field as the “Dream Finders Homes Terrace,” a detail covered locally. Jax Daily Record also reported the company’s statement that Rays ownership is expected to help expand Dream Finders’ footprint in the Tampa market.
What It Means For Jacksonville
For Jacksonville, seeing Zalupski’s name on Forbes is a prestige moment, but the more interesting story is how public markets and private deals collide to shape perceived wealth. Dream Finders reported strong 2025 EBITDA in its SEC filing even as the stock traded at a relatively low multiple in early March, leaving room for the Rays purchase and the new ballpark branding to influence investor expectations and the local business narrative. The company’s 2025 Form 10-K filed with the SEC remains the clearest set of numbers for anyone tracking how that story evolves.
