81. JOSEPH W. LUTER III
Smithfield. 60. CEO of Smithfield Foods. Took a tumble in past year as stock prices slipped from about $34 to about $20. Stock was hurt by Hurricane Floyd’s damage to hog operations last fall and tight margins for pork products. Smithfield is switching from pork slaughtering to hog growing. Acquired Murphy Family Farms, the country’s largest hog producer, for $300 million. Also bought Carroll’s Foods, based in Warsaw, N.C., for $500 million. Luter also owns residences in New York City and Aspen, Colo.
Net worth: $115 million
Confidence: B

82. BEN BENSON
Chincoteague and Bedford, N.H. 41. A shipwreck hunter. Benson served in Navy aboard submarine, has owned oil company, real estate company and forest products company and developed oceanfront property. His company, Sea Hunt Inc., discovered two ships in the Atlantic Ocean after searching for three years. The Juno sank in 1802, possibly while carrying 22 tons of treasure worth $500 million. La Galga, a Spanish treasure ship, sank in 1750.
Net Worth: $110 million
Confidence: B

83. HARRY F. BYRD JR.
Winchester. 84. Former U.S. senator’s wealth is in The Winchester Star and the Harrisonburg Daily News-Record. In 1970, sold his share of family apple business to oldest son, Harry F. Byrd III. Other son, Tom Byrd, is publisher of The Winchester Star.
Net Worth: $105 million
Confidence: C

84. JAMES B. CRAWFORD
Richmond. 57. Continues to benefit as the booming economy increases consumption of coal. James River Coal. Co., which he founded in 1988 through a leveraged buyout, has been through a spate of acquisitions and now is the second largest producer in the prized low-sulfur, high-heat coal fields of Eastern Kentucky. James River, with revenues of $475 million annually, still carries considerable debt and Crawford has taken on more equity partners. But James River Coal has strong markets among Southeastern utilities.
Net Worth: $100 million
Confidence: B

85. LUCK FAMILY
Goochland County. Luck Stone Corp. is the largest privately held, family-run producer of aggregates in the United States. Founded in 1923, company is led by Charles S. Luck III, chairman, and Charles S. Luck IV, president and CEO. Current business operations include 13 quarries and three sand and gravel plants in Virginia and one quarry in North Carolina. The company’s environmental focus has been recognized through numerous industry awards, including 10 Environmental Eagle Awards from the National Stone Association and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Net Worth: $100 million
Confidence: B

86. ALAN T. LINGERFELT
Richmond. 45. In late 1960s and 1970s began converting family contracting business into Lingerfelt Development Corp. Sold company in 1995 to Pennsylvania-based Liberty Property Trust for $70 million in cash and $14 million in shares.
Net Worth: $100 million
Confidence: C

87. F. WAYNE MCLESKEY JR.
Virginia Beach. 76. Owns more than $40 million in commercial real estate, as well as other properties in Pennsylvania, Florida and North Carolina. In 1998, sued two companies for fraud. In 1996, McLeskey lent $200,000 to Tidewater Yacht Sales Inc. of Portsmouth. He claims Tidewater Yacht used money to pay off loan to TransAmerica Commercial Finance Corp. — a Chicago finance company also named in the suit — then promptly filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to keep McLeskey from collecting.
Net Worth: $100 million
Confidence: C

88. MERCHANT FAMILY
Manassas. Family matriarch is Mae S. Merchant, 77, widow of W. Caton Merchant, founder of Manassas-based Merchant's Inc. With three children owns 120-store mid-Atlantic auto-service chain, which employed 1,977 people last year and generated revenues of $345 million.
Net Worth: $100 million
Confidence: C

89. JOHN G. BALLENGER
Middleburg, 67. Started Chantilly-based Computer Equity Corp. in 1986 and is currently president. Used funds in 1999 from telecommunications and computer-oriented Computer Equity to start new business-to-business Internet firm, Catalogue Engine, that uses the Web to help salespeople update their catalogs. Got in the computer business in 1968 by founding Maryland-based Computer Data Systems Inc. and also was chairman and president of Herndon-based systems integrator C3 Inc.
Net Worth: $97 million
Confidence: A

90. DOUGLAS H. McCORKINDALE
McLean. 60. Vice chairman and president of Arlington-based Gannett Co., McCorkindale also became CEO this month when John Curley retired from the communications and publishing company. Joined Gannett, which owns USA Today, the country's largest-selling daily newspaper, in 1971. A Harlan Fiske Stone scholar, McCorkindale graduated cum laude from Columbia Law School in 1964.
Net Worth: $96 million
Confidence: B