Judith R. Faulkner (born August 11, 1943) is an American

billionaire A billionaire is a person with a net worth of at least 1,000,000,000, one billion units of a given currency, usually of a major currency such as the United States dollar, euro, or pound sterling. It is a sub-category of the concept of the ultr ...

businesswoman who is the CEO and founder of

Epic Systems Epic Systems Corporation is an American privately held healthcare software company based in Verona, Wisconsin. According to the company, hospitals that use its software held medical records of 78% of patients in the United States and over 3% ...

, a healthcare software company located in Verona, Wisconsin. Faulkner founded Epic Systems in 1979, with the original name of Human Services Computing. In 2013, ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'' called her "the most powerful woman in healthcare", and as of July 2024, estimated her net worth at US$7.8 billion.

Early life and education

Faulkner was born in August 1943 to Louis and Del Greenfield. Faulkner's parents inspired her early interest in healthcare; her father, Louis, was a pharmacist, and her mother, Del, was the director of Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility. She was raised in the Erlton neighborhood of

Cherry Hill, New Jersey Cherry Hill is a Township (New Jersey), township within Camden County, New Jersey, Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As a suburb of Philadelphia, the township is part of the South Jersey and Delaware Valley regions. Cherry Hill ...

, and graduated from Moorestown Friends School in 1961. She received a bachelor's degree in mathematics from

Dickinson College Dickinson College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1773 as Carlisle Grammar School, Dickinson was chartered on September 9, 1783, ...

and a master's degree in computer science from the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

Career

In 1979, shortly after receiving her master's degree, Faulkner co-founded Human Services Computing, with Dr. John Greist. Human Services Computing, which later became

, began in a basement at 2020 University Avenue in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...

. The company was started with a $70,000 investment from friends and family but has never taken investment from venture capital or private equity and remains a privately held company. In fact, Faulkner prides herself in the fact that Epic is homegrown; they have never acquired another company, and Faulkner has stated they will never go public. Epic Systems now holds the medical records of over 325 million people. Faulkner and her family currently own 43 percent of Epic Systems.

Awards and recognition

* ''

'' America's Top 50 Women In Tech 2018 * Forbes ranked her as the 55th most powerful woman in the world in 2023.

Personal life

Faulkner lives in

. She is married to Dr. Gordon Faulkner, a pediatrician, and they have three children. In 2015, Faulkner signed

The Giving Pledge The Giving Pledge is a charitable campaign, founded by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, to encourage wealthy people to contribute a majority (i.e. more than 50%) of their wealth to philanthropic causes. , the pledge has had 236 signatories from 28 ...

, committing 99% of her assets to philanthropy. In 2019 Judy and Gordon founded the Roots & Wings Foundation,Roots & Wings Foundation
/ref> which funds

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

s that serve low-income children and families.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Faulkner, Judith R. 1943 births Businesspeople from Wisconsin Dickinson College alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni Living people American women chief executives American health care chief executives American technology chief executives Moorestown Friends School alumni People from Cherry Hill, New Jersey American billionaires Female billionaires 21st-century American philanthropists Wisconsin Democrats 21st-century American women Businesspeople from Camden County, New Jersey