Growing up on a family farm convinced Rick Workman that he didn’t want to be a farmer. He became a dentist instead – and then built the largest dental conglomerate in the nation and made a billion dollars. Dr. Rick Workman sits in his wood-paneled home office in a gated golf community outside Orlando, Florida. The room has a clubby old-money vibe. Floor-to-ceiling windows draped in royal blue curtains frame an ornate golden chandelier, and a large silver statue of Ferrari’s horse prances on his desk. Outside, in the driveway of the estate, sits an even bigger statue of the famous Cavallino Rampante, a tribute to his large collection of exotic sports cars. Workman leans back in his chair and begins talking about the cold reception he has received from others in his profession. “I’ve had people walk up to me at a conference and want to get in a fistfight with me,” he says. At 71, Workman has the energy of someone who expects an argument and welcomes it. His voice carries the blunt rhythm of rural southeastern Illinois, where he grew up on a farm and learned early that work was something you did whether you liked it or not. On this day, he’s wearing a satiny navy button-down shirt that catches the light whenever he moves. It’s a fashion choice flashier than you might expect from a dentist. Then again, no other dentist made a billion dollars treating teeth. Workman has spent the last four decades creating the largest dental operation in the United States. His Effingham, Illinois–based Heartland Dental has 1,900 practices with some 3,100 dentists across 39 states. Among some dentists, Workman is persona non grata, as they believe dental conglomerates like his prioritize productivity and profits over patient care and have made their once-cushy profession hypercompetitive. “I learned the Chicago way,” he says, nodding to the city’s reputation for bare-knuckle politics. The fights over corporate dentistry and private equity often get loud and personal. But Workman’s solution is what he calls staying “underneath the cabbage patch.” Keep your head down. Keep building. In 2024, Heartland Dental generated about $3.6 billion in revenue and $455 million in earnings handling the business side of dentistry: payroll, staffing, marketing and supplies. The dentists focus on treating patients, an approach that helped reshape a profession long dominated by solo practices. Private equity firm KKR, which manages $744 billion in assets, bought a 58% stake in the company in 2018 at a $2.8 billion valuation. Today Heartland is worth $6 billion, giving Workman, who serves as chairman, an estimated net worth of $1.6 billion. Workman grew up on a farm outside Clay City, Illinois. His grade school had three classrooms and six students in his class. His mother was his teacher. The family farm grew corn and soybeans. Work started early. His first job was gathering eggs when he was 4 years old. By age 7 he was milking cows. Summer days meant sitting on a tractor for ten or 12 hours at a stretch. Saturdays often brought the chores nobody wanted: cleaning manure sheds. Baling hay. “That wasn’t much fun,” Workman says, admitting the experience snuffed out any interest he might have had in farming. College was the first step away from the farm. Workman began at Olney Central College, a community college about 20 miles from home. He thought about becoming a chiropractor. A doctor he knew suggested dentistry instead. He was already studying science, so the switch required no change in coursework. Workman transferred to Southern Illinois University, where he completed his degree in biological science in 1977 and went on to dental school. In 1980, Workman opened his first practice in Effingham, about 40 minutes from the family farm. He found a basement location, borrowed $35,000 (the equivalent of $150,000 today) from his parents and grandparents and set up a two-chair office. His advertising budget was a $15 hand-painted sign on the front of the building. His goal for the first year was ambitious, but reasonable. “Twenty-five thousand dollars,” he says, which was 20% more than the national median family income at the time. Read the full story on Forbes: By Brandon Kochkodin https://www.forbes.com/sites/brandonkochkodin/2026/03/26/meet-the-billionaire-dentist-that-other-docs-want-to-punch-in-the-teeth/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
