Alan Kim | The Roanoke Times

Randal J. Kirk sold New River Pharmaceuticals to a British drugmaker in April.  As part of the deal, Kirk sold his shares in the company, reportedly netting between $1.2 billion and $1.46 billion.

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As is perhaps to be expected from the region's first billionaire, Randal J. Kirk is sharing some pretty heady company these days.

Among his new peers? Bill Gates, Donald Trump and Michael Bloomberg. All four recently made the Forbes 400, an annual list of richest Americans and a who's who club of 10 -- and even 11-- figure fortunemakers.

Kirk is one of seven Virginians to crack the list this year, a year when "the price of admission ... is $1.3 billion, up $300 million from last year," according to a Forbes introduction of the rankings, which the business magazine has been publishing since 1982.

It is the first time in at least 12 years that anyone from Southwest Virginia has made it.

"I went to [Virginia] Tech and have been looking for someone from that region for a while, so I made sure we were paying extra special attention," said Matthew Miller, editor of the Forbes 400. "Once he sold New River [Pharmaceuticals] for that price tag, it immediately sent up a flag that we needed to take a look at him."

Kirk "wasn't someone who was on the radar for years and years and years," Miller said. "This is kind of a quick thing where he did a big deal, sold his company for a big chunk of change and became a billionaire as a result."

Forbes ranks Kirk at No. 297, with a net worth of $1.6 billion.

In June, Virginia Business Magazine named the Pulaski County man the sixth wealthiest resident of the state, estimating his net worth at $1.2 billion.

By all accounts, Kirk, 54, has had a banner year in business.

In April, the senior managing director and chief executive officer of Third Security, a Radford-based investment management firm, sold New River Pharmaceuticals to a British drugmaker. As part of the $2.6 billion deal, the New River Pharmaceuticals founder sold his shares in the company, reportedly netting between $1.2 billion and $1.46 billion.

Even before New River Pharmaceuticals, Kirk had a history of big-dollar deals.

In 1983, the Radford University alum joined John Gregory to found General Injectibles and Vaccines, a Bland County-based next-day supplier of medical supplies to doctors. Fifteen years later, Kirk and his ownership team sold GIV for $65 million in cash and deferred payments of $25 million.

Kirk formed Third Security in 1999.

The private equity and venture capital firm employs about 50 people in offices in Radford and San Francisco and controls "over a billion" dollars, according to senior directors.

The firm is currently invested in a variety of businesses, including Intrexon, of Blacksburg; Halozyme Therapeutics and Cyntellect of San Diego and Clinical Data of Newton, Mass.

In July, the firm announced its most recent investment fund at $250 million.