Net Worth Ranker
What Is Dean Kamen’s Net Worth?
Dean Kamen, an accomplished American inventor and entrepreneur, has an estimated net worth of $500 million. This valuation reflects his successful career marked by groundbreaking inventions and entrepreneurial ventures primarily in the medical and technological fields. His contributions range from medical devices to transportation innovations, significantly impacting various industries.
Early Life and Career Beginnings
Dean Kamen was born on April 5, 1951, in Rockville Centre, Long Island, New York, to a Jewish family. His father, Jack Kamen, was an illustrator for *Mad* magazine and other EC Comics publications. Even as a teenager, Kamen demonstrated his inventive spirit, earning up to $60,000 annually by designing and building light and sound systems for local bands and museums. Kamen attended Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) but did not graduate. During his time at WPI, he spent five years conducting private advanced research for the drug infusion pump AutoSyringe. In 1976, he left before graduating to pursue his entrepreneurial endeavors.
While still a college undergraduate, Kamen invented the first wearable infusion pump, which gained rapid acceptance across diverse medical specialties, including oncology, neonatology, and endocrinology. He founded AutoSyringe, Inc. in 1976 to manufacture and market the pumps. Working with leading diabetes researchers, Kamen pioneered the design and adoption of the first portable insulin pump. It was quickly demonstrated that using a pump could much more effectively control patients’ blood glucose levels. At the age of 30, he sold AutoSyringe to Baxter Healthcare Corporation in 1981.
Inventions and Business Ventures
Following the sale of AutoSyringe, Inc., Kamen founded DEKA Research & Development Corporation. DEKA develops internally generated inventions and provides research and development for major corporate clients. Kamen led DEKA’s development of the HomeChoice™ peritoneal dialysis system for Baxter International Inc. The HomeChoice™ system allows patients to be dialyzed in the privacy and comfort of their home and quickly became the worldwide market leader. Kamen also led the development of technology to improve slide preparation for the CYTYC (now Hologic Inc.) ThinPrep® Pap Test. Kamen-led DEKA teams have also developed critical components of the UVARTM XTSTM System, an extracorporeal photophereisis device marketed by Therakos, a unit of Johnson & Johnson, for treatment of T-Cell lymphoma.
One of Kamen’s most well-known inventions is the Segway PT, an electric self-balancing human transporter utilizing a computer-controlled gyroscopic stabilization and control system. Kamen’s company, DEKA, holds patents for technology used in portable dialysis machines, an insulin pump (based on the drug infusion pump technology), and the iBOT, an all-terrain electric wheelchair that utilizes much of the same gyroscopic balancing technology found in the Segway. DEKA has also developed a prosthetic arm replacement called Luke and has worked on projects attempting to generate power and water purification systems.
FIRST and Philanthropic Activities
Beyond his inventions, Kamen founded FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) in 1989, an organization dedicated to inspiring students’ interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). In 1992, working with MIT Professor Emeritus Woodie Flowers, Kamen created the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC), which evolved into an international competition that by 2020 had drawn 3,647 teams and more than 91,000 students. FIRST organizes robotics competition leagues for students in grades K-12, including FIRST LEGO League Discover for ages 4–6, FIRST LEGO League Explore for younger elementary school students, FIRST LEGO League Challenge for older elementary school and middle school students, FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) for middle and high school students, and FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) for high school students. Kamen donated his $500,000 Lemelson-MIT Prize money to his non-profit organization FIRST.
Awards and Recognition
Dean Kamen has received numerous awards throughout his career. He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1997 for his inventions and commercialization of biomedical devices, fluid measurement, and control systems, and for promoting engineering among young people. In 1999, he received the 5th Annual Heinz Award in Technology, the Economy, and Employment. In 2000, he was awarded the National Medal of Technology by President Clinton for his inventions that have advanced medical care worldwide. In April 2002, Kamen was awarded the Lemelson-MIT Prize for inventors for his invention of the Segway and an infusion pump for diabetics. In 2005, he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame for his invention of the AutoSyringe. In 2006, Kamen was awarded the “Global Humanitarian Action Award” by the United Nations. He received the ASME Medal in 2007, the IRI Achievement Award from the Industrial Research Institute in 2008, and the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Mechanical Engineering of the Franklin Institute in 2011.
Kamen received an honorary Doctor of Engineering degree from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 1992, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute May 17, 1996, a Doctor of Engineering degree from Kettering University in 2001, an honorary Doctor of Science degree from Clarkson University on May 13, 2001, an honorary “Doctor of Science” degree from the University of Arizona on May 16, 2009, and an honorary doctorate from the Wentworth Institute of Technology when he spoke at the college’s centennial celebration in 2004, and other honorary doctorates from North Carolina State University in 2005, Bates College in 2007, the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2008 the Illinois Institute of Technology in 2008 the Plymouth State University in May 2008 and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in 2012. In 2015, Kamen received an honorary Doctor of Engineering and Technology degree from Yale University.
Dean Kamen’s impact extends beyond his inventions, encompassing his dedication to inspiring future generations in STEM fields and his contributions to medical advancements and technological innovations. These factors contribute to Dean Kamen’s net worth and lasting legacy.
