Sign in
Sign in

The richest family in every US state

Share the love

Mega-rich dynasties across America
0 of Win McNamee/Getty Images
List View Gallery View Full screen

Mega-rich dynasties across America

From old-money dynasties such as the Mellons and the Johnsons to ultra-wealthy newcomers including the Zuckerbergs and Buffetts, America’s wealthiest families have some serious cash. Read on to see which clan is the richest in your state, using data from Forbes correct as of 23 March 2022, unless otherwise stated.

24 March 2022
Features
Alabama: the Stephens family – $4 billion
1 of Courtesy EBSCO Industries Inc.
List View Gallery View Full screen

Alabama: the Stephens family – $4 billion

Together with siblings Dell, Elton and Jane, James Stephens (pictured) inherited his family’s empire, EBSCO Industries, when his father passed away in 2005. The company grew from humble origins as a door-to-door magazine subscription service, and the late Elton B. Stephens grew it into one of the 200 largest privately-owned companies, leaving his heirs with a plentiful inheritance of $4 billion, according to 2014 figures from Forbes. Pictured here is Bryson Stephens, EBSCO’s current chairman and Elton's grandson.

24 March 2022
Features
Alaska: the Hyde and Rubini families – $300 million each
2 of Fsdbb3 / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)
List View Gallery View Full screen

Alaska: the Hyde and Rubini families – $300 million each

Partners Leonard Hyde and Jonathan Rubini own equal stakes in JL Properties, Alaska’s biggest real estate firm with a portfolio market value of more than $2 billion. Hyde and Rubini, President and CEO of the company respectively, own and manage some of Alaska’s most iconic buildings, including the JL Tower (pictured) and the ASRC Building. While their wealth may be modest compared to others in this round-up, this business has allowed each family to accumulate net worths of $300 million apiece according to Forbes in 2019. 

24 March 2022
Features
Arizona: the Garcia family – $13.9 billion
3 of Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
List View Gallery View Full screen

Arizona: the Garcia family – $13.9 billion

The Garcias have made their billions in the auto industry, with Ernest Garcia III (pictured) having founded used car buying and selling website Carvana in 2012, of which his father, Ernest Garcia II, is a majority shareholder. Ernest Garcia Senior also operates DriveTime Automotive, which is the fourth-biggest used car retailer in the US. Both Ernest Garcia II and his son made it onto the Forbes 400 list in 2021, and currently have fortunes of $9.9 billion and $4 billion respectively, easily making the Garcias the richest family in Arizona.

24 March 2022
Features
Arkansas: the Walton family – $247 billion
4 of Courtesy The Walton Family
List View Gallery View Full screen

Arkansas: the Walton family – $247 billion

The richest family in Arkansas, and in fact the whole of the US, the Waltons control around 50% of supermarket behemoth Walmart, America's largest business with annual revenues of $524 billion for the financial year 2020. Brothers Sam (pictured with his wife and children) and James 'Bud' Walton co-founded the business in 1962. Today Sam's children Jim, Rob and Alice Walton are the main shareholders, while Bud's children Ann Walton Kroenke (who is married to Stanley Kroenke; look out for them later on this list) and Nancy Walton Laurie hold smaller shares. Sam’s daughter-in-law Christy and her son Lukas have also inherited large sums from the Walton fortune following the passing of Christy’s husband John T. Walton in 2005. These seven family members had a combined fortune of $247 billion in 2020, according to Forbes.

24 March 2022
Features
California: the Zuckerberg family – $77.4 billion
5 of Charles Ommanney/AP/Facebook handout
List View Gallery View Full screen

California: the Zuckerberg family – $77.4 billion

For years, the wine-producing Gallos were California's wealthiest clan. Then Facebook came along and today it's the Zuckerbergs: Mark Zuckerberg, Priscilla Chan and their daughters Max and August. Chan's personal net worth is not known, but Zuckerberg alone is worth an enormous $77.4 billion. That said, the Facebook billionaires have committed to donating the bulk of their fortune to good causes through the Giving Pledge set up by Bill and Melinda Gates with Warren Buffett.

24 March 2022
Features
Colorado: the Anschutz family – $11 billion
6 of Javier Rojas/Zuma Press/PA
List View Gallery View Full screen

Colorado: the Anschutz family – $11 billion

Over in Colorado, the Anschutz family is tops. The family fortune derives from patriarch Philip Anschutz (pictured), who worked in his father's oil business in the 1960s, before moving into sports, entertainment and more. Today, the tycoon and his family own everything from the NHL LA Kings and Crypto.com Arena (formerly the Staples Center) to the Coachella Music Festival, giving him a net worth of $11 billion, according to Forbes. 

24 March 2022
Features
Connecticut: the Sackler family – $10.8 billion
7 of Courtesy Sackler School of Medicine
List View Gallery View Full screen

Connecticut: the Sackler family – $10.8 billion

The Sackler family still owns 100% of Purdue Pharma, the firm behind the controversial opiate painkiller OxyContin. Physician brothers Mortimer and Raymond (pictured with his late wife Beverley) bought the company in 1952 and made the lion’s share of their fortune from the drug, which was released in 1996 and has been blamed for fueling America's opioid crisis. The company has since sought out bankruptcy protection as nearly every state has filed lawsuits against the brothers' descendants. And while the Sacklers haven’t admitted to malpractice, they have agreed to contribute $6 billion to the settlement and relinquish control of the family business. As it stands, the family is worth $10.8 billion, according to 2020 data from Forbes.

24 March 2022
Features
Delaware: the Gore family – $8.2 billion
8 of Courtesy Gore-Tex
List View Gallery View Full screen

Delaware: the Gore family – $8.2 billion

Down in Delaware, the Gore family is number one. In 1969, father and son team Bill (pictured with his wife Genevieve) and Bob Gore invented the go-to sports fabric Gore-Tex by accident. Bob Gore was chairman and a major shareholder of the family business W. L. Gore & Associates, which markets the material and turns over $3.8 billion annually, until he passed away in September 2020. Bob’s nephew Bret Snyder has since been named president and CEO of the company, and the entire family fortune currently adds up to $8.2 billion.

24 March 2022
Features
Florida: the Peterffy family – $22.1 billion
9 of Eric Piermont/AFP/Getty Images
List View Gallery View Full screen

Florida: the Peterffy family – $22.1 billion

The Peterffys are the most affluent family in Florida. Hungarian-born Thomas Peterffy (pictured) heads up electronic brokerage firm Interactive Brokers, which he established in 1978 as T.P. & Co, and has earned him an impressive net worth of $21.4 billion, according to Forbes. Unlike fellow Hungarian-born financier and Democrat donor George Soros, Peterffy is a prominent supporter of the Republican Party and admirer of Donald Trump. He is even a member of the Mar-a-Lago Club, Trump’s exclusive members-only club in Palm Beach.

24 March 2022
Features
Georgia: the Cox family – $31.9 billion
10 of Courtesy Cox Enterprises
List View Gallery View Full screen

Georgia: the Cox family – $31.9 billion

Atlanta media conglomerate Cox Enterprises owns a wide array of newspapers, radio stations and TV channels in its company portfolio and has annual revenues of $21 billion. Cox Enterprises was founded by James M. Cox in 1898, and his five living heirs, who include current company chairman Jim Kennedy (pictured), still control the majority of the company. Jim is worth $8 billion today, as is his sister Blair Parry-Okeden. Their cousins James Cox Chambers, Margaretta Taylor and Katharine Rayner are each worth $5.3 billion. In total, the Cox family has a combined net worth of $31.9 billion. 

24 March 2022
Features
Hawaii: the Omidyar family – $12.9 billion
11 of Dario Cantatore/Getty Images
List View Gallery View Full screen

Hawaii: the Omidyar family – $12.9 billion

The founder of eBay, Pierre Omidyar lives with his wife Pamela and their three children in Honolulu, making them Hawaii's richest family with a fortune of $12.9 billion. The Omidyars are renowned philanthropists, having committed hundreds of millions of dollars to good causes throughout the world.

24 March 2022
Features
Idaho: the Simplot family – $7.7 billion
12 of Courtesy Simplot
List View Gallery View Full screen

Idaho: the Simplot family – $7.7 billion

The richest person in Idaho may be health products entrepreneur Frank VanderSloot, who has a net worth of $3.2 billion, but the wealthiest family is the Simplot clan. The family controls the agribusiness company founded by frozen French fries inventor J. R. Simplot (pictured) back in 1929, J.R Simplot Co., which generated $6 billion in sales in the 2020 financial year. The company was supplying a third of America’s French fries back in 2008, shortly before J. R. Simplot passed away, and the company has left the clan with a healthy fortune of $7.7 billion, according to data from December 2020.

24 March 2022
Features
Illinois: the Pritzker family – $32.5 billion
13 of Brian Cassella/Zuma Press/PA
List View Gallery View Full screen

Illinois: the Pritzker family – $32.5 billion

The richest person in Illinois is hedge fund chief Ken Griffin, who has a substantial net worth of $25.5 billion. However, his fortune pales in comparison to the amassed wealth of the Pritzkers. The family made a colossal amount from shrewd investments in firms such as Berkshire Hathaway, as well as ownership of the Hyatt Hotels Corporation. The hotel group was founded by Jay Pritzker in 1957, and when he died his fortune went to his siblings and then their children. Forbes data from 2020 places the Pritzker family fortune at $32.5 billion. Pictured is Jay Pritzker’s venture capitalist and politician descendent J.B. Pritzker, who is worth $3.6 billion.

24 March 2022
Features
Indiana: the Cook family – $11.9 billion
14 of Courtesy Cook Group
List View Gallery View Full screen

Indiana: the Cook family – $11.9 billion

The Cook Group was established in 1963 by Gayle and Bill Cook in the spare bedroom of their Bloomington home. From humble beginnings, the medical device company has grown to turn over more than $2 billion annually. The couple passed ownership of their company onto the current CEO, their son Carl Cook (pictured), over the course of 15 years before Bill’s death in 2011 to avoid high tax payments, according to Bloomberg. He is now the richest individual in Indiana, with a net worth of $11.9 billion. 

24 March 2022
Features
Iowa: the Stine family – $7.2 billion
15 of Wang Ping/Xinhua News Agency/PA
List View Gallery View Full screen

Iowa: the Stine family – $7.2 billion

Fittingly in a state where agriculture is big business, the richest family is none other than the Stines, the owners of America’s largest independent seed company, Stine Seed. The firm was founded in the 1950s by the father of current head honcho Harry Stine (pictured), the only billionaire in the state of Iowa, with a net worth of $7.2 billion. 

24 March 2022
Features
Kansas: the Koch family – $125.4 billion
16 of Courtesy Koch Industries
List View Gallery View Full screen

Kansas: the Koch family – $125.4 billion

Fred C. Koch founded the oil refining company that became Koch Industries in 1940 and it was passed on to his four sons on his death in 1967. The company pioneered a new refining method, which generated billions of dollars over the years. Charles and David successfully sued their brothers William and Frederick for control of the firm during the 1980s and 1990s. David (pictured left, with Charles) passed away in late 2019, but today Charles and David's widow Julia Flesher Koch are each worth $61.9 billion, according to Forbes, while brother Bill Koch is worth $1.6 billion. These three family members alone are worth $125.4 billion.

24 March 2022
Features
Kentucky: the Hughes/Gustavson family – $10.8 billion
17 of Raysonho @ Open Grid Scheduler / Scalable Grid Engine / CC0
List View Gallery View Full screen

Kentucky: the Hughes/Gustavson family – $10.8 billion

Kentucky’s wealthiest citizen is Tamara Gustavson, with a net worth of $8.6 billion. Tamara's wealth comes from the storage company Public Storage that her late father, B. Wayne Hughes, founded in 1972. Hughes gave the bulk of his shares to his daughter, as well as his son B. Wayne Hughes Jr, who is worth $2.2 billion. B. Wayne Hughes Sr went on to set up home rental company American Homes 4 Rent in 2011, and had amassed a fortune of $3.3 billion by the time he passed away in August 2021. 

24 March 2022
Features
Louisiana: the Benson family – $3.8 billion
18 of Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
List View Gallery View Full screen

Louisiana: the Benson family – $3.8 billion

The richest family in Louisiana is a divided one. After the late owner of the NFL's New Orleans Saints and NBA's New Orleans Pelicans, Tom Benson (pictured center), changed his will in 2014, his family fought over the terms. Benson had initially intended to leave his shares to his daughter Renee Benson (center right) and his grandchildren, but changed his will in 2014 to favor his third wife Gayle Benson (pictured left). When Tom died in 2018, Gayle received control of the teams and is currently the state’s richest person, with a net worth of $3.8 billion.

24 March 2022
Features
Maine: the Alfond family – $9 billion
19 of Courtesy Harold Alfond Foundation
List View Gallery View Full screen

Maine: the Alfond family – $9 billion

Like the Pritzker family, Maine's Alfond clan has made incredible sums of money from Berkshire Hathaway shares. The family's Dexter Shoe Company, which was founded by patriarch Harold Alfond in 1956, was sold to Berkshire Hathaway in 1993 for hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of stock. Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett has described the deal as the worst he ever made. Alfond's living children Bill, Ted and Susan are worth $3 billion each today, according to Forbes. That brings the family's combined net worth to $9 billion.

24 March 2022
Features
Maryland: the Lerner family – $4.6 billion
20 of Win McNamee/Getty Images
List View Gallery View Full screen

Maryland: the Lerner family – $4.6 billion

Back in 1952, Ted Lerner borrowed $250 from his wife Annette and set up real estate firm Lerner Enterprises in Rockville. Since then, the real estate mogul has developed property valued in the billions, bought a major baseball team and became the largest private landowner in the Washington DC area. Today, Ted Lerner and family are estimated to be worth $4.6 billion.

24 March 2022
Features
Massachusetts: the Johnson family – $32.4 billion
21 of Courtesy Fidelity Investments
List View Gallery View Full screen

Massachusetts: the Johnson family – $32.4 billion

Together with her father Ned and two siblings, Abigail Johnson (pictured), who has been described as the most powerful woman in finance, owns a controlling stake in Fidelity, the fund management company started by her grandfather Edward C. Johnson II. Abigail took over from her father as CEO in 2016, and is currently the richest person in the family with a net worth of $22.3 billion, while her father Edward 'Ned' III has a fortune of $10.1 billion. 

24 March 2022
Features
Michigan: the Meijer family – $16.8 billion
22 of Courtesy Meijer
List View Gallery View Full screen

Michigan: the Meijer family – $16.8 billion

The Meijer family fortune derives from Dutch immigrant Hendrick Meijer, who opened the first of the clan's namesake grocery stores in Greenville, slap bang in the middle of the Great Depression. These days, Meijer counts over 240 locations throughout the Midwest, with annual sales of $18.1 billion. This image shows the late matriarch Lena Meijer opening a new store with son Hank to her left. Hank and his brother Doug took over the family business in 1990 and remain on its board of directors; together they are worth $16.8 billion.

24 March 2022
Features
Minnesota: the Cargill-MacMillan family – $47 billion
23 of Courtesy Palm Springs Art Museum
List View Gallery View Full screen

Minnesota: the Cargill-MacMillan family – $47 billion

Of the 90 or so Cargill-MacMillan family members that jointly own 88% of Cargill, America’s largest privately-owned company, 12 are billionaires. The family comes from old money, and W.W. Cargill started the company as a single grain storage warehouse in 1865. Today it makes annual sales of $114.6 billion and the family shares an exceptional fortune of $47 billion, according to Forbes data from December 2020. The image shows the late company patriarch Cargill MacMillan Jr.

24 March 2022
Features
Mississippi: the Duff family – $4 billion
24 of Courtesy Kelly Dunn/University of Southern Mississippi
List View Gallery View Full screen

Mississippi: the Duff family – $4 billion

Brothers Thomas (left) and James Duff have transformed the small-scale tire business their father Ernest founded in 1973 into Southern Tire Mart, one of America's biggest tire dealers. The duo also owns a frozen food trucking business and a number of other lucrative firms. Together, the Mississippi siblings are worth an estimated $4 billion.
24 March 2022
Features
Missouri: the Kroenke family – $19.7 billion
25 of Chris Graythen/Staff/Getty Images
List View Gallery View Full screen

Missouri: the Kroenke family – $19.7 billion

Stanley Kroenke (pictured center) is Missouri’s richest man, with a fortune of $10.7 billion, and his wife Ann Walton Kroenke, the daughter of the late Walmart co-founder Bud Walton, has her own sizable fortune of $9 billion. Together the two make a formidable pair, with a combined wealth of $19.7 billion. Their portfolio is an international mix that includes 30 million square feet of real estate, American football team the Los Angeles Rams, and Arsenal Football Club in the UK.

24 March 2022
Features
Montana: the Washington family – $7 billion
26 of Kevin Winter/Getty Images
List View Gallery View Full screen

Montana: the Washington family – $7 billion

Starting out in the late 1950s as a low-paid construction worker, Dennis Washington formed his first construction company in 1964, and later diversified into mining, real estate, aviation and more, making billions in the process. These days, the tycoon and his wife Phyllis devote much of their time to philanthropy – their charitable foundation has donated millions to numerous non-profits, including $840 million donated by the couple themselves. They have a net worth of $7 billion.

24 March 2022
Features
Nebraska: the Buffett family – $126.5 billion
27 of Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images
List View Gallery View Full screen

Nebraska: the Buffett family – $126.5 billion

Warren Buffett's family is technically Nebraska's wealthiest, though the boss of famed conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway isn't planning to leave his kids his entire fortune by any means. Buffett (pictured here with his son Peter and daughter Susan) has signed the Giving Pledge he helped found, promising to give away more than 99% of his wealth during his lifetime or at death. Buffett has a current net worth of $126.5 billion, according to Forbes, although his 5% stake in Apple is thought to be worth a record $162 billion now the tech giant has become the world's first $3 trillion-dollar company. 

24 March 2022
Features
Nevada: the Adelson family – $28.6 billion
28 of Anthony Kwan/Getty Images
List View Gallery View Full screen

Nevada: the Adelson family – $28.6 billion

As you'd probably expect, Nevada's richest family made its money from gambling. Patriarch Sheldon Adelson, who started his first business at the age of 12, got into casinos in 1988 and built The Venetian in the late 1990s, cashing in on its success. The chairman of the Las Vegas Sands Corporation passed away in January 2021 at the age of 87, leaving his then-fortune of $26.8 billion to his family, including his wife Miriam (pictured). Miriam is currently worth $28.6 billion.

24 March 2022
Features
New Hampshire: the Reimann family – $15.1 billion
29 of Author unknown [Public domain or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
List View Gallery View Full screen

New Hampshire: the Reimann family – $15.1 billion

The super-secretive Reimann family, whose company now owns Krispy Kreme and Pret A Manger, are New Hampshire's most moneyed clan. The family business began in 1828 with German chemist Ludwig Reimann, who teamed up with Johann Adam Benckiser (pictured) to create a successful chemical company. Ludwig's descendants later put the money from this venture into Luxembourg-based investment firm JAB Holding Company.

Today four of the nine adopted children of Albert Reimann Jr own the business – Wolfgang, Renate, Matthias, and Stefan – after their siblings sold them their shares. Their current combined net worth is around $14.4 billion, while their sister Andrea Reimann-Ciardelli was listed as having a net worth of $720 million by Forbes in 2019, bringing the family’s combined wealth to approximately $15.1 billion. In 2019 the family gave €10 million ($11.9m) to The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany to help survivors of the Nazi regime in reparation for the forced labor the family's business benefited from during World War II under Albert Reimann Sr and Jr's control.

24 March 2022
Features
New Jersey: the Dorrance family – $15 billion
30 of Courtesy Campbell Soup Company
List View Gallery View Full screen

New Jersey: the Dorrance family – $15 billion

Dubbed 'The First Family of Soup', the Dorrances control the celebrated Campbell Soup fortune. In 2018, Dan Loeb, founder of Third Point Management, a shareholder in the soup company, announced his intention to oust all 12 members of the company's board due to the company's poor performance. However, Loeb was unsuccessful, and descendants of the founder remain the company’s biggest shareholders. Today only three of 11 descendants remain on the board, including siblings Bennett Dorrance and Mary Alice Dorrance Malone, who are worth $2.9 billion and $3.6 billion respectively. Their cousin Archbold Van Beuren also remains on the board, and owns 1.35% of the $14.8 billion business through his Brandywine Trust. Other heirs include Charlotte Colket Weber, who is worth $1.8 billion, and John Dorrance III, who is worth $2.7 billion. In December 2020, Forbes listed the entire Dorrance family fortune as $15 billion. 

24 March 2022
Features
New Mexico: the Chase family – $700 million+
31 of Courtesy @ClaireMChase/Twitter
List View Gallery View Full screen

New Mexico: the Chase family – $700 million+

The Chase family is the richest in New Mexico. Patriarch Mack C. Chase cleaned up in the 1960s and 1970s in the oil and natural gas industry in Texas and his home state, and was reported as having a $700 million fortune by Forbes in 2019. His sons Robert and Chance, and daughter-in-law Claire (pictured), are heavily involved in the family business.

24 March 2022
Features
New York: the Bloomberg family – $82 billion
32 of Spencer Platt/Staff/Getty Images
List View Gallery View Full screen

New York: the Bloomberg family – $82 billion

Michael Bloomberg is the richest person in The Big Apple, with a staggering net worth of $82 billion. After being fired from Wall Street, Bloomberg co-founded financial information and media company Bloomberg LP in 1981, which has annual revenues of over $10 billion, according to Forbes. This media mogul then turned his attention to politics: after serving as the Mayor of New York from 2002-2013, Bloomberg ran an unsuccessful campaign to become the Democratic representative in the 2020 Presidential election, a failed attempt that cost him more than $1 billion.

24 March 2022
Features
North Carolina: the Goodnight family – up to $15.6 billion
33 of Brad Barket/Getty for Time Inc.
List View Gallery View Full screen

North Carolina: the Goodnight family – up to $15.6 billion

Since co-founding the Statistical Analysis System (SAS) Institute in 1976, data guru Jim Goodnight has made billions crunching numbers, and the company turned over $3.1 billion in 2019, according to Forbes. Goodnight’s family is now the richest in North Carolina and Jim alone has a net worth of $7.3 billion according to Forbes, although Bloomberg has put his net worth as high as $15.6 billion. Family members include Jim's wife Ann, a patron of the arts, and their retail executive daughter Leah.

24 March 2022
Features
North Dakota: the Tharaldson family – $1 billion
34 of Courtesy Valley City State University/Tharaldson family
List View Gallery View Full screen

North Dakota: the Tharaldson family – $1 billion

North Dakota-born and raised, Gary Tharaldson owns a group of namesake companies that builds and manages business-oriented hotels across America. Together with his family, the Fargo-based entrepreneur (pictured here with his wife Connie) was reported as having a net worth of $1 billion by Forbes in 2019, making him the first billionaire in the state and the figurehead of North Dakota’s richest family.

24 March 2022
Features
Ohio: the Wexner family – $5.8 billion
35 of Astrid Stawiarz/Getty for Fragrance Foundation
List View Gallery View Full screen

Ohio: the Wexner family – $5.8 billion

The Wexners are the most affluent family in Ohio. Patriarch Les Wexner founded The Limited clothing company in 1964 and built a formidable retail group over the years, adding names including Victoria's Secret, Henri Bendel and La Senza. Wexner found himself in the public eye in 2019 thanks to his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, who was his confidant and financial manager from the early 1990s until the mid-2000s. Wexner and family have a combined net worth of $5.8 billion.

24 March 2022
Features
Oklahoma: the Love family – $9.8 billion
36 of Courtesy University of Oklahoma/Twitter
List View Gallery View Full screen

Oklahoma: the Love family – $9.8 billion

Tom and Judy Love (pictured center) founded Love’s Travel Stops and Country Stores in 1964 with a $5,000 loan from Tom's parents. Over 55 years later the venture has made them the richest family in Oklahoma, with a fortune of $9.8 billion. The convenience store chain is very much a family affair, with both Tom, Judy and three of their four children working for the company. 

24 March 2022
Features
Oregon: the Knight family – $50.5 billion
37 of Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images
List View Gallery View Full screen

Oregon: the Knight family – $50.5 billion

The co-founder of Nike and his family are Oregon's wealthiest clan. Phil Knight established the sportswear giant with Bill Bowerman in 1962 as Blue Ribbon Sports and is still closely involved with the company. His filmmaker son Travis (pictured here with his father) runs Laika, the family's animation studio, and the family has a joint net worth of $50.5 billion.

Read more about Nike and other big companies that started with nothing

24 March 2022
Features
Pennsylvania: the Mellon family – $11.5 billion
38 of Eugene Gologursky/Getty for Hanley Mellon
List View Gallery View Full screen

Pennsylvania: the Mellon family – $11.5 billion

Scots-Irish immigrant Thomas Mellon founded Mellon Bank, the source of the family's wealth, back in 1867. Mellon left a vast estate to his children, who invested wisely and multiplied their inheritance, including Andrew Mellon, who invested in companies that would become Alcoa and Gulf Oil. Another notable scion was Thomas’ great-great-grandson Matthew Mellon (pictured here with his wife Nicole), who was the family’s figurehead until he died in tragic circumstances in 2018. The Mellon fortune was valued at $11.5 billion in December 2020.

24 March 2022
Features
Rhode Island: the Nelson family – $2.2 billion
39 of Courtesy Providence Equity
List View Gallery View Full screen

Rhode Island: the Nelson family – $2.2 billion

Known as the 'stealth mogul', Rhode Island native Jonathan Nelson founded media-focused private equity firm Providence Equity Partners in 1989 and has discretely amassed a $2.2 billion fortune over the years. Like many of the families on the list, the Nelsons are keen philanthropists – Jonathan and his wife Judy give generously to mainly education and healthcare-related charities.
24 March 2022
Features
South Carolina: the Zucker family – $1.8 billion
40 of Courtesy InterTech Group
List View Gallery View Full screen

South Carolina: the Zucker family – $1.8 billion

The Zuckers are also renowned for their philanthropy. Together with her late husband Jerry, Anita Zucker founded chemicals company InterTech Group in 1982 and the couple went on to acquire the Hudson's Bay Company, one of North America's oldest firms. Following Jerry's death in 2008, Anita served as Governor of the company, until it was sold later that year. The family fortune of $1.8 billion is shared between Anita and her three children Jonathan, Andreas and Jeffrey, and Anita is the only billionaire in South Carolina.

24 March 2022
Features
South Dakota: the Sanford family – $3.4 billion
41 of Courtesy United National Corporation
List View Gallery View Full screen

South Dakota: the Sanford family – $3.4 billion

Staying with mega-philanthropists, the Sanfords put other billionaire families to shame with their lavish giving. Patriarch T. Denny Sanford, who owns the high-risk credit card provider First Premier Bank, has given more than $1.6 billion to charity, although the banking mogul still has an estimated net worth of $3.4 billion, according to the most recent Forbes figures.

24 March 2022
Features
Tennessee: the Frist family – $21.4 billion
42 of Courtesy Hospital Corporation of America
List View Gallery View Full screen

Tennessee: the Frist family – $21.4 billion

Tennessee's richest family, the Frists are worth some $21.4 billion at the time of writing. Physicians Thomas Frist and his son Thomas Frist Jr. (pictured) co-founded Hospital Corporation of America in 1968 and turned it into the largest operator of private healthcare facilities in the world. Other prominent members of the family include philanthropist Mary F. Barfield and physician-turned-politician Bill Frist.

24 March 2022
Features
Texas: the Musk family – $266.1 billion
43 of Mike Coppola/VF17/Contributor/Getty Images
List View Gallery View Full screen

Texas: the Musk family – $266.1 billion

In 2020, Elon Musk relocated his business dealings from Silicon Valley to the Lone Star State after officials didn’t let him open Tesla factories in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. He then moved to Texas in December. The Tesla CEO is currently the richest person on the planet, according to Forbes, and is currently around $70 billion richer than the second richest, Jeff Bezos. On 25 October 2021, Musk's net worth soared by $36 billion in just one day, after American car rental company Hertz Global Holdings placed an order for 100,000 Teslas. It’s uncertain who shares his incredible $266.1 billion fortune, but the entrepreneur has seven children, including his youngest son X Æ A-Xii and daughter Exa Dark Sideræl. Musk is pictured here with his mother Maye. 

24 March 2022
Features
Utah: the Miller family – $3.2 billion
44 of USA TODAY Sports/SIPA USA/PA
List View Gallery View Full screen

Utah: the Miller family – $3.2 billion

The late Larry H. Miller was one of Utah's all-time most successful businesspeople, counting everything from car dealerships to sports teams and movie theaters in his bulging portfolio. Following his death in 2009, ownership of the companies passed to wife Gail (pictured) and four of the multitasking tycoon's children. Gail had a net worth of $3.2 billion in 2020.

24 March 2022
Features
Vermont: the Abele family – $640 million
45 of By Sebastiaan ter Burg from Utrecht, The Netherlands [CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
List View Gallery View Full screen

Vermont: the Abele family – $640 million

The Abeles aren’t the wealthiest bunch in this round-up, although they do top the ranking in Vermont. The co-founder of medical device company Boston Scientific, patriarch John Abele has cashed in hundreds of millions of dollars off the back of the firm's success and was worth $640 million in 2019, according to Forbes.

24 March 2022
Features
Virginia: the Mars family – $94 billion
46 of Ron Sachs/Pool/Getty Images
List View Gallery View Full screen

Virginia: the Mars family – $94 billion

When Forrest Mars Sr. died in 1991, the confectionery tycoon bequeathed Mars Inc. to his three children: Jacqueline (pictured here with her granddaughters); Forrest Mars Jr.; and John Mars. When Forrest Jr. passed away in 2016, leaving behind a fortune of more than $25 billion, his third of the Mars business came under the control of his four daughters. The remaining Mars siblings, with their extended family, have complete control over the confectionery and pet foods company, which has a multitude of popular brands and an enormous annual turnover of $37 billion according to Forbes. With that kind of income, it’s unsurprising that the combined wealth of the family’s six billionaires comes to $94 billion.

24 March 2022
Features
Washington: the Bezos/Scott family – $240 billion
47 of Hubert Boesl/DPA/PA
List View Gallery View Full screen

Washington: the Bezos/Scott family – $240 billion

The Amazon founder stepped back from the business that made his $190.7 billion fortune in July 2021 to focus on other projects such as his space company Blue Origin, which completed its first crewed space mission on 20 July with Bezos on board. In 2019, Bezos had to part with $38 billion in a record-breaking divorce settlement with his ex-wife MacKenzie (pictured right). The settlement gave novelist MacKenzie the title of richest woman on the planet, and she now has a net worth of $44.9 billion. In July 2020, MacKenzie announced she was changing her surname to Scott and had given away $1.7 billion of her wealth to charitable organizations, and she has continued to donate since. Combined, Bezos and Scott have a fortune of $240 billion.

24 March 2022
Features
West Virginia: the Justice family – $513.3 million
48 of Scott Halleran/Getty Images
List View Gallery View Full screen

West Virginia: the Justice family – $513.3 million

The richest person in West Virginia, Jim Justice is also the current Governor of the state and hit the headlines a couple of years ago for switching from the Republican to the Democratic Party and back again. The former mining and agribusiness billionaire hit financial hardship in 2021, after it was revealed that he owed a whopping $850 million to the now-defunct Greensill Capital. Nevertheless, Jim and his family currently own more than 50 companies, including the stunning Greenbrier resort, which brings their net worth to a reported $513.3 million. 

24 March 2022
Features
Wisconsin: the Johnson family – $37 billion
49 of Courtesy S. C. Johnson & Son
List View Gallery View Full screen

Wisconsin: the Johnson family – $37 billion

This moneyed dynasty – who aren't related to the other Johnson family that appear in this round-up – wholly own cleaning products company S.C. Johnson & Son. Founded by Samuel Curtis Johnson Sr., the famous Wisconsin firm has a portfolio of brands that includes Mr. Muscle, Pledge and Ziploc. Sam Johnson Jr led the firm from 1966 to 2000, and now his four heirs have taken on the mantel. Each heir, including current Chairman and CEO H. Fisk Johnson III, is worth $3.6 billion today, and the total family fortune adds up to around $37 billion, according to Forbes data from December 2020.

24 March 2022
Features
Wyoming: the Wyss family – $7.2 billion
50 of By Oceana (The Wyss Foundation and Oceana) [CC BY 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
List View Gallery View Full screen

Wyoming: the Wyss family – $7.2 billion

Swiss-born Hansjörg Wyss founded medical device manufacturer Synthes USA in 1979 and went on to sell the company to Johnson & Johnson in 2012 for $20.2 billion. The Wysses, who reside in Wilson, are major charity donors, having doled out millions to organizations that protect the environment, promote social justice and undertake scientific research. Hansjörg's net worth is currently $5.1 billion, while his daughter Amy has an estimated net worth of $2.1 billion, meaning the family's total wealth reaches $7.2 billion.

Now read about the Chinese company dividing the Western world

 

24 March 2022
Features
  • Mega-rich dynasties across America
  • Alabama: the Stephens family – $4 billion
  • Alaska: the Hyde and Rubini families – $300 million each
  • Arizona: the Garcia family – $13.9 billion
  • Arkansas: the Walton family – $247 billion
  • California: the Zuckerberg family – $77.4 billion
  • Colorado: the Anschutz family – $11 billion
  • Connecticut: the Sackler family – $10.8 billion
  • Delaware: the Gore family – $8.2 billion
  • Florida: the Peterffy family – $22.1 billion
  • Georgia: the Cox family – $31.9 billion
  • Hawaii: the Omidyar family – $12.9 billion
  • Idaho: the Simplot family – $7.7 billion
  • Illinois: the Pritzker family – $32.5 billion
  • Indiana: the Cook family – $11.9 billion
  • Iowa: the Stine family – $7.2 billion
  • Kansas: the Koch family – $125.4 billion
  • Kentucky: the Hughes/Gustavson family – $10.8 billion
  • Louisiana: the Benson family – $3.8 billion
  • Maine: the Alfond family – $9 billion
  • Maryland: the Lerner family – $4.6 billion
  • Massachusetts: the Johnson family – $32.4 billion
  • Michigan: the Meijer family – $16.8 billion
  • Minnesota: the Cargill-MacMillan family – $47 billion
  • Mississippi: the Duff family – $4 billion
  • Missouri: the Kroenke family – $19.7 billion
  • Montana: the Washington family – $7 billion
  • Nebraska: the Buffett family – $126.5 billion
  • Nevada: the Adelson family – $28.6 billion
  • New Hampshire: the Reimann family – $15.1 billion
  • New Jersey: the Dorrance family – $15 billion
  • New Mexico: the Chase family – $700 million+
  • New York: the Bloomberg family – $82 billion
  • North Carolina: the Goodnight family – up to $15.6 billion
  • North Dakota: the Tharaldson family – $1 billion
  • Ohio: the Wexner family – $5.8 billion
  • Oklahoma: the Love family – $9.8 billion
  • Oregon: the Knight family – $50.5 billion
  • Pennsylvania: the Mellon family – $11.5 billion
  • Rhode Island: the Nelson family – $2.2 billion
  • South Carolina: the Zucker family – $1.8 billion
  • South Dakota: the Sanford family – $3.4 billion
  • Tennessee: the Frist family – $21.4 billion
  • Texas: the Musk family – $266.1 billion
  • Utah: the Miller family – $3.2 billion
  • Vermont: the Abele family – $640 million
  • Virginia: the Mars family – $94 billion
  • Washington: the Bezos/Scott family – $240 billion
  • West Virginia: the Justice family – $513.3 million
  • Wisconsin: the Johnson family – $37 billion
  • Wyoming: the Wyss family – $7.2 billion

Home

  • Customer services
  • Article archives
  • Terms of use
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookie policy
  • Disclaimer

Compare Products

  • Credit cards
  • Loans
  • Mortgages
  • Life insurance
  • Savings accounts
  • Current accounts
  • International Money Transfer
  • ISAs
  • Gas and electricity
  • Car insurance
  • Home insurance
  • Travel insurance
  • Free credit report
  • Health Insurance
  • Investments

About

  • Lovefood
  • Loveexploring
  • Loveproperty
  • Loveincorporated
  • Jobs

lovemoney.com

36 Featherstone Street
London
EC1Y 8AE

Lovemoney.com limited is a registered company in England & Wales.
Company REG NO: 7406028 VAT NO: 945 6954 72

Copyright © lovemoney.com All rights reserved.
Terms of use Privacy policy Disclaimer