Retail Latin America: Tracking The Fortunes Of America's Richest Families: The States With The Most Billion-Dollar Clans

Liyan ChenForbes Staff

You may have seen the new FORBES list of America’s Richest Families — 185 clans with a net worth of $1 billion or more. But where do they make their fortunes? FORBES looked at the headquarters of the companies behind America’s richest families to find the top states and cities that are home to the country’s billionaire clans.

With 26 families and a total wealth of $159 billion, New York leads all states in both the number of billion-dollar families and their combined fortunes. The Hearst family takes the crown as New York’s richest family with a combined fortune of $35 billion from its estimated 64 members. Other household names include the Newhouse media mogul family ($17 billion), cosmetics giant the Lauder family ($15 billion), hedge fund titan the Ziff family ($14 billion), and of course, the iconic Rockefeller family ($10 billion), known to many because of Rockefeller Center and Rockefeller University. A few of New York’s real estate dynasties also make the list, including the LeFraks ($6.5 billion), the Dursts ($4.4 billion) and the Rudins ($4.4 billion).

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But the wealth of New York’s billionaire families seems less impressive when compared to Arkansas, which has the second highest total wealth ($158 billion) but from only three families: the Waltons ($152 billion), the Stephens ($3 billion), and the Tysons ($2.8 billion). Arkansas’ astounding family wealth mostly comes from America’s richest family — the Waltons — who control the country’s largest retailer, Wal-Mart Stores. The company now has $245 billion in market value and employs over 2.2 million people. The Waltons are wealthier than the 22 billion-dollar families from New York City combined ($150 billion).

Texas ranks third in dollar-terms with total combined families fortune of $105 billion, even though it has 20 clans, the second largest number of billionaire families. The state’s roster is filled with names of America’s most influential oil and gas tycoons, such as the Duncans ($25.4 billion), the Hunts ($15 billion), the Marshalls ($9.3 billion), the Perots ($5.6 billion). The Butt family, which controls H.E. Butt Grocery of Texas founded by Charles Butt’s grandfather, is the third richest ($10.1 billion) in the state.

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Having a larger number of billionaire clans does not necessarily mean a greater combined fortune from those states. While California and Illinois have many more families who make our list, their combined fortunes trail Kansas, where the Koch family is located. With a combined fortune of $91 billion from the Koches and the Slawsons, Kansas ranks fourth in terms of total family net worth. As the second richest family in the United States, the Koch family alone is worth $89 billion – almost $15 billion more than the combined net worth of all the billion-dollar families in California ($75 billion). David and Charles Koch, two of the four Koch brothers, own the vast majority of Koch Industries, the country’s second-largest private company, with holdings in oil refining, pipelines, paper goods, building materials and electronic components.

Not surprisingly, New York City has the most blue-blooded dynasties among all U.S. cities, thanks to a total of 22 families with a combined $150 billion fortune. Chicago follows New York with 8 billionaire clans with a total net worth of $55 billion. Both Dallas ($36 billion) and San Francisco ($23 billion) have five billionaire families each. In terms of total fortune from the richest families, the cities behind America’s three richest families stand out: Bentonville, Arkansas ($152 billion from the Walton family), Wichita, Kansas ($89 billion from the Koch family), and McLean, Virginia ($60 billion from the Mars family).