The S.C. Johnson Family
The S.C. Johnson family can trace its origins back to Samuel Curtis Johnson Sr and his creation of the Johnson’s Prepared Paste Wax Company back in 1886. Since then the company has changed hands through five generations, creating a true family dynasty. Conservative estimates put the family value at around $12 billion but with an annual revenue exceeding $11 billion it isn’t hard to see that number increasing all of their bank accounts.
The S.C. Johnson Family
The Newhouse family
The Newhouse family lays claim to owning Advance Publications Inc, one of the largest private newspaper chains in the entire country. Advance Publications is part of Conde Nast’s portfolio and the family also has up to a 45% stake in the world of Discovery Communications, which also owns the Discovery Channel and TLC. Right now the family is worth around $17 billion in grand total and we’d certainly need a few quick loans to get on their level.
The-Newhouse-Family
The Cox Family
Anne Cox has the largest share of stakes in Cox Enterprises, owning 66% of the company, and she alone is worth upwards of $15 billion. Cox Enterprises is the largest, or one of the largest, family owned enterprises in the United States. Raking in upwards of $15 billion per year and it is one of the largest private owned companies in the States. The company is based out of Atlanta and has ownership in television, newspapers, radio and much more.
The Cox Family
The Cargill Family
Now we are rolling up to the heavy hitters. The Cargill family is considered the 4th richest family in the entire country! Cargill Inc got its start back in 1965, well before you could just get an online loan for a business. Nowadays the company is pulling in nearly $140 billion in revenue.
The Cargill Family
The Meijer Family
Now, you may already be familiar with the Meijer family name thanks to their chain of supermarkets that string all across the Midwest. The family founded their first store back in 1934 in their home state of Michigan. Hendrik Meijer, a Dutch immigrant, shrugged off his old career of being a barber to start the company during the Great Depression. Hendrik and his son Frederik were the first two employees but time would show that they would be far from the last. This family grown company rose literally from nothing to become one of the biggest supermarket chains in the country. There are now over 200 different stores, 177 different gas stations, and an almost uncountable amount of employees working with the company.
The Meijer Family
The Pritzker Family
The Prizker family name might not be a household name to you but you are probably aware of what they are known for offering, as this family can trace its mass of wealth back to Jay Pritzker, the founder of the Hyatt Hotel chains. Moreover the Pritzker’s have grown their company to take ownership of the Royal Caribbean cruise lines, the Superior Bank of Chicago, the Marmon Group and much more.
The Pritzker Family
The Hearst Family
When we speak of old media we speak typically of families like the Hearst Family whose roots go back to 1880. From there, the Heart family grew as one of the United State’s most influential media empires. The Hearst Family are now global publishers who have their name on the byline of up to 300 different magazines around the world. Furthermore, they also have stakes in ESPN and many other cable networks.
The Hearst Family
The Duncan Family
You might not know of the Duncan family first hand but you’ve definitely utilized some of their products. The Duncan family can thank clan patriarch Dan Duncan for their mass wealth – he is the man behind Enterprise Products and has been heavily involved with his company’s work with crude oil and natural gas. As a whole, the family is worth somewhere in the neighborhood of $22 billion.
Dan Duncan
The Mars Family
Are you familiar with the Mars Bar line of candy? You are? Good, well the Mars Family is as close to the real life Willy Wonka name as you can get. Frank Mars created the company, Mars Inc, and has since then grown it into one of the largest private companies in the United States. Most noteworthy is that Mars Inc has no public shares and is owned completely by the family. Mars also has their hand in dog food as they also own the Pedigree line.
The Mars Family
The Koch Family
The Koch family has dramatically divergent reputations depending on who you decide to talk to due to their political views. However, there is no arguing just how wealthy they are. Fred Koch founded an oil refinery company after inventing a way to refine heavy oil to turn into gasoline. Moreover their net worth as a family exceeds $90 billion – whoa.
The Koch Family
The Walton Family
There is no discussion on familial wealth if you aren’t willing to talk about the Walton family – the family responsible to their growth of the superstore Wal Mart. The Walton family got their retail stores founded in 1962 and now have over 11,000 stores in 27 different countries with their name changing depending on the region.
The Walton Family
The Stryker Family – $7.9 Billion.
There was always going to be money to be made in the medical field and the Stryker took hold of that avenue in 1941. Stryker Corp was committed to selling new medical equipment to hospitals, such as the mobile hospital bed.
The Stryker Family
The Hughes Family – $7.9 Billion
The Hughes Family turned a modest storage shed investment into one of the larger self storage companies in the United States. Back in 1972, the Hughes family got started when B. Wayne Hughes purchased a single storage locker. Now the company has over 2,200 locations across the USA and Europe.
The Hughes Family
The Reyes Family – $8.6 Billion.
Reyes Beverage Group is located in Chicago, Illinois and they just recently signed a deal with Coca Cola in order to become an exclusive distributor. The family started out small, however, when they bought a tiny beer distributor out in South Carolina for just $740,000.
The Reyes Family
The Marshall Family – $9 Billion.
The Marshall family made their money the old fashioned way: by making smart investments. You see, the Marshall family invested in a 14% stake of Koch Industries and soon they were well rewarded for their faith in the company.
The Marshall Family
The Gallo Family – $10.3 Billion.
If you enjoy a nice glass of vintage wine then you will definitely respect the Gallo Family. The Gallo family got their start back in 1933 in a little shed out in Modesto, California. They sold their wine initially for just a buck a gallon and soon were involved with wholesalers across the country. Since then the Gallo family has turned into one of the largest winemaking companies in the world.
The Gallo Family
The Butt Family – $10.5 Billion.
Small town supermarkets were given a chance to live thanks to the work of Florence Butt and her work opening a supermarket back in 1905. After Florence’s husband was diagnosed with tuberculosis she took it upon herself to make something out of nothing. Now there are 316 supermarkets in the USA and an additional 52 throughout Mexico.
The Butt Family
The Rockefeller Family – $11 Billion.
Is there a name in the American lexicon that sounds wealthier than ‘Rockefeller’? We make that association for good reason, too. The Rockefeller’s were the first billionaires in American history thanks to their work in the world of oil back in the 1850s. The entire Rockefeller family has since been philanthropic minded with their fortune, giving plenty of money to schools and the needy around the world.
The Rockefeller Family
The Fisher Family – $11 Billion.
The Fisher family got their fortune back in 1969 when they got into the world of clothing manufacturing and retail. Donald Fisher, who died back in 2009, was tired of looking for jeans that he could wear — especially those dreaded Levi’s that were always being shucked at him. So he created the Gap store that we know and love today. The original name for the store would have been ‘Pants and Disc’s’ as he also wanted to focus on music.
The Fisher Family
The Mellon Family – $12 Billion
The Mellon family made their fortune in a rather traditional way: real estate and banking. Judge Thomas Mellon moved from Ireland to America in 1818 and it would only take until the year 1840 for Thomas Mellon to turn his family into some of the wealthiest in the country.
The Mellon Family
The Busch Family – $13.5 Billion
Is there anything more essential to the American experience than quality light beer? You can thank the Busch family for their production of Busch and its associated products. The family almost lost their company to prohibition but they stayed afloat by selling legal products: ice cream and soda. Once prohibition was repealed by Franklin D. Roosevelt, the Busch family sent the then President 24 crates of their product.
The Busch Family
The Dorrance Family – $13.6 Billion.
Take a walk down your grocery store and you’ll see some of the Dorrance family trademark on the shelves. The Dorrance Family got its wealth thanks to John T. Dorrance who developed the Campbell Soup Company. He developed the formula for the soup back in 1897 and by 1914 he was president of the entire company.
The Dorrance Family
The Sackler Family – $14 Billion.
Depending on which side of the counter you are on you will think of the Sackler family as saviors or drug distributors when the truth is exactly in the middle. The Sackler Family made their wealth thanks to their development of the drug OxyContin. Furthermore, the Sackler family started off slowly producing simple drugs like laxatives and earwax remover but it was the aforementioned OxyContin that took them from a medicine manufacturer to a billion dollar family.
The Sackler Family
The DuPont Family – $15 Billion.
The DuPont Family is the proud owner of the oldest bloodline in the U.S.A. that leads to over $1 billion in earnings. Back in 1799 E.I DuPont escaped Europe and headed to America, seeking a place to start his own business. Here he would start manufacturing gunpowder and other weaponry. Eventually the researchers within his company would develop several important materials that we use heavily today: kevlar and teflon.
The DuPont Family
The Ziff Family – $15 Billion.
Though their name sounds like something pulled from a science fiction novel, the Ziff family are entirely real and completely self made. The Ziff family can trace their fortune all the way back to 1927 where grandfather William SR. first started his own publishing business. From there the company continued to grow until it was sold for a solid $1.4 Billion. The Ziff brothers, Dirk, Daniel, and Robert, would then re-invest this money and improve it exponentially to their current net worth.
The Ziff Family
The Lauder family – $16.5 Billion.
The Lauder family fortune was first established back in 1946 through the work of Estee Lauder. Lauder lived and worked in Queens, New York where she started his first business: selling her own homemade skin creams to women who were in hair salons. It wasn’t long until Estee started up her own company, Estee Lauder Cosmetics, and from there the rest is history. As you should know, the company now has 30 different high quality brands under their umbrella and it is still being run by the family.
The Lauder family
The Goldman Family – $13.7 Billion.
America’s richest real estate family is up next, although they lead quite the low-profile life. This family owns some 400 properties all across New York City, from retail and office space, to homes on the Upper East Side, and also a 17% stake in the World Trade Center developments.
The Goldman Family
The Hunt Family – $13.7 Billion.
The Hunt family’s source of wealth stems from the oil and gas industry, however nowadays they seem to focus more on real estate and sports teams. With a net worth of $13.7 billion, they’re in good hands to say the least.
The Hunt Family
The Brown Family – $12.3 Billion.
Brown-Forman Corp. is responsible for producing some of the world’s most popular alcohol, like Jack Daniel’s whiskey, Finlandia vodka, and Herradura tequila. Furthermore, some 25 family members share the whopping $12.3 billion dollar fortune.
The Brown Family
The Barbey Family – $6.1 Billion.
Since 1899, the Barbey family found its wealth from textiles and apparel. You probably know their companies such as Lee, Wrangler, and North Face.
The Barbey Family
The Bass Family – $8.2 Billion.
The four Bass brothers: Sid, Edward, Robert and Lee all inherited a small fortune from their oil tycoon uncle named Sid Richardson some four decades ago. Ever since, they have been building up that wealth to what it is now.
Bass Family
The Bechtel Family – $7.3 Billion.
You’re looking at the leaders of the engineering and construction business, the family who helped build the Hoover Dam and Channel Tunnel that is. Currently the Bechtel Corporation experiences some $37 billion in sales.
The Bechtel Family
The Belldegrun Family – $1 Billion.
The Belldegrun family’s wealth is thanks to Arie Belldegrun, M.D., FACS, an Israeli-American oncologist, who founded Kite Pharma. Kite Pharma is basically a company that specializes in the development of eradicating tumors – since just last year, they’ve seen investments soar to $1 billion.
The Belldegrun Family
The Cathy Family – $7 Billion.
Yup, you’re looking at the family who founded Chick-Fil-A. Truett Cathy opened the very first restaurant back in 1967 and currently has over 1,900 locations. Moreover, the Cathy family is best known for chicken as it is for the business’ Christian values as all restaurants are closed on Sundays.
The Cathy Family
The Crown Family – $8.8 Billion.
In 1919, Henry and his two brothers launched a building-supplies company moreover their holdings extend over the Aspen ski resort, stakes in both the New York Yankees and the Chicago Bulls sports teams, and 20% of Rockefeller Center. Furthermore, the Crown family still owns 10% of General Dynamic stock, which is worst $4.8 billion at press time and serves as the family’s largest single asset.
The Crown Family
The Dolan Family – $5.5 Billion.
The skinny about the Dolan family is that the cable television pioneer Charles Dolan is who founded Sterling Manhattan Cable back in 1961 and then its predecessor to HBO ten years later. Dolan traded this for a Long Island cable company with just 1,500 subscribers and he helped built the business into the successful Cablevision (which now has 3.1 million subscribers).
Dolan Family
The Durst Family – $5.2 Billion.
1915 was the year the Durst family found its footing as real estate giants, to date they own a $5.2 billion portfolio of noteworthy properties such as the Bank of America Tower, a 10% stake in One World Trade Center, and tons of office buildings across midtown Manhattan.
The Durst Family
The Getty Family – $5.4 Billion.
J. Paul Getty basically became the world’s richest man after he consolidated his empire in the U.S. and struck an unbelievable oil deal with Saudi Arabia in the 60’s and 70’s. His families empire is now worth a jaw dropping $5.4 billion!
The Getty Family
The Gore Family – $5.2 Billion.
Meet the family behind the Gore-Tex, a waterproof, breathable fabric membrane. Basically all the waterproof products we all know and love stems from the Gore family.
The Gore Family
The Haslam Family – $6 Billion.
You’re looking at one of Tennessee’s most powerful families, the Haslam family own 67% of Knoxville-based $31 billion (sales) Pilot Flying J and furthermore, one of the founder’s sons, Bill, is the governor of said state. Oh yeah, they also own the Cleveland Browns football team.
The Haslam Family
The Hilton Family – $2.3 billion.
Come on, the Hilton Hotels & Resorts are everywhere so its no wonder they make the list and with a whopping $2.3 billion net worth to boot.
The Hilton Family
The Jenkins Family – $6.8 Billion.
The Jenkins family are behind the giant chain Publix Super Markets, which operates over 1,000 stores across the Southeast. Currently it serves as the largest employee-owned company in America.
The Jenkins Family
The Kluge Family – $6 Billion.
John Kluge earned his fortune by trading broadcast and cellular properties; such as Metromedia TV stations to News Corp and Hearst. When he passed away in 2010, Kluge actually gave $400 million to help fund financial aid at Columbia University.
Kluge Family
The LeFrak Family – $6.6 Billion.
New York City and the tri-state area is home to the largest real estate empires of the LeFrak family. As such, this family boasts of a $6.6 billion net worth over time.
The LeFrak Family
The Marriott Family – $6.9 Billion
Today, Marriott International controls almost 4,000 hotels in over 70 countries – which of course includes the Ritz-Carlton and Bulgari brands. Over time, their net worth has compiled to $6.9 billion, not bad at all.
The Marriott Family
The Moran Family – $5.5 Billion.
Jim Moran began his life as a mere gas-station attendant and died a billionaire. JM Family Enterprises started out with their first dealership in 1946 selling Hudsons then they became a Ford dealership. In 1968, they formed a partnership with Toyota to distribute across the Southeast and quickly grew into the largest Toyota distributor in the U.S.
The Moran Family
