Collectively, these 45 ultra-rich families are valued at about $1.3 trillion, roughly ten times the personal wealth of Warren Buffett.
Forbes has identified 45 American families with fortunes exceeding $10 billion, and the wealthiest among them surpasses even Elon Musk, according to the latest rankings.
The heirs of Walmart founder Sam Walton retain approximately 45% ownership of the retail behemoth, amassing a combined net worth of $267 billion as of January 16, as per Forbes. This staggering figure overshadows the net worth of Tesla and SpaceX magnate Elon Musk, which stands at around $202 billion. Even Indian billionaires such as Mukesh Ambani, Gautam Adani and Ratan Tata's wealth is no match for the family's wealth.
Collectively, these 45 ultra-rich families are valued at about $1.3 trillion, roughly ten times the personal wealth of Warren Buffett.
Following the Waltons, the Mars family holds the second-largest fortune at $117 billion, primarily stemming from their ties to the confectionery empire. The list features several other prominent families including Koch, Lauder, Hearst, and Marriott.
However, notable names like Carnegie, Vanderbilt, and Getty have fallen off the rankings due to various factors such as stock performance, legal battles, tax implications, and philanthropic endeavors.
Even the descendants of John D. Rockefeller, once the wealthiest American, barely made the cut with a $10.3 billion fortune.
Many of these affluent families amassed their wealth by establishing and expanding the nation's largest private enterprises. For instance, the Cargill-MacMillan family boasts a fortune exceeding $60 billion, primarily from their majority ownership of Cargill, a major player in the ingredients industry.
Others hold significant stakes in public corporations they helped build, such as the Dorrance family's nearly 40% ownership of Campbell Soup and the Brown family's half ownership of Brown-Forman, the parent company of Jack Daniel's. Some families have divested their interests, like the Busch family's sale of their Anheuser-Busch stake to InBev in 2008.
Additionally, the Haslam family liquidated their entire holding in Pilot Travel Centers for approximately $13 billion, selling to Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway over a few years.
These wealthy lineages underscore that creating a substantial, enduring business appears to be the most effective method of amassing vast generational wealth, regardless of whether it remains within the family, goes private, or is sold.
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