Meet America’s richest families, courtesy of Forbes
|
Version 0 of 1. Forbes’s list of richest families was released this week. Here are the top 10: 1. Walton family Net worth: $152 billion Source of wealth: Wal-Mart With $476 billion in revenue, Wal-Mart still reigns as the world’s largest retailer, a far cry from the company started by Sam Walton and his brother, James, in a small Arkansas town in 1962. The fortune they left is shared among Sam’s three living children and daughter-in-law, as well as James’s two daughters.
2. Koch family Net worth: $89 billion Source of wealth: Diversified Koch Industries is now the nation’s second-largest private company, with $115 billion in sales.
3. Mars family Net worth: $60 billion Source of wealth: Candy Mars is largest candy company in the world. The company, founded in 1911 by Frank Mars in Tacoma, Wash., invented M&M candies — more than 400 million are produced each day — along with Snickers, Skittles and the namesake Mars bar. Mars also makes Uncle Ben’s rice and owns pet food brands Pedigree and Whiskas.
4. Cargill-MacMillan family Net worth: $43 billion Source of wealth: Cargill Inc. Cargill is the largest privately held company in the country. It is invested in food, agriculture, financial and industrial products and services on a global scale. So it’s no surprise the six family members who own an estimated 88 percent stake in the company are billionaires.
5. Johnson family Net worth: $39 billion Source of wealth: Money management Edward C. Johnson II founded Fidelity Investments in 1946. His son, Edward “Ned” Johnson III, and his grandchildren own 49 percent of the Boston-based firm, the country’s second largest mutual fund with $1.7 trillion under management.
6. Hearst family Net worth: $35 billion Source of wealth: Hearst Corp. George Hearst acquired the San Francisco Examiner as compensation for a gambling debt. In 1887, George’s son, William Randolph Hearst (the alleged model for “Citizen Kane”), took over the paper. Soon thereafter he purchased the New York Journal and began building a media empire. According to Forbes, The Hearst livery now includes “49 newspapers, nearly 340 magazines around the globe, and valuable stakes in cable TV channels ESPN, Lifetime and A&E.”
7. Cox family Net worth: $32 billion Source of wealth: Media The Cox family, who run an Atlanta-based media empire, are worth an estimated $32 billion, according to Forbes. The holdings include Cox Communications, Cox Media Group, AutoTrader Group and Kelley Blue Book. Anne Cox Chambers is the majority owner, with a 50 percent stake, according to Forbes.
8. Pritzker family Net worth: $29 billion Source of wealth: Hotels, investments Eleven family members make up the Pritzker family, including Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker. The family is most famous for owning the Hyatt hotel chain.
9. S.C. Johnson family Net worth: $25.5 billion Source of wealth: Cleaning products The Johnson family is a leading maker of household products, including Pledge, Windex, Saran Wrap and, of course, car wax. The company started in 1886 as a small parquet flooring company in Racine, Wis.
10. Duncan family Net worth: $25.4 billion Source of wealth: Energy Born poor in rural Center, Tex., Dan Duncan was raised by his grandmother. He eventually struck it rich in natural gas, oil and petrochemical pipelines.
|