The Richest Person in Every U.S. State in 2015
Who’s the wealthiest person in your state?
If you’re curious about the top earners in the United Stat-s, Forbes just released a state-by-state breakdown of America’s richest individuals.
Readers will probably recognize some famous names like Nebraska-based Warren Buffett, California’s Larry Ellison, and Washington’s Bill Gates. But there are plenty of less recognizable figures that made the cut.
Take Anne Cox Chambers from Georgia, whose privately-held Cox Enterprises brings her total wealth to a staggering $15.5 billion. Another lesser known billionaire is oil tycoon, Harold Hamm. As Chairman and CEO of Continental Resources Inc., Hamm amassed a fortune of $14.6 billion. (Source: Forbes, June 23, 2015.)
And just when you thought it couldn’t get more impressive, it turns out there are family fortunes so large that multiple members make the list. David Koch is the wealthiest person in New York, while his brother Charles Koch takes the top spot in Kansas. Each brother has a net worth of $42.7 billion.
The family behind retailing giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc. also has multiple people on the list. Christy, Alice, and Jim Walton all have around $35.0 billion apiece, making them the richest people in Wyoming, Texas, and Arkansas, respectively. However, they rank poorly on Forbes’s Self-Made Score chart, having inherited their wealth from their father, Sam Walton.
Bill Gates still tops the list as the wealthiest man in the U.S., and the world, for that matter. His net worth is $78.8 billion.
The combined wealth of all 442 billionaires adds up to $700 billion. That’s enough to buy Google Inc. and Facebook Inc., and still have $100 billion left over. Interestingly, it’s also the same amount as the Troubled Asset Relief Program which was needed to bail out Wall Street banks in 2008.
State |
Name |
Net Worth |
Origin of Wealth |
| Alabama | Garry Drummond | $980 M | Drummond Company Inc. – Coal |
| Alaska | Robert Gillam | $320 M | McKinley Capital Management LLC – Money management |
| Arizona | Bruce Halle | $6 B | Discount Tire Co. Inc. – Tires |
| Arkansas | Jim Walton | $37.6 B | Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE/WMT) – Retail |
| California | Larry Ellison | $52.8 B | Oracle Corp. (NYSE/ORCL) – Computer technology |
| Colorado | Charles Ergen | $18.2 B | Dish Network Corp. (NASDAQ/DISH) – Satellite television provider |
| Connecticut | Ray Dalio | $15.4 B | Bridgewater Associates – Hedge funds |
| Delaware | Robert Gore | $675 M | L. Gore & Associates Inc. -Gore-Tex |
| Delaware | Elizabeth Snyder | $675 M | L. Gore & Associates Inc. -Gore-Tex |
| Florida | Micky Arison | $7.4 B | Carnival Corp. (NYSE/CCL) – Cruises |
| Georgia | Anne Cox Chambers | $17 B | Cox Enterprises – Media |
| Hawaii | Pierre Omidyar | $8.1 B | eBay Inc. (NASDAQ/ EBAY) – Online auctioneer |
| Idaho | Scott Simplot | $2.3 B | J.R. Simplot Co. – Frozen French fries and fertilizer |
| Illinois | Ken Griffin | $6.6 B | Citadel LLC – Hedge funds |
| Indiana | Carl Cook | $6.7 B | Cook Group – Medical devices |
| Iowa | Harry Stine | $3.4 B | Stine Seed – Agriculture |
| Kansas | Charles Koch | $42.7 B | Koch Industries Inc. – Diversified |
| Kentucky | Wayne Hughes | $2.5 B | Public Storage (NYSE/PSA) – Storage |
| Louisiana | Tom Benson | $1.9 B | Owner, New Orleans Saints and New Orleans Pelicans |
| Maine | Bill Alfond | $1.2 B | Dexter Shoe Co. – Shoes |
| Maine | Susan Alfond | $1.2 B | Dexter Shoe Co. – Shoes |
| Maryland | Ted Lerner | $5 B | Lerner Enterprises – Real estate; Owner, Washington Nationals |
| Massachusetts | Abigail Johnson | $13.4 B | Fidelity Investments – Money management |
| Michigan | Hank & Doug Meijer | $10.1 B | Meijer Inc. – Supermarkets |
| Minnesota | Whitney MacMillan | $4.7 B | Cargill Inc. – Agriculture |
| Mississippi | Leslie Lampton | $1 B | Ergon Inc. – Oil refining, chemicals |
| Missouri | Jack Taylor | $12.7 B | Enterprise Holdings Inc. -Enterprise Rent-A-Car |
| Montana | Dennis Washington | $5.8 B | Washington Companies – Construction, mining |
| Nebraska | Warren Buffett | $70.2 B | Berkshire Hathaway Inc.(NYSE/BRK.A, BRK.B) – Multinational conglomerate |
| Nevada | Sheldon Adelson | $29.7 B | Las Vegas Sands Corp.(NYSE/LVS) – Casinos |
| New Hampshire | Andrea Reimann-Ciardelli | $1 B | JAB Holding Co. – Consumer goods |
| New Jersey | David Tepper | $10.4 B | Appaloosa Management – Hedge funds |
| New Mexico | Mack C. Chase | $650 M | Mack Energy Corp. – Oil |
| New York | David Koch | $42.7 B | Koch Industries Inc. – Diversified |
| North Carolina | James Goodnight | $7.5 B | SAS Institute – Software |
| North Dakota | Gary Tharaldson | $930 M | Tharaldson Motels Inc. – Hotels |
| Ohio | Leslie “Les” Wexner | $7.5 B | L Brands Inc. (NYSE/LB) – Retail (The Limited, Victoria’s Secret, Bath & Body Works, and more) |
| Oklahoma | Harold Hamm | $13.3 B | Continental Resources Inc.(NYSE/CLR) – Oil & gas |
| Oregon | Phil Knight | $22.9 B | Nike Inc. (NYSE/NKE) – Athletic apparel |
| Pennsylvania | Mary Alice Dorrance Malone | $3.2 B | Campbell Soup Co. (NYSE/CPB) – Food |
| Rhode Island | Jonathan Nelson | $2.1 B | Providence Equity Partners Inc. – Private equity |
| South Carolina | Anita Zucker | $2.2 B | Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) – Retail (Saks Fifth Avenue, Lord & Taylor, and more.) |
| South Dakota | Denny Sanford | $1.4 B | United National Corp. – Banking, credit cards |
| Tennessee | Thomas Frist, Jr. | $8.2 B | Hospital Corporation of America – Healthcare |
| Texas | Alice Walton | $36.4 B | Wal-Mart Stores Inc. – Retail |
| Utah | Jon Huntsman | $1.1 B | Huntsman Corp. (NYSE/HUN) – Chemicals |
| Vermont | John Abele | $600 M | Boston Scientific Corp.(NYSE/BSX) – Medical devices |
| Virginia | Jacqueline Mars | $26.8 B | Mars Inc. – Candy |
| Washington | Bill Gates | $78.8 B | Microsoft Corp. – Computer technology |
| West Virginia | Jim Justice, II | $1.7 B | Justice Companies Inc. – Coal; Greenbrier Resort |
| Wisconsin | John Menard, Jr. | $9.1 B | Menard Inc. – Home retail |
| Wyoming | Christy Walton | $39.1 B | Wal-Mart Stores Inc. – Retail |
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From: Michael Lombardi, MBA