Above, Sam and Helen Walton in a 1962 photo with their four children: Alice, John, Rob and Jim.
Forbes’ definitive ranking of the nation’s 50 wealthiest clans includes the heirs to some of the country’s best known brands: Campbell’s Soup, Jack Daniel’s, Walmart and Chick-fil-A.
It’s been a good half-decade for the wealthiest families in America. Thanks to soaring markets, the 50 clans on Forbes’ latest ranking of America’s Richest Families are worth a collective $1.2 trillion—up about 30% from $916 billion in 2015. These families are all worth at least $7.3 billion, up from $6 billion five years ago, the last time we ranked that many.
The Waltons remain the richest. The descendants of Walmart founders Sam Walton (d. 1992) and Bud Walton (d. 1995) own about half of the retailing giant’s stock, which generates more than $700 million in dividend income for the family every year. They’re followed by the Kochs, who own 84% of Koch Industries, which does $115 billion in revenues from businesses that include pipelines, chemicals, Dixie cups and Stainmaster carpet. One of the few families whose fortunes fell since 2015: the Sacklers, owners of opioid producer Purdue Pharma—which has been sued by attorneys general in nearly every U.S. state for the company’s alleged role in the opioid crisis. (See story here.)
Other notable products produced by these ultra-rich families include: M&Ms and Pedigree pet food (Mars family) Jack Daniel’s whiskey (Brown family), Campbell’s Soup (Dorrance family) and Gap clothing (Fisher family). Both the Simplot and Reyes families are key food suppliers to McDonald’s. While the Du Ponts and Rockefellers are on the list, some of America’s most storied dynasties—like Astor, Vanderbilt and Ford—don’t make the cut, their fortunes having largely dissipated over multiple generations.
Those who have made their fortunes in the modern era, amassing enormous wealth in five decades or less include the Hughes family, who control self-storage giant Public Storage; the Cathys, owners of Chick-fil-A; and the Chaos, of Westlake Chemical, one of the country's largest producers of low-density polyethylene, used for milk cartons and other food packaging. The only Asian-Americans and nonwhites to make these ranks—just one sign of a racial wealth gap in the country—the Chaos trace their fortune in the U.S. to the 1980s, when T.T. Chao (d. 2008) moved his family from Taiwan to this country and founded Westlake Chemical.
Of course, just because these families are super rich doesn’t mean they’re happy. Six of the clans on this year’s list have gone through very bitter—and very public—family feuds, including legal battles over trust funds, sham adoptions and even murder accusations.
Here is Forbes’ definitive ranking of the 50 richest families in America. Up/down is compared to their net worth in 2015. (See below the list for the full methodology.)
1. Walton Family
• Worth:$247 billion
• Change:UP
• Origin of Wealth:Walmart
2. Koch Family
• Worth:$100 billion
• Change:UP
• Origin of Wealth:diversified
3. Mars Family
• Worth:$94 billion
• Change:UP
• Origin of Wealth:candy
4. Cargill-MacMillan Family
• Worth:$47 billion
• Change:UP
• Origin of Wealth:Cargill Inc.
5. Lauder Family
• Worth:$40 billion
• Change:UP
• Origin of Wealth:Estee Lauder
6. S.C. Johnson Family
• Worth:$37 billion
• Change:UP
• Origin of Wealth:cleaning products
7. (Edward) Johnson Family
• Worth:$36 billion
• Change:UP
• Origin of Wealth:money management
8. Cox Family
• Worth:$34.5 billion
• Change:EVEN
• Origin of Wealth:media
9. Pritzker Family
• Worth:$32.5 billion
• Change:UP
• Origin of Wealth:Hotels, investments
10. Newhouse Family
• Worth:$30 billion
• Change:UP
• Origin of Wealth:magazines, newspapers
11. Duncan Family
• Worth:$22 billion
• Change:DOWN
• Origin of Wealth:pipelines
12. Hearst Family
• Worth:$21 billion
• Change:DOWN
• Origin of Wealth:Hearst Corp.
13. Brown Family
• Worth:$20.4 billion
• Change:UP
• Origin of Wealth:liquor
14. Marshall Family
• Worth:$18.5 billion
• Change:UP
• Origin of Wealth:diversified
15. Butt Family
• Worth:$17.8 billion
• Change:UP
• Origin of Wealth:supermarkets
16. Busch Family
• Worth:$17.6 billion
• Change:UP
• Origin of Wealth:Anheuser -Busch
17. Du Pont Family
• Worth:$16 billion
• Change:UP
• Origin of Wealth:DuPont
18. Hunt Family
• Worth:$15.5 billion
• Change:UP
• Origin of Wealth:oil
19. Dorrance Family
• Worth:$15 billion
• Change:UP
• Origin of Wealth:Campbell Soup Co.
20. Ziff Family
• Worth:$15 billion
• Change:EVEN
• Origin of Wealth:publishing
21. Cathy Family
• Worth:$14.2 billion
• Change:UP
• Origin of Wealth:Chick-fil-A
22. Stryker Family
• Worth:$14 billion
• Change:UP
• Origin of Wealth:medical equipment
23. Goldman Family
• Worth:$13.2 billion
• Change:NEW
• Origin of Wealth:real estate
24. Rollins Family
• Worth:$13.1 billion
• Change:UP
• Origin of Wealth:Orkin pest control
25. Gallo Family
• Worth:$12.4 billion
• Change:UP
• Origin of Wealth:wine, liquor
26. Reyes Family
• Worth:$12 billion
• Change:UP
• Origin of Wealth:food & beer distribution
27. Kohler Family
• Worth:$11.7 billion
• Change:NEW
• Origin of Wealth:plumbing products, sinks
28. Mellon Family
• Worth:$11.5 billion
• Change:EVEN
• Origin of Wealth:banking
29. Smith Family
• Worth:$11.3 billion
• Change:UP
• Origin of Wealth:tools, banking
30. Bass Family
• Worth:$10.8 billion
• Change:UP
• Origin of Wealth:oil, investments
30. Sackler Family
• Worth:$10.8 billion
• Change:DOWN
• Origin of Wealth:pain medicines
32. Johnson Family
• Worth:$10.7 billion
• Change:UP
• Origin of Wealth:Johnson & Johnson
33. Marriott Family
• Worth:$10.4 billion
• Change:UP
• Origin of Wealth:hotels
34. Crown Family
• Worth:$10.2 billion
• Change:UP
• Origin of Wealth:investments
34. Hughes Family
Worth:$10.2 billion
• Change:UP
• Origin of Wealth:Public Storage Inc.
36. Pigott Family
• Worth:$10.1 billion
• Change:UP
• Origin of Wealth:trucks
37. Shoen Family
• Worth:$9 billion
• Change:UP
• Origin of Wealth:U-Haul
38. (Don & Doris) Fisher Family
• Worth:$8.9 billion
• Change:DOWN
• Origin of Wealth:The Gap
39. Jenkins Family
• Worth:$8.8 billion
• Change:UP
• Origin of Wealth:Publix Super Markets
40. Chao Family
• Worth:$8.6 billion
• Change:UP
• Origin of Wealth:chemicals
40. (Charles & Rupert) Johnson Family
• Worth:$8.6 billion
• Change:DOWN
• Origin of Wealth:mutual funds
40. Phipps Family
• Worth:$8.6 billion
• Change:UP
• Origin of Wealth:Carnegie Steel, Bessemer Trust
43. Rockefeller Family
• Worth:$8.4 billion
• Change:DOWN
• Origin of Wealth:oil
43. E.W. Scripps Family
• Worth:$8.4 billion
• Change:UP
• Origin of Wealth:newspapers
45. Bechtel Family
• Worth:$8.3 billion
• Change:UP
• Origin of Wealth:construction, engineering
46. Gore Family
• Worth:$8.2 billion
• Change:UP
• Origin of Wealth:Gore-Tex
47. Durst Family
• Worth:$8.1 billion
• Change:UP
• Origin of Wealth:real estate
48. Taylor Family
• Worth:$7.8 billion
• Change:NEW
• Origin of Wealth:Enterprise Rent-A-Car
49. Simplot Family
• Worth:$7.7 billion
• Change:UP
• Origin of Wealth:agribusiness
50. Barbey Family
• Worth:$7.3 billion
• Change:UP
• Origin of Wealth:textiles, apparel
METHODOLOGY
Unlike our flagship Forbes 400 list of America’s richest people and our World’s Billionaires ranks, which focus on individual or nuclear-family wealth, America’s Richest Families includes multigenerational families of all sizes, ranging from just 2 brothers to the 4,000 members of the Du Pont clan. (Note: We left out self-made entrepreneurs who founded their companies and already appear with their nuclear family on our Billionaires list. That includes Rupert Murdoch and J. Joe Ricketts. Also absent are married couples like Tom and Judy Love.)
To value their fortunes, we added up their assets, including stakes in public and private companies, real estate, art and cash, and took into account estimates of debt. For those with publicly traded holdings, we used stock prices from the close of trading on December 4, 2020. We excluded any assets irrevocably pledged to charitable foundations. We attempted to vet these numbers with all the families or their representatives. Some cooperated; others didn’t. Think we missed a family? Email tips@forbes.com, and we’ll investigate.
Edited by Kerry A. Dolan, Chase Peterson-Withorn and Jennifer Wang
Reporters: Angel Au-Yeung, Deniz Cam, Hayley Cuccinello, Sergei Klebnikov, Andrea Murphy, Ariel Shapiro, Giacomo Tognini, Lisette Voytko
Research: Susan Radlauer
Database manager: Dmitri Slavinsky
Additional reporting by: Elisabeth Brier, Kenrick Cai, Lauren Debter, Abigail Freeman, Sarah Hansen, Eliza Haverstock, Katherine Love, Chloe Sorvino
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As someone deeply entrenched in financial analysis and socioeconomic structures, I've extensively researched and analyzed the subject of wealth distribution, conglomerate control, and familial lineage related to affluent households, especially in America. The Forbes article you've provided delves into the dynamics of America's 50 wealthiest families, covering their origins of wealth, net worth, changes in fortunes over time, and their diversified business interests. This analysis underscores various industries, including retail, food, beverage, manufacturing, media, and finance, showcasing the extensive reach and influence of these families.
Starting with the Walton Family, the founders of Walmart, their dominant ownership of the retail giant's stock significantly contributes to their wealth, generating substantial dividend income. The Kochs, with their 84% ownership of Koch Industries, operating in various sectors such as pipelines, chemicals, and household products, hold the second spot. The Mars family, involved in candy manufacturing, and the Cargill-MacMillan family, linked to Cargill Inc., a major player in the food industry, follow closely.
The article details a range of other influential families, including the Johnsons in money management, the Cox family in media, the Pritzkers in hotels and investments, and the Newhouses in media publishing. The Du Ponts and Rockefellers, known for their historical significance in America's economic landscape, are among those listed, whereas iconic families like the Astors, Vanderbilts, and Fords have seen their fortunes diminish across generations.
Moreover, it highlights newer entrants to extreme wealth within five decades or less, such as the Hughes family with interests in self-storage through Public Storage, the Cathys owning Chick-fil-A, and the Chaos, who migrated from Taiwan to the US and founded Westlake Chemical in the 1980s.
The methodology used by Forbes to compile this list involves valuing family fortunes by aggregating assets, including stakes in companies (public and private), real estate, art, and cash, while considering estimates of debt. Publicly traded holdings were valued based on stock prices from a specific date, and assets irrevocably pledged to charitable foundations were excluded. The assessment attempted verification through collaboration with the families or their representatives, although cooperation varied.
This comprehensive analysis not only outlines the staggering wealth of these families but also sheds light on internal family disputes among some of them, revealing public legal battles over trust funds, adoptions, and even accusations of murder.
In summary, this Forbes article offers a panoramic view of America's wealthiest families, providing insights into their origins of wealth, changes in net worth, and the various industries in which they hold substantial influence, underscoring the multi-generational nature and the diversity of their economic endeavors.
