Top 10 Wealthiest Families in the World (2024)

Regardless of your financial status, keeping tabs on the ultrarich—whether with admiration, envy, or resentment—is probably more pleasurable and less demanding than researching a mortgage, shopping for online brokers, or studying finance and economics.

The appeal of wealthy families reflects a culture that fetishizes wealth and lionizes the rich. The upper echelon of business leaders are celebrities of a sort, scrutinized for their ability to performas athletes, actors, and politicians.

Successful family businesses may offer a universal appeal.Few of us will ever become billionaires, but everyone has a family. What’s more, family businesses imply values of authenticity, tradition, heritage, lineage, and quality. And wealthy families suggest royalty, especially if the wealth is intergenerational.

For the sake of simplicity, we have limited our list of richest families to those groups who originally made their fortunes through business, even if some heirs who still enjoy the money haven’t been employed in the business.

Key Takeaways

  • At $224.5 billion, the Waltons are the richest family in the world thanks to their massive stake in Walmart, the world's largest company by revenue.
  • The fourth generation of the Mars family, the second-richest clan after the Waltons, currently runs the eponymously named Mars candy company.
  • Although estimated to be $105 billion, the exact wealth of the House of Saud is difficult to accurately assess due in large part to the size of the royal family.
  • By focusing solely on families, this list does not include the richest people in the world, including Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk.

1.Walton Family

  • Estimated Wealth: $224.5 billion
  • Company: Walmart

The Waltons are the richest family in the world. At the top of the value chain, in 2022, Jim, Alice, and Rob Walton are each worth around $65 billion and ranked No. 16, 18, and 19, respectively, on Forbes' billionaire list.

Walmart is a retail behemoth. Founded by Sam Walton in Arkansas in 1962, Walmart is now the world’s largest company by 2021 revenues, with $524 billion and over 2.3 million U.S. associates.

If Walmart employees comprised their own city, it would be the fifth most populous American city.The company operates over 10,500 retail stores worldwide and 4,720 stores in the U.S. as of December 2022.

Best known for big-box stores in rural and suburban America, Walmart is celebrated for its low-priced products and criticized for its labor practices. The company failed to bring its big-box consumer lifestyle to New York City, unlike its competitor, Target.

2. Mars Family

  • Estimated Wealth: $160 billion
  • Company: Mars

Mars is the Walmart of candy—a multigenerational family business that is ubiquitous and wildly popular. Today, the company is better known for making M&Ms than for its eponymous Mars bar. In 2017, the world’s largest candy company diversified with the purchase of VCA, a pet care company, for $9.1 billion.

Siblings Jacqueline and John Mars, whose grandfather, Frank Mars, founded the company,each have a net worth of $31.7 billion and are tied for No. 41 on Forbes' list of billionaires. The company is now being run by some of their children, the fourth generation of Mars family members.

3.Koch Family

  • Estimated Wealth: $128.8 billion
  • Company: Koch Industries

Charles Koch owes his staggering fortune to an oil business founded by his father, but today, he is perhaps better known to the general public for his politics, digging into his deep pockets to place his stamp on it—financing candidates and libertarian think tanks, funding university professorships, and lobbying for policy positions, all aimed at furthering a conservative agenda.

Charles partnered with his brother David until the latter’s death in 2019. Charles is worth an estimated $60 billion, tied for the 21st spot with David’s widow Julia Koch and family on the Forbes billionaires list.

4. Al Saud Family

  • Estimated Wealth: $105 billion
  • Company: Saudi Royal Family

The House of Saud, the Saudi royal family, has a monarchical history extending back nearly a century. The family’s massive fortune, estimated at $105 billion, has grown thanks to decades of payments from the Royal Diwan, the king’s executive office.

Ties with Saudi Aramco, one of the world’s most profitable companies and a behemoth of the oil industry, ensure that the Saudi royal family continues to accumulate wealth. It’s difficult to accurately assess the wealth of the House of Saud, in part because the family contains as many as 15,000 extended members, many of whom have founded businesses, received government contracts, and more.

5. Hermès Family

  • Estimated Wealth: $94.6 billion
  • Company: Hermès

French fashion house and luxury purveyor Hermès has dazzled the world with its signature scarves, neckties, and perfumes, as well as its iconic Kelly and Birkin handbags. Back in the 19th century, Thierry Hermès fashioned riding apparel for the aristocracy.

Today, the company dresses basketball royalty such as LeBron James. Fusing old-school and new technology, Hermès Apple Watches sell for $1,299 and up. Axel Dumas currently serves as the company’s executive director, and Pierre-Alexis Dumas is the artistic executive vice president.

6. Ambani Family

  • Estimated Wealth:$84.6 billion
  • Company: Reliance Industries

Indian industrial conglomerate Reliance Industries, the only Asian company on our list, might be the least well-known to average readers.

Nevertheless, CEO Mukesh Ambani, whose late father founded the company in 1957, is 10th on Forbes' billionaires list, overseeing the company’s refining, petrochemicals, oil, gas, and textiles; his brother, Anil, manages telecommunications, asset management, entertainment, and power generation.

7.Wertheimer Family

  • Estimated Wealth: $79 billion
  • Company: Chanel

French high-fashion house Chanel is legendary for the timeless “little black dress,” the No.5 perfume, and the late high-profile designer Karl Lagerfeld, who died on Feb. 19, 2019.

Brothers Alain and Gerhard Wertheimer now co-own the company that their grandfather staked with founder Gabrielle Coco Chanel. The brothers are both ranked 43rd on the Forbes billionaires list, with a net worth of $31.2 billion each.

8. Cargill, MacMillan Family

  • Estimated Wealth: $65.2 billion
  • Company: Cargill

Cargill is one of the largest and most successful agricultural companies in the world. It was started by William W. Cargill who founded the commodities business with a grain storage warehouse in Iowa in 1865.

The company is controlled by both the descendants of William W. Cargill and his son-in-law, John H. MacMillan, hence the two family names of the company.

9. Thomson Family

  • Estimated Wealth: $53.9 billion
  • Company: Thomson Reuters

The Thomson family garners its wealth from Thomson Reuters, the media company. The family got its start in the 1930s when Roy Thomson started a radio station in Ontario, Canada, and later moved into newspapers.

Roy Thomson's grandson, David Thomson, is the chairman of Thomson Reuters. He ranks 26th on Forbes' billionaires list with a net worth of $49.2 billion.

10. Hoffmann, Oeri Family

  • Estimated Wealth: $45.1 billion
  • Company: Roche

Roche is a Swiss pharmaceutical company founded by Fritz Hoffmann-La Roche in 1896. The company's revenues are driven by its oncology drugs which contributed to the company's 2021 revenue of $68.7 billion.

Descendants of La Roche control 9% of the company.

What Is the Richest Family on Earth?

According to Bloomberg, with $224.5 billion of estimated wealth in 2022, the Walton family is the richest family in the entire world.

Which 10 Families Are the Wealthiest?

The top 10 richest families in 2022 by estimated wealth are:

  1. The Walton family with $224.5 billion
  2. The Mars family with $160 billion
  3. The Koch family with $128.8 billion
  4. The Al Saud family with $105 billion
  5. The Hermès family with $94.6 billion
  6. The Ambani family with $84.6 billion
  7. The Wertheimer family with $79 billion
  8. The Cargill, MacMillan family with $65.2 billion
  9. The Thomson family with $53.9 billion
  10. The Hoffman, Oeri family with $45.1 billion

Who Are the Wealthiest People in the World?

The top three wealthiest people in the world as of Dec. 6, 2022 are Tesla CEO Elon Musk, LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault, and chairman of the Adani Group Gautam Adani.

How Rich Are the Britsh Royal Family?

While the British royal family is a tremendous source of curiosity for many people, and the Windsor's have accumulated many properties, jewels, and art over centuries of rule, we may never know exactly how much wealth the family has accrued. Assessing the wealth of the British royal family is difficult because of the vast array of its holdings, the historical value of these holdings, and a tradition of secrecy about financial particulars.

The Bottom Line

This list may read as a naked celebration of wealth at a time of rising global inequality and a vanishing middle class. It may also be seen as condoning heedless consumption at a time when the future of wealth itself is in question. Moreover, the focus on families means the list doesn’t include the world’s three richest individuals.

Top 10 Wealthiest Families in the World (2024)

FAQs

Who is the richest family in the USA? ›

BENTONVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — It's no secret that the family behind Walmart is America's richest family, but how rich are they? The Waltons owe their wealth to two brothers, Sam and Bud, who co-founded Walmart in the 1960s.

How much is the Roche family worth? ›

Boehringer, and his extended family serves as owners of the closely held company, according to Bloomberg. No. 17: Behind the Swiss multinational company Roche are five generations of family, which today control about 10 percent of the company. The family's estimated wealth is $44.8 billion.

Are the Rockefellers still rich? ›

The Rockefeller family is 200 members strong and has a cumulative net worth of $10.3 billion, according to Forbes. The wealthiest and most prominent family member of this century, David Rockefeller, was the world's oldest billionaire at 101 years old, with a net worth of $3.3 billion when he died in 2017.

Are there any trillionaires? ›

No individual has claimed the status of trillionaire just yet. But a net worth equal to at least one trillion in U.S. dollars or a similarly valued currency isn't unattainable, but it will be a couple of years yet. Only 18 countries have a GDP that exceeds that amount. The World Bank.

Who are the elites in USA? ›

This group includes bureaucratic, corporate, intellectual, military, media, and government elites who control the principal institutions in the United States and whose opinions and actions influence the decisions of the policymakers.

How powerful are the Rothschilds? ›

The Rothschild family is an influential banking dynasty from Frankfurt. In fact, it is one of the most famous financial houses and was once one of the world's richest families.

Is the Vanderbilt family still rich? ›

But within just 50 years of Cornelius's death, the Vanderbilt family fortune was completely gone. Even if you're not wealthy beyond imagination, like the Vanderbilts were, there's a lot to learn from their story of boom and bust.

Who are the biggest old money families? ›

The Vanderbilts, Gettys, and Rothschilds are synonymous with extreme wealth, but are these legendary old-money families still as rich and powerful in 2024? Read on as we discover how the fortunes of the descendants of five of the world's most illustrious dynasties have fared in the 21st century.

Who is the richest American of all time? ›

Most sources agree that, adjusting for inflation, John D. Rockefeller (1839–1937) was the richest man in the United States. Business magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller is widely considered the wealthiest American in history.

What family owns Roche? ›

Family. The Hoffmann-La Roche family is Switzerland's richest and one of the most secretive families. Many members of the family don't carry the last name Hoffmann anymore. Some are known as Oeri, Michalski, Faber-Castell, Fabre, Schmid or Duschmalé.

Who is the richest family in Louisiana? ›

In Louisiana, Todd Graves, founder and CEO of fried chicken chain Raising Cane's tops the list with an estimated worth of $9.1 billion. He launched Raising Cane's in 1996, using his savings and an SBA loan.

Who is the richest royal family in the world? ›

1. Saudi Arabia's royal family: $1.4 trillion (£1.1tn) The wealthiest royal family in the world is the House of Saud, which is estimated to be worth more than a jaw-dropping $1.4 trillion (£1.1tn). This unimaginable wealth is spread out among the vast family's 15,000 or so members.

Who is the richest girl in the world? ›

1. Françoise Bettencourt Meyers. With an eye-watering net worth of $99 billion, Francoise Bettencourt Meyers, a French businesswoman and philanthropist, is the richest woman in the world.

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