Reprinted: NEWYORK LIFE
There are more than 600 billionaires in the United States, but only a few make it to the list of the richest people in the state, for the simple reason that there is not only one rich man in the same state. A rich man may have the most considerable wealth in his/her hometown, but crossing the borders of the states is just a small fish in a larger pond.
There are varying degrees of wealth disparities among the richest people in the U.S. states. Some of them have made their fortune by seizing once-in-a-century investment opportunities or entering an industry at the best time (such as oil and gas drilling in the 60s and 70s), while others are important players in fashion, food production or healthcare. In recent years, the technology and internet industries have accumulated a lot of wealth.
While the initial wealth of these wealthy families was largely created by one family member, many heirs have already taken a share and created more with the money of the previous generation. The wealth accumulated over generations is taking the idea of wealthy American families "born with a golden spoon" to another level.
Today's Life Network will bring you a map from http://HowMuch.net that shows the huge changes in wealth between states.
1 New York State
Hearst Family: $24.5 billion
The Hearst family is one of the largest publishers in the world, thanks to media mogul William Randolph Hearst — who also happens to be the character behind Charles Foster Kane in Orson Wells' legendary film Citizen Kane.
Hurst's dozens of descendants have divided the family wealth, and William Randolph Hearst is currently chairman of Hearst, which owns 46 newspapers, 340 magazines and holds stakes in ESPN, Lifetime and A&E.
2New Jersey
Dorrance family: $17.1 billion
John T. Dorrance created the recipe for Campbell Soup Concentrate in 1897. It is estimated that 11 members of the Dolans family own more than 50 percent of Campbell's Soup.
Today, the company owns more than just soup, but also brands V8 and Pepperidge Farm, with annual revenues of more than $8 billion.
Two of Dorrance's billionaire grandchildren, Mary Alice D. Malone and Bennett Dorrance, and great-grandson Archbold D. van Beuren, are members of the company's board of directors.
3 Georgia
Cox family: $33.6 billion
Founded by James Cox in 1898 in Dayton, Ohio, Cox Enterprises is today a major global media conglomerate with popular brands such as AutoTrader, Kelley Blue Book, Cox Homelife and Gamut. It also owns resource properties such as newspapers, radio and television.
The fourth generation of the family, Alexander Alexander C. Taylor now runs the company, which is 99 percent owned by the Cox family.
4 Illinois
Pritzker family: $33.5 billion
The Pritzker family, which owns Hyatt Hotels Group, is one of the wealthiest giants in the United States.
The family also owns the manufacturing and industrial group Marmon Group, which was sold to Warren Buffett for $4.5 billion in 2015.
The Pritzker Foundation's grants are mainly used for medical education, hospitals, religious welfare, cultural projects and support for jewish temples.
5 Texas
Duncan family: $26 billion
Dan Duncan grew up in rural Texas to a poor family, but his four children are now remarkably wealthy, thanks to the oil and gas company their father founded in 1968.
By 2010, the year Dan Duncan died, the company's annual revenue reached $34 billion. The four children inherited a $10 billion inheritance and now more than double their assets.
6 Florida
Peterffy family: $25.7 billion
Born in 1944 during World War II in the basement of a hospital in Budapest, Hungary, Thomas Peterffy had a childhood fraught with hunger and hardship.
Immigrating to the United States in the 1960s, he was a key figure in the development of electronic securities trading and one of the first to buy a seat on the U.S. stock exchange.
The family is known for its conservative political and philanthropic work.
7 California
Zuckerberg family: $74 billion
The richest family in the nation's largest state is also one of the youngest on this map. Priscilla and Mark Zuckerberg are only in their 30s and have two young children.
Their wealth comes from Zuckerberg's ingenuity and the subversive idea he hatched in his Harvard dorm room, Facebook, whose originality made him leap into the ranks of the rich.
Mr. and Mrs. Zuckerberg are also extremely passionate about charity, donating most of their wealth to charity.
8 Nevada
Adelson family: $42.8 billion
Sheldon Adelson founded las Vegas Sands, the world's largest bookmaker, in 1988, a $14 billion casino empire in which Adelson owns 52.3 percent of the company, and the family is still rich even as much as it gambles.
Adelson, who died in January 2021, was a strong supporter of Jewish organizations such as Birthright, which fund the dreams of young Jewish adults to complete the Israel Experience. He donated a total of $410 million to the organization.
The family is also a major contributor to Republican campaigns and candidates.
9 Colorado
Anschutz family: $12.7 billion
Philip Anschutz, the owner behind AEG, is a low-key billionaire. Anschutz was not self-made, his father was an oil tycoon in Colorado.
Because of the fierce competition in the U.S. oil industry, in the next 20 years, Anschutz gradually shifted the company's focus from the oil industry to land investment. When capital embraces sports, different investors have different ways of living. The full name of AEG is Anschutz Entertainment Group.
"Sports" and "entertainment" are both hands-on, owning many of the world's teams, stadiums and movie theaters; in addition, they also run the world's most profitable sports, cultural and entertainment venues through the successful operation of the NBA All-Star Game to the Grammy Awards and other events, and are currently the world's second largest live concert and family entertainment program performers.
10 Tennessee
Frist family: $12.5 billion
The Frist family founded American Hospitals, inc., the world's largest private healthcare provider operator with a total of 179 hospitals and 119 surgical centers in the United States and London.
The family is also known for its philanthropy, with one member, Bill Frist, serving as senator and Senate majority leader from 2003 to 2007.
11 North Carolina
Goodnight Family: $9.9 billion
30 years ago, Jim Goodnight and John Sall founded a company called the SAS Institute (now SAS) and nurtured the company into a large software development and human resources management vendor with a turnover of £1.7 billion.
The company's products are now used by more than 83,000 units and organizations worldwide. Annual revenue exceeds $3.27 billion.
Jim Goodnight and John Sall also founded the cary academy, a private school, and co-own a country club and hotel.
12 South Carolina
Zucker family: $4 billion
In 1982, Anita and Jerry Zucker amassed their family fortune by founding chemical company InterTech Group. Jerry Zucker died in 2008 with Anita as CEO.
InterTech owns an aeronautical engineering company and a large number of commercial properties with annual revenues of up to $3 billion. The Zuckers are also major donors to education and health causes.
After more than a century of change, these Old Money wealth families have either gradually declined or declined. But "hereditary capitalism" has not disappeared in the United States, and a new generation of "family dynasties" created by blood and money inheritance has risen and is still rising.
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