The Richest Families In America, Ranked In Order

What started as nothing more than a small Ben Franklin variety store in Arkansas turned into two of the largest retail chains in the country, Walmart and Sam's Club. The first Walmart opened in 1962, and, from there, the family's fortune kept rising.

With over 10,000 Walmart locations worldwide and 600 Sam's Club stores in the U.S., the Walton family's net worth is around $520 billion.

Jeff Bezos took a small book-selling program and turned it into a multi-billion-dollar company, becoming one of the richest men in the world in the process. Since starting Amazon in 1994, the Bezos family's net worth has done nothing but go up.

Bezos could even fund a trip to space with his net worth of almost $224 billion.

The $224 billion doesn't even take into account the wealth of his extended family, many of whom profited by being early investors in Amazon. Bezos' ex-wife, MacKenzie Scott, has a separate net worth of $30-40 billion, which she largely donates to charities.

The Koch Family is one of the wealthiest in not only the United States but the world. Starting with Fred C. Koch, he founded the chemical engineering firm Koch Industries. It would go on to become the second-largest private company in the US.

After his passing, Fred's sons, Charles and David, took over, bringing the company to new heights. Together, the Koch family fortune almost exceeds $157 billion.

Warren Buffett's extreme business prowess and investing smarts have earned his family a boatload of money. He's the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, a company that owns establishments like Dairy Queen, GEICO, Fruit of the Loom, The Coca-Cola Company, and more.

With shares in a lot of popular companies, the Buffett family fortune is around $148.9 billion. However, Buffett has made it clear that his children won't be receiving much of an inheritance. The billionaire plans on donating most of his fortune to charity when he passes away.

Most people recognize Bill Gates as the co-founder and former CEO of Microsoft. His work with Microsoft changed technology as we know it, launching personal desktop computers into necessities for businesses and households around the world. Besides his work in the technology sector, Gates is also a well-known philanthropist.

When it comes to his family's fortune, about $100 billion belongs to Gates and the other $36 billion belongs to his ex-wife, Melinda French Gates. Both plan to donate the majority of their fortunes to charity in their wills.

Initially, Franklin Mars's candy venture failed. That is, until he moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, created malt-flavored nougat, and founded Mars, Incorporated, a company that would invent the Milky Way, Snickers bar, and even M&M candies!

With his insane success in the candy industry, the Mars family is worth a fortune of $129 billion.

Fidelity Investments was incorporated by Edward C. Johnson in 1930, launching one of the largest financial asset managers in the world. The company's current CEO and president is Abigail Johnson, the granddaughter of the company's founder. Abigail Johnson has a personal fortune between $ 35 and $ 47.5 billion dollars. The rest of the family's wealth is distributed among other members, some of whom also work for Fidelity Investments.

W. W. Cargill began a small grain company back in 1865, a business that exploded into a mega-corporation by the 21st century. By 2008, Cargill became the largest privately held American corporation in terms of revenue.

And that revenue stream kept increasing once Cargill's son-in-law John MacMillan took over the business, increasing the Cargill-MacMillan family's net worth to an estimated $67.9 billion.

The Pritzker family fortune began in 1957 when Jay Pritzker and his brother Donald created the Hyatt Hotel, a chain that has expanded to over 1,175 locations. Not only that, but the brothers also owned Braniff Airlines for a time and even acquired Ticketmaster.

They sold 80% of the latter company for more than $325 million. Now, the family is worth a staggering $53.2 billion.

Coming from a low-income family in Shelby County, Texas, Dan Duncan made quite a life and fortune for himself after founding and taking Enterprise Products Partners LP public. The company soon became the largest provider of gas and oil pipelines in the country.

The Duncan family has a net worth of $43 billion.

In 1946, S. Truett Cathy founded the fast-food chain Chick-fil-A, originally called Dwarf Grill. Since opening the first location in Hapeville, Georgia, the chain has grown to 2,697 restaurants throughout the United States and Canada and is one of the most popular chicken chains around.

Due to Chick-fil-A's popularity, the Cathy family has secured a $40.2 billion fortune.

The Johnson family fortune started in 1886 with the founding of S.C. Johnson & Sons, a company that deals with household cleaning supplies, starting with floor wax. It soon turned into a multi-billion-dollar corporation and a popular household name.

The Johnson family has amassed a fortune of $39 billion.

Cox Enterprises Inc. was founded in 1898 by James M. Cox. Today, the vast business empire includes Cox Media Group, Cox Communications, and Cox Automotive. Descendants of James M. Cox continue to run the family business, with Alexander C. Taylor, the great-grandson of Cox, currently serving as CEO. The family is worth about $38 billion.

Founded in 1976 by brothers Chris and Jude Reyes, Reyes Holdings is one of the world's largest food and beverage distributors. The business is composed of three major organizations: Reyes Beverage Group, Martin Brower, and Reyes Coca-Cola Bottling. The business is entirely family-run to this day, and the family's fortune stands at $31 billion.

Brothers Jon and Jim Mills founded Medline in the 1960s with a focus on creating medical textiles, like doctor scrubs. The company soon expanded to other medical tools and devices that are used in hospitals around the country. The family behind the medical supplies company is now worth $29.6 billion.

In 1922, Samuel Irving Newhouse Sr. founded Advance Publications, a media company that took off and acquired majority shares in Reddit and the Discovery Channel. Over the years, Advance Publications also acquired 20 newspapers and Condé Nast. The latter publishes Teen Vogue, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, and Architectural Digest. With all of the family's ventures, their fortune comes out to $28.1 billion.

The Butt family owns and operates H-E-B (H.E. Butt Grocery Company). Besides H-E-B, the company's enterprises also include Central Market, Joe V's Smart Shop, and Mi Tienda. The Butt family still owns 87% of the company, and Howard Butt III is CEO. The family's fortune sits at $26.6 billion.

The Hunt family fortune began with H.L. Hunt when he traded poker winnings for oil rights in the East Texas Oil Field. This started an insane amount of money pooling into the Hunt family.

Not only that, but Lamar Hunt is also a co-founder of the American Football League and the Kansas City Chiefs, a team the family has owned since its inception. From all these ventures, the family is worth $25.6 billion.

The Busch family is part of the Anheuser-Busch legacy. Anheuser-Busch developed Budweiser and Bud Light, and distributes other international beers and canned cocktails. Up until 2008, the company was run by August Busch IV, the great-great-grandson of Adolphus Busch, who founded the beverage enterprise. InBev acquired Anheuser-Busch in a hostile takeover bid that ended the Busch family's involvement, but the family remains enormously wealthy. Today they are worth $24.4 billion.

The Marriott Family owns the highly successful Marriott hotel chain, which has over 9,000 locations around the world. It's hard to believe this global company was once a humble motor hotel in Arlington, Virginia. The Marriott family still owns about 18% of the company's shares. David Marriott, the grandson of the hotel's founder, is the current chairman of the board. The family's net worth is a staggering $23.5 billion.

Based in Chicago, the Smith family founded Illinois Tool Works in 1912. The company manufactures industrial products and equipment suitable for the automotive, construction, and welding sectors, among others. The family also holds a small stake in Northern Trust, a banking institution. Today, David Smith Jr., sits on the board of both companies.

The du Pont family is behind one of America's oldest corporations: DuPont Chemicals. Originally founded as a gunpowder manufacturer in the early 1800s, DuPont expanded over the years and is credited with inventing rayon, nylon, and Kevlar. Today, family member Eleuthere I. du Pont sits on the board of directors, and the family's net worth is $22 billion.

During his life, J. Howard Marshall accrued a solid amount of money for his family. A businessman and investor, Marshall owned 16% of Koch Industries, invested in the petroleum industry, and was even the Assistant Dean at Yale Law School for some time.

Marshall's insane resume left his family with a net worth of $20 billion after his death. With such a large estate, Anna Nicole Smith, Marshall's widow, brought the family to court when she was left out of his will entirely. Ultimately, she was not awarded any money from the lengthy court cases.

Today, Marshall's family and descendants still control the bulk of his fortune, which is now valued at about $30 billion.

Rupert Murdoch pretty much controls media with his company News Corp. The family owns Fox News, HarperCollins Publishing House, The Wall Street Journal, New York Post, The Daily Telegraph, The Sun, The Times, Herald Sun, and The Australian. Rupert accrued a solid fortune for the Murdoch family with his global reach, a net worth of $22.5 billion.

In 1887, William Randolph Hearst took over the San Francisco Examiner, a newspaper that would soon introduce the world to "yellow journalism." Over the years, he expanded his media reach and created Hearst Communications, a company the family still owns today. One of the heirs to the family fortune is model and actress Lydia Hearst. She will split the family's fortune with about 60 other family members.

Standard Industries, one of the largest private corporations in America, includes the roofing company GAF and the specialty chemicals firm W.R. Grace. The company was created when Samuel Heyman, a corporate raider, won control over GAF in 1983. David Millstone and David Winter, the sons-in-law of Heyman, acted as the company's co-CEOs for 15 years. Now, Winter is the only CEO, while Millstone is a vice-chairman. The combined families' net worth as a result of their involvement in Standard Industries is $21.7 billion.

In the late 1920s, William Bernard Ziff Sr. founded the Ziff Davis Publishing Company. Under the leadership of Sr.'s son, the publishing house made the family a fortune throughout the '70s, '80s, and '90s.

Then, in 1994, Dirk and Daniel Ziff took the family money and created Ziff Brothers Investments, increasing the family net worth to $21.6 billion.

The Lauder family fortune comes from Estée Lauder's brilliant business plan. With the help of her husband Joseph, Estée created a cosmetics company under her name. It took off, and Time magazine even named Estée one of the biggest business geniuses of the 20th century. Founded in 1946, the cosmetic company is still going strong, allowing the Lauder family's net worth to grow to $21.5 billion.

In 1897, John Dorrance invented a way to condense soup, revolutionizing the food industry, particularly canned foods. From there, he bought out the Campbell Soup Company from the Campbell family and turned the company into one of the longest-lasting brands in America.

As of today, a number of Dorrance family members still own 33% of the Campbell Soup Company, and their fortune is $16.5 billion.

Ever since surgeon Homer Stryker founded the Stryker Corporation in 1941, the family has been a prominent force in the medical technology field. Some of the aspects the corporation focuses on are implants for joint replacements, neurovascular and spinal devices, and surgical navigation systems.

With all of their contributions to the field, the Stryker family has amassed a fortune of $16 billion.

Before owning one of the biggest franchises in the NFL, Robert Kraft was all about the Kraft Group, a holding company working in real estate development, paper and packaging, sports and entertainment, and a private equity fund.

Then, in 1994, he purchased the New England Patriots, an investment that paid off. He also founded the soccer team, the New England Revolution. Due to his pricey investments, the Kraft family's net worth is a high $13.8 billion.

The Rockefeller family is one of the greatest dynasties in American history. At one point in time, they were the richest family in America when John D. Rockefeller founded The Standard Oil Company in 1870. Today, the Rockefeller fortune is split between about 250 descendants. The family continues to focus on philanthropy efforts and environmental conservation. Today, the Rockefellers are worth about $12.5 billion.

Founded in 1933 by Ernest and Julio Gallo, E & J Gallo Winery has become the largest exporter of California wine. Located in Modesto, California, the family's company has since branched off into other ventures, such as Joseph Gallo Cheese (the perfect partner of wine!)

As a popular wine brand, the family has accrued a fortune of $12.4 billion.

In 1870, George Gavin Brown came up with the idea to bottle whiskey in a glass container, thus changing the spirits industry forever. He founded the Brown-Forman Corporation, buying and bottling brands such as Jack Daniel's and Herradura tequila.

The Brown family owns more than half of the company, with their net worth amassing $12.3-16.5 billion.

As the CEO and co-founder of Apple Inc., Steve Jobs left his family with a pretty sum of money after he passed away. Pretty much bringing smart technology into everyday life and having stocks in Disney as well as Apple, Jobs left his wife and children with billions.

However, Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of Steve Jobs, has said that most of their fortune will be donated to charity and not passed on to their children.

The Jobs family fortune is around $11-13 billion.

The Spielberg family isn't short on change, thanks primarily to patriarch Steven Spielberg's contributions to cinema. As a director, Spielberg has created some of the most groundbreaking films in cinema, including Jaws, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and Indiana Jones. He's also one of the co-founders of DreamWorks Studios, a feat that adds to his family's net worth of $7.1 billion.

Mark Cuban has made an astounding amount of money for his family. Starting in computer software, Cuban moved his way up the ladder and eventually made millions. He bought the NBA team, the Dallas Mavericks, and is even one of the leading investors on the popular television show Shark Tank. Needless to say, his wife and two children (not to mention grandchildren) aren't going to need anything with his estimated net worth of $6 billion.

Steve Wynn is the patriarch of the Wynn family and has accrued a lot of wealth throughout the years. He began his business ventures in the casino and hotel industry, where he established several luxury spots in Las Vegas, including the Golden Nugget, Treasure Island, and the Bellagio.

And let's not forget his line of hotels, Wynn Resorts. All of his business dealings have the Wynn family net worth around $5.7 billion.

In 1904, George Getty began amassing the family fortune with the success of his company, the Minnehoma Oil Company. Years later, he and his son founded Getty Oil. Even though the company fell on hard times and became defunct in 2012, the family is still worth a fortune. That's because Mark Getty used the family money to create a video and photo company we now know as Getty Images.

The Getty family's net worth is $5.4 billion.

Taking their significant others out of the equation, the Kardashian-Jenner family is worth a staggering amount of money in their own right. Between Kylie Cosmetics, Kendall's supermodel status, and the rest of the women being reality stars with clothing lines, the family is rolling in a lot of dough.

Adding all of their earnings together, the Kardashian-Jenner family's net worth is around $2 billion.