Do You Know The American Richest Billionaire Families?

These are the list of billionaire American families

These Are The Richest American Families

Can you imagine what it would be like to have no financial worries in life, literally from the day you were born? For members of these billionaire American families, they don’t have to imagine. They were born with billions in the bank thanks to their relatives and ancestors. This list goes through some of the richest families in the United States – some famous and well known, while others fly below the radar – including how they earned their wealth, and how much they’re worth these days.

The Cuban Family
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The Wynn Family
[object Object]In the early 1970s, Connecticut-born Steve Wynn was able to turn his money from his family’s bingo hall business in a stake in Las Vegas’s Frontier Hotel and Casino. From there, Wynn’s career took off like a rocket. In the decades since, Wynn and his companies have been involved in the construction of nearly every major American casino in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, including most notably the Mirage, the Bellagio, Treasure Island, Encore, and (un-shockingly) the Wynn. In his personal life, Wynn had a long and complex relationship with Elaine Farrell Pascal. The couple were married… and divorced twice, and had two daughters all while Pascal held numerous titles in Wynn’s companies. After their second divorce in 2010, Wynn married Andrea Danenza Hissom in 2011. Currently, the Wynn family is worth approximately $3.1 billion.
The Mellon Family
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The Lauder Family
[object Object]In the years after World War II, wife Estée (pictured) and husband Joseph Lauder founded the Estée Lauder cosmetics company. In the seven decades since the company has made the founding couple’s family rich beyond the wildest dreams of many, and they still hold positions of power in the now-public company. Currently, the family has a fortune of approximately a whopping $40 billion.
The Spielberg Family
[object Object]Between the films, he’s directed including Jaws and Jurassic Park, and those he’s produced, including Back to the Future and the Transformers franchise, Steven Spielberg is one of the most successful figures in Hollywood history. That legacy has also come with a huge financial windfall for the Spielberg family, who are currently worth about $3.7 billion between money from Spielberg’s films, as well as real estate investments.
The Ziff Family
[object Object]The Ziff family’s fortune dates back to the work of publishing executive William Bernard Ziff Sr., who founded the Ziff Davis Publishing Company in the late 1920s. After his father’s death in 1973, William Bernard Ziff Jr. took the business to new heights, becoming one of the most successful publishers of the 1970s, 80s, and 90s. Ziff Jr. sold the company for $1.4 billion in 1994 after his sons Dirk and Daniel Ziff passed on the opportunity to take the reins. Instead, the brothers founded Ziff Brothers Investments in 1994. The family’s current net worth is estimated at approximately $15 billion, even with the brothers shutting down their investment firm in 2014.
The Butt Family
[object Object]In 1905 Florence Butt opened the C.C. Butt Grocery Store in Kerrville, Texas to try and pay for much-needed medical treatments for her husband. At the time, she had no idea that her small store would grow into the 350-plus store-strong H-E-B grocery chain, which the Butt family still owns and operates today. Currently, the family, led by H-E-B CEO Charles Butt, is worth about $17.8 billion.
The Hunt Family
[object Object]The Hunt family is the founders of American Oil and their patriarch, H.L. Hunt, was such a bombastic personality as an oil baron that the character of J.R. Ewing on the classic 80s soap Dallas was based on him. Not to be outdone, Hunt’s son Lamar was one of the founders of the American Football League and the founder and longtime owner of the Kansas City Chiefs. These days the Hunt family, who still own the Chiefs as well as interests in oil, are worth over $16.6 billion.
The Murdoch Family
[object Object]While the modern Murdoch family’s roots are directly Australian, their success and fortune are distinctly American (plus Rupert Murdoch became an American citizen in 1985). Currently, Murdoch’s companies control Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox Television Stations, Fox News, the Fox Business Network, Dow Jones & Company, Wall Street Journal, MarketWatch, News Corp Australia, Fox Sports Australia, New York Post, HarperCollins, and News America Marketing among others. The family is currently worth $17.9 billion.
The Kraft Family
[object Object]Robert Kraft first made his fortune in paper products. His Forest Products company provided paper packaging products to companies including Kodak, Quaker Oats and Avon. In 1994, Kraft purchased the NFL’s New England Patriots for a then-record $172 million. Suffice to say the purchase has been a wise investment, as the team has not only become the NFL’s most successful franchise on the field, its value has increased to a staggering $4.1 billion by itself. The Kraft family all together is worth a $6.6 billion fortune.
The Koch Family
[object Object]Another controversial entry on our list comes in the form of the Koch family. Chemical engineer Fred C. Koch, founded Koch Industries in 1940, and following his death, two of Koch’s sons (David, who passed away in 2019 and Charles) have turned the company into one of the largest and most valuable privately held companies in the world. The family’s wealth currently totals approximately $99 billion.
The Kardashian-Jenner Family
[object Object]Did you think you’d get through this list without coming across the Kardashian-Jenner family? The reality TV stalwarts are worth a mind-numbing $2 billion thanks to their shows, as well as various apps, clothing lines, and makeup products. In fact, Kylie Jenner’s Kylie’s Cosmetics line has made her a billionaire by itself.
The Bezos Family
[object Object]In 1994, hedge fund manager Jeff Bezos opened a small book-selling operation called Amazon. Perhaps you’ve heard of them? Suffice to say, Amazon pretty much controls the world at this point, and CEO Bezos and his family are currently worth over $185.7 billion.
The Hearst Family
[object Object]William Randolph Hearst was the son of a well-to-do miner who put his son in charge of the San Francisco Examiner, a newspaper he’d acquired. Over the next 60-plus years, Hearst created one of the most expansive publishing and media empires the world has ever seen, and served as the inspiration for the title character in Orson Welles’ classic film Citizen Kane. The Hearst family still owns Hearst Communications, and is currently worth a cool $24.5 billion. Lydia Hearst is the heir to the family fortune.
The Dorrance Family
[object Object]In 1897, John Dorrance invented a process to condense soup that would revolutionize the food industry. He went on to found the Campbell’s Soup Company, and the Dorrance family has maintained control of the company to this day. Currently, a group of 11 descendants controls the company, and maintains the family’s fortune of over $15 billion.
The Duncan Family
[object Object]Dan Duncan’s story sounds like something out of a movie. After growing up poor in rural Texas, Duncan literally struck oil and launched Enterprise Products Partners, becoming one of the country’s predominant providers of oil and gas pipelines. After Duncan passed away in 2010, he passed down his $10 billion fortune to his children. In the years since, the Duncan family’s wealth doubled to over $22 billion.
The Stryker Family
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The Getty Family
[object Object]The Getty oil empire stems from the years Irish immigrant George Franklin Getty and his son J. Paul Getty trudged away in the Oklahoma oil fields in the early 20th century. Following his father’s death, the younger Getty spent his $500,000 inheritance to establish and incorporate Getty Oil. The company went on to be one of America’s most successful throughout the 20th century before running into financial hardships in the 2000s, eventually filing for bankruptcy in 2011. Despite the company ceasing to exist, the Getty family has retained their $5.4 billion fortune.
The Jobs Family
[object Object]Steve Jobs was the CEO and co-founder of Apple Inc. When he passed away in 2011, his net worth was around $10.8 billion. His wife, Laurene Powell Jobs inherited most of his fortune, however, his four children, Reed Paul, Eve Jobs, Erin Sienna, and Lisa Brennan-Jobs also received an inheritance as well. Between the inheritance as well as stocks in Apple and Disney, today, Powell-Jobs is worth over $22 billion.
The Marshall Family
[object Object]J. Howard Marshall was a billionaire businessman and investor who made his fortune through the oil industry – and at one point owned 16 percent of the aforementioned Koch Industries. However, he and his family are perhaps best known for the tabloid drama that surrounded the end of his life. In 1994, the then-89-year-old Marshall married 26-year-old model Anna Nicole Smith. The two were together for the final 14 months of Marshall’s life, which led to a long-running legal battle between Smith and his family after Marshall’s death. Despite the legal wrangling, the Marshall family is still worth approximately $18.5 billion.
The Walton Family
[object Object]In 1962, Sam Walton started a small mom-and-pop shop in Rogers, Arkansas. Today, that shop was bloomed into the gargantuan retail chain Walmart. Now, seven heirs of the Walton family own more than 50 percent of the company’s stock, according to Forbes, which valued their net worth at roughly $247 billion. Walmart continues to dominate the market and consistently has one of the top revenue streams in the United States. In 2016, the company brought in $482 billion, the largest revenue that year for all U.S. businesses that year.
The Gallo Family
[object Object]For the wine lovers out there, the Gallo name might ring a bell. The family owns and operates E & J Gallo Winery in Modesto, California, the world’s largest winemaker. (The E & J stands for Ernesto and Julio, the brothers who founded the winery.) But the family has branched out into other ventures, including their other brother Joseph’s cheese company, Joseph Gallo Cheese. All told, the business ventures put the Gallo family fortune at a cool $10.7 billion and growing.
The Rockefeller Family
[object Object]When many Americans think of billionaire families, the name Rockefeller almost certainly comes to mind. John D. Rockefeller became the first American billionaire ever after founding Standard Oil in 1870. The company would eventually control the majority of the country’s oil refining, before the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1911 that Standard Oil was an illegal monopoly. The company was split into 34 smaller companies, which only made Rockefeller richer since those individual incomes ended up being more profitable. The company is currently valued at $11 billion, which Business Insider says is split between 174 family members. Don’t worry though, that still gives each family member north of $63 million each.
The Cathy Family
[object Object]Fried chicken is truly a southern dish, which is why Samuel Truett Cathy founded fast-food chain Chick-fil-A (originally known as Dwarf Grill) in College Park, Georgia. The company operates over 2,300 locations (almost all primarily in the U.S.) in 47 states. As the largest specialty chicken sandwich chain, the Cathy family has racked up an impressive $11 billion fortune.
The Mars Family
[object Object]In 1911, Frank Mars began selling candy out of his kitchen in Tacoma, Washington. The business originally failed. But after many starts and stops, Frank’s son Forrest hit a goldmine when he invented a malt-flavored nougat which would become the basis of the Milky Way and Snickers bars. Today, the family-owned company operates the sixth largest privately held company in the United States, according to Forbes. As of 2015, the company had $33 billion in annual sales. Forbes estimates the family fortune at over $78 billion.
The Cargill-MacMillan Family
[object Object]When W. W. Cargill, the son of a Scottish sea captain, started a small grain storage business in 1865, he probably didn’t envision his family business would balloon into the billion-dollar venture that it is today. Now Cargill, Incorporated company, the agribusiness company does $108 billion in revenue per year. The family fortune is estimated at $49 billion, and 14 of the family members (Cargill’s son-in-law John MacMillan took over the business in 1909, and his descendants are now also involved in the business) by themselves are billionaires, according to Forbes‘ estimates.
The Brown Family
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Back in 1870, George Gavin Brown, a pharmaceutical salesman in Louisville, Kentucky, had a novel idea to bottle high-end, premium whiskey in glass. More than a century later, that idea has culminated in the Brown-Forman Corporation, which manufactures and sells numerous spirits and wines, including Jack Daniel’s (bought in 1956 by Brown-Forman), Woodford Reserve, and numerous other brands. Twenty-five family members own more than half of the stake in the Brown-Forman Corp., and are estimated to have a net worth of $12.3 billion.

The Busch Family
[object Object]When Adolphus Busch and his friend Carl Conrad created a “Bohemian-style” lager called Budweiser in America in 1876, they helped launch what would become one of the largest beer brewers in the world. Anheuser-Busch is now owned by InBev (known as Anheuser-Busch InBev), which bought the brewer for $52 billion in 2008. The Busch family’s net worth is estimated at roughly $13.4 billion, of which 30 family members share the fortune (pictured above is Haley Busch). According to Business Insider, some members of the Busch family are still in the beer brewing business, launching William K. Busch Brewing.
The Cox Family

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Started in 1898 as a newspaper publisher, Cox Enterprises now encompasses Cox Communications, which provides cable TV and broadband connections; and Cox Media Group, which controls newspapers, TV, and radio stations. However, the biggest names associated with the Cox family comes from their automotive assets, which consists of AutoTrader.com, Kelley Blue Book, and Manheim car auctions, according to Forbes. The family’s wealth sits at a comfortable $41 billion net worth.

The Johnson Family
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One of the oldest family-owned companies in the United States, Samuel Curtis Johnson bought the parquet flooring division of the Racine Hardware Manufacturing Company and renamed it S. C. Johnson. Johnson primarily focused on parquet flooring initially, but soon began offering more floor care products, like their highly popular Johnson’s Prepared Wax. Through the decades, the company would become one of the biggest cleaning products suppliers, acquiring such popular brands as ZipLoc, Windex, Pledge, and Glade. The company is still run by the Johnson lineage and has an estimated net worth of $18.2 billion.

The Goldman Family
[object Object]Beginning in the 1950s, Sol Goldman began buying up foreclosed properties in New York City. Eventually, Goldman launched a company on the backs of these properties named Solil Management. These days, Solil – which owns over 400 properties including 17 percent of the World Trade Center – is run by Sol’s daughter Jane Goldman (pictured), who splits 25 percent ownership with her siblings. Currently, the family is worth $13 billion.
The Bass Family
[object Object]From the 1930s through the 1950s, Texan Sid Richardson became a tycoon in the oil industry. Upon his death in 1959, the lifelong bachelor left his fortune to his four nephews: Robert, Sid, Lee, and Edward Bass. Through a series of wise investments, financial diversification, and the 2017 sale of their oil assets to ExxonMobil for $5.6 billion, the family has amassed a fortune of approximately $13 billion.
The du Pont Family
[object Object]The du Pont name has been one of America’s best known for over 200 years. The company that bears the family name was founded as a gunpowder manufacturer in 1802, and over the next two centuries expanded into everything from chemicals to television sponsorship, all while becoming influential in American high society, philanthropy, and politics. The du Pont family maintained direct control over the company until the 1960s. These days, the family’s fortune comes out to about $14.3 billion, spread out across about 3,500 relatives.
The Newhouse Family
[object Object]The Newhouse family fortune stems from Samuel Irving Newhouse Sr.’s Advance Media company (named after the Staten Island Advance newspaper), which he founded in 1922. Over the years, the company has acquired over 20 newspapers, as well as Condé Nast (which publishes Allure, Architectural Digest, Backchannel, Bon Appétit, Condé Nast Traveler, Epicurious, Glamour, GQ, Pitchfork, Self, Teen Vogue, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and Wired), websites Wired, Lycos, Angelfire, Tripod, a majority interest in Reddit, and the Discovery Channel. The Newhouse family’s fortune is currently valued at $18.5 billion.
The Pritzker Family
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Jay Pritzker founded the Hyatt Hotel Chain in 1957 along with his sons, and the business has certainly proven to be a wise investment for the family. The current Pritzker family fortune is worth approximately $26.5 billion, split amongst 13 family members, 11 of whom are billionaires. In addition to financial power, the family also has political power. Penny Pritzker was the U.S. Secretary of Commerce, and J.B. Pritzker was the co-chairman of Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign and the Democratic candidate in the 2018 Illinois gubernatorial election.
The (Edward) Johnson Family
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Edward C. Johnson founded the Fidelity mutual fund company in 1946. Over the next 70 years, Fidelity has grown into the second largest mutual firm company in the world, being led by members of the Johnson family all the while. As of 2019, the company is headed by the founder’s granddaughter Abigail Johnson (pictured). The family maintains ownership of 49 percent of the company, and is is currently worth $38.7 billion.
The Gates Family
[object Object]There might not be a more famous American business billionaire than Bill Gates. Gates made the majority of his fortune while serving as chairman, CEO, and chief software architect of Microsoft. Following his retirement from the company, Gates and his wife Melinda have donated a considerable amount of money to charity through their Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Even with their charitable donations, the Gates family is still worth about $105 billion, which should mean Bill and Melinda’s three children… and several generations after don’t need to worry about money.
The Ballmer Family
[object Object]Just like Bill Gates, Steve Ballmer made his fortune at Microsoft. He began working at the company in the early 1980s, became president in 1998, and replaced Gates as CEO in 2000. He served in that role until 2014, before departing the company. Later that year, Ballmer purchased the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers. Ballmer, whose married to Connie Snyder and has three children with her, is worth approximately $52 billion.
The Bloomberg Family
[object Object]Michael Bloomberg made a fortune as the CEO of the company that bears his name, before serving three terms as mayor of New York City. Bloomberg, who has a net worth near $53 billion, has been in a relationship with Diana Taylor for nearly two decades. He has two children, Georgina and Emma, from his first marriage, both of whom were featured in a documentary titled Born Rich.
The Buffett Family
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Warren Buffett, the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, has a net worth of $84 billion, making him one of the richest men in the world. However, that money doesn’t only benefit Buffett, it also benefits his family: Astrid Menks, whose been married to Buffett since 2006, and his children Susie, Howard and Peter, from his marriage to Susan Thompson, his wife of 52 years who passed in 2004.

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