America's wealthiest business owners, shareholders, and socialites will have you gasping at just how high their net worth is. Find out which state ranks the highest among the United States' richest people...
Jimmy Rane, Alabama
Jimmy Rane has a net worth of $900 million. He made his money in the lumber industry and is the founder and CEO of Great Southern Wood Preserving. He's also known as "The Yella Fella" because of his cowboy alter-ego who stars in the company's commercials.
Leonard Hyde & Jonathan Rubini, Alaska
These real estate partners are worth $300 million each. They own some of Anchorage's biggest buildings like the JL Tower and the ConocoPhillips Towers. They also oversee Alaskan military housing development and hotel contraction.
Jim Walton, Arkansas
Walton's $51.6 billion net worth comes from Walmart. He's the youngest son of the superstore's founder, Sam Walton. He runs his family's Arvest Bank, which is worth more than $16 billion. He was on Walmart's board for more than a decade before giving his seat to his son.
Ernest Garcia II, Arizona
Garcia made his $5.6 billion fortune in the used car industry. He's the biggest shareholder of Carvana, the online buying and selling platform. It was founded by his son, Ernest Garcia III. It's a subsidiary of DriveTime Automotive, which the elder Garcia founded.
Mark Zuckerberg, California
Facebook's founder has a net worth of $71 billion at only 35 years old. He started the famous social media platform in 2004 when he was just 19 years old at Harvard University. The initial idea was just so students could match names to faces in their class, but it took off and made him a multi-billionaire.
Philip Anschutz, Colorado
This investment king made his $12 billion fortune in various sports ventures. He owns the L.A. Kings, the L.A. Galaxy, over a quarter of the Lakers, and the Staples Center. Anschutz Entertainment Group operates more than 100 arenas and venues worldwise as well.
Ray Dalio, Connecticut
Dalio's $18.4 billion net worth comes from hedge funds. He's the founder of the largest hedge fund firm, Bridgewater Associates, and it manages $160 billion in assets. He started playing the stock market at 12 years old and then launched Bridgewater from his modest NYC apartment in 1975.
Robert Gore & Elizabeth Snyder, Delaware
Gore and Snyder can thank Gor-Tex for their $885 million. The materials firm W. L. Gore & Associates was founded by their parents in 1958, and it manufactures everything from human body implants to outdoor weather clothing. Robert invented Gore-Tex, a lightweight waterproof fabric.
Thomas Peterffy, Florida
Peterffy's $18.8 billion comes from discount brokerage in Palm Beach. He founded Interactive Brokers, which is a sophisticated trading platform. He also owns more than 500,000 acres of timberland. He arrived in America in 1965 after moving here from Hungary.
Jim Kennedy, Georgia
Kennedy's $9.2 billion is credited to both the media and automotive industries. He is the chairman of Cox Enterprises in Atlanta, and his grandfather founded the company in 1898 following a purchase of the Dayton Evening News.
Frank VanderSloot, Idaho
VanderSloot's $3.5 billion is thanks to the company Melaleuca. It manufactures more than 400 different products, from health supplements to eco-friendly cleaners. He was also the national finance co-chair for Mitt Romney's presidential campaign.
Pierre Omidyar, Hawaii
The chairman of eBay has made $13.5 billion off the site. After founding the online auction platform in 1995, he has since stepped back to serve on the board. He is also the co-owner of several resorts in California and Mexico.
Ken Griffin, Illinois
Griffin's net worth of $11.7 billion comes from the hedge fund industry. He started trading in his Harvard dorm room in 1987 and now is the founder and CEO of Citadel, a hedgef fund that manages $32 billion in assets. He also owns Citadel Securites, one of Wall Street's most successful makers.
Carl Cook, Indiana
Cook can thank the medical device industry for his $9.5 billion net worth. He is the CEO of Cook Group, a $2.4 billion revenue manufacturer. His parents started the business in their Bloomington apartment in 1963, and Cook took over after his father's death in 2011.
Harry Stine, Iowa
$3.8 billion in the agriculture industry isn't too bad. Stine is the son of a farmer and is now a CEO of Stine Seed Co, which licenses corn and soybean genetics. He was always fascinated with the process of seeds and planting and worked in his father's soybean cleaning business when he was young.
Charles Koch, Kansas
The $42 billion chairman of Koch Industries owes that wealth to Dixie cups. The conglomerate makes everything from Brawny paper towels to fertilizers to Dixie cups. His father, Fred Koch, founded the business in 1940, and Charles took over in 1967.
Tamara Gustavason, Kentucky
Gustavson's $5.3 billion fortune comes from the self-storage business. She is the largest shareholder of Public Storage, which her father co-founded in 1972. She held the vice president position until 2003 when she left to have a family. She now lives at the Spendthrift Farm, where she raises and breeds thoroughbred racehorses.
Gayle Benson, Louisiana
Benson's $2.9 billion fortune is thanks to her sports enthusiast husband. He formerly owned the New Orleans Saints and New Orleans Pelicans until his death. She succeeded him as the owner of both teams. Unfortunately, she entered into a legal battle with his daughter and grandchildren, which was eventually settled privately.
Susan Alfond, Maine
Alfond can thank the shoe industry for her $1.7 billion net worth. Her father founded Dexter Shoe Co. six decades ago, and in 1993 it was sold to Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway for $420 million. Shares are now worth billions of dollars.
Ted Lerner, Maryland
The real estate tycoon has racked up a net worth of $5.1 billion in the state of Maryland. He owns 20 million square feet of commercial and retail space primarily in D.C. He also borrowed $250 from his wife to start the company in 1952, where he first sold homes for developers.
Abigail Johnson, Massachusetts
Johnson's $14.7 billion net worth comes from wealth management. She is the chairman and CEO of Fidelity Investment, a Boston-based mutual fund giant with $2.7 trillion in assets. She has worked full-time for the company since 1988 and took over the CEO position from her father in 2014.
Daniel Gilbert, Michigan
Gilbert can thank Quicken Loans for his $6.8 billion. He co-founded America's largest online mortgage lender in 1985 and then sold it to Intuit for $532 million in 1999. Then he bought it back three years later for $64 million. He also owns the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Glen Taylor, Minnesota
Taylor's $2.9 billion was founded in the printing business. He bought a wedding service business for $2 million in 1975 and converted it into Taylor Corp., a printing firm with $2 billion in sales. He also has stakes in the NBA's Timberwolves, WNBA's Lynx, and the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Thomas & James Duff, Mississippi
The Duff brothers have $1.3 billion in the tire industry. They founded and co-own Duff Capital Investors, and one of the firm's biggest assets is the commercial tire dealer Southern Tire Mart.
Pauline Macmillan Keinath, Missouri
Keinath has $6.9 billion thanks to her shares in Cargill, the biggest private company in America. She happens to be the largest shareholder in the entire firm, which was started by her great-grandfather in 1865. The family still owns roughly 90% of the company.
Dennis Washington, Montana
Washington has made $6.2 billion in the construction industry. He used to work on the job sites, but now he owns a diversified business group called Washington Companies. He has stakes in copper mines, diamond mines, and regional railroads.
Warren Buffett, Nebraska
Buffett's $85 billion is thanks to his enormous company Berkshire Hathaway. He is considered one of the most successful investors of all time. He owns companies such as Geico, Duracell, and Dairy Queen. He's a generous man, though, and has donated more than $3.5 billion in his lifetime.
Sheldon Adelson, Nevada
Adelson has made over $35 billion in the casino industry. As the chairman and CEO of Las Vegas Sands, he owns more than half of the United States's gambling empire. He is also a major donor to Jewish causes and the Republican party.
Andrea Reimann-Ciardelli, New Hampshire
Reimann-Ciardelli's wealth of $720 million is due to her stake in her family's Luxembourg-based firm, JAB. It owns stakes in dozens of other international brands, including Reckitt Benckiser and the beauty company Coty.
John Overdeck, New Jersey
Overdeck's $6.1 billion is thanks to the hedge fund industry. He is the co-founder of Two Sigma Investments, which manages $57 billion in assets. He also spent two years working for Amazon before starting his own firm.
Mack C. Chase, New Mexico
The oil tycoon has a net worth of $700 million in assets. His fortune comes from the Permian Basin oil fields in Texas and New Mexico. He cofounded Marbob Energy, which provides pumping services to well owners, and then started his own company in 1988, Mack Energy Corp.
Micheael Bloomberg, New York
Mayor Bloomberg has racked up a net worth of $53.8 billion over the course of his three terms and beyond. He cofounded Blomberg LP, a media and financial information company, in 1981, and it now has a revenue of $9 billion.
James Goodnight, North Carolina
Goodnight's $9.1 billion net worth is due to the software industry. He co-founded SAS, an analytics and software firm, in 1976. Its products are used by more than 83,000 organizations and it generates over $3.2 billion in annual revenue.
Gary Tharaldson, North Dakota
Tharaldson's $1 billion net worth is due to his stake in the hotel industry. He is North Dakota's first billionaire, and he sold his first hotel portfolio in 2006 for $1.2 billion. He now runs over 40 hotels in 14 states.
Les Wexner, Ohio
Wexner's $4.7 billion net worth is thanks to his company L Brands, a global retail empire. It owns Victoria's Secret and Bath and Body Works and brings in a $12.6 billion revenue. He started out in 1963 when he opened The Limited, which sold fast-moving items like clothing.
Harold Hamm, Oklahoma
Another oil and gas tycoon with a massive paycheck of $11.8 billion, Hamm runs Continental Resources in Oklahoma. That is the biggest independent oil company in the nation. It produces more than 200,000 barrels per day. Hamm came from humble beginnings, working as a cotton picker as a child and then as a gas station attendant as a teen to support his family.
Phil Knight, Oregon
Knight's $35 billion net worth is due to his standing share in Nike. He is the company's largest shareholder in the $36.4 billion business. He started the company and ran it for 52 years until his retirement in 2016.
Victoria Mars, Pennsylvania
Heiress to the Mars candy company, Victoria Mars has a $7 billion net worth. She is the great-granddaughter of Frank Mars, who founded the company in 1911. She inherited an estimated 8% stake after her father died in 2011.
Jonathan Nelson, Rhode Island
Nelson's $1.8 billion net worth is thanks to the private equity industry. He is the founder and CEO of Providence Equity Partners, which he started in 1989. He invests in more than 180 companies, from media to communications to education. His biggest names are Hulu and the Ironman Triathlon.
Anita Zucker, South Carolina
Zucker's $1.8 billion wealth is due to her standing CEO position of InterTech Group. It is a private chemical manufacturer founded by her husband Jerry Zucker, who died in 2008. They also own an aerospace engineering firm and lots of commercial real estate.
T. Denny Sanford, South Dakota
Sanford owns First Premier Bank, which helped him rack up a $2.5 billion net worth. Based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, it is one of the largest issuers of Visa and Mastercards. He has given away more than $1.6 billion to charity in his lifetime.
Thomas Frist Jr., Tennessee
Frist's net worth is a whopping $11.7 billion thanks to his company HCA Healthcare. It operates hospitals and surgical centers in the U.S. and London. Though he no longer holds the executive position, his two sons are board members.
Alice Walton, Texas
This Texas heiress has a net worth of $50.1 billion thanks to her father's company, Walmart. She curates art rather than working for Walmart like the rest of her siblings. In 2011 she opened the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas.
Gail Miller, Utah
Miller's $1.5 billion wealth comes from the car dealership industry. She and her husband turned one Toyota dealership into a $5.1 billion industry with 64 dealerships total. They also purchased the Utah Jazz in 1986.
John Abele, Vermont
Abele's $640 million wealth is from the health care industry. He co-founded medical device manufacturer Boston Scientific in 1979, which provides less invasive treatments for patients. He retired in 2005 and eventually sold most of his shares.
Jacqueline Mars, Virginia
Mars's $28.1 billion net worth is thanks to her one-third holding of Mars Inc., the world's largest candy maker. Founded by her grandfather, she worked under the company for nearly 20 years and served on its board until 2016.
Jeff Bezos, Washington
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has a staggering 157 billion net worth. He is the richest person in the entire world. Amazon pulled in $230 billion in revenue and $10 billion in net profit in 2018. When his divorce is finalized, 16% of his stake in Amazon will go to his ex-wife.
Jim Justice II, West Virginia
Justice's $1.5 billion is due to his stake in the coal industry. He owns the Greenbrier resort as well as his shares in various coal mining expenditures. However, he's been hit with over $10 million court-ordered penalties due to tax evasion.
John Menard Jr., Wisconsin
Menard's $11.4 billion net worth is thanks to his home improvement retailer. His stores compete with Home Depot and Lowe's and are based in the middle of the U.S., from Wyoming to Ohio. He's brought in an estimated $10 billion in sales.
John Mars, Wyoming
Another one-third shareholder of Mars Inc., John Mars has a net worth of $28.1 billion. When their father died in 1999, all three Mars siblings earned a third of the company. Mars' first success was the Milky Way bar in 1923.
Bill Gates, $107.1 Billion
Microsoft founder Bill Gates has a staggering net worth of $1071 billion thanks to his invention of the Microsoft Office and Windows products. You won't find a workplace that doesn't use either Windows or Mac products. He is also one of the most philanthropic billionaires in the world and frequently donates to global causes.
Bernard Arnault, $92.2 Billion
This French businessman and art collector is the chairman and CEO of LVMH Moet Hennessy, the world's largest luxury-goods company. In 2018 he became the richest person in fashion. He briefly surpassed Jeff Bezos to become the richest man in December 2019.
Armancio Ortega, $59.3 Billion
This Spanish businessman is the founder and former chairman of Inditex fashion group, which owns Zara clothing. He was the second-wealthiest person in Europe and the sixth wealthiest person in the world in December 2019.
Carlos Slim, $64 Billion
Mexican businessman Carlos Slim has large holdings of Mexican companies through his conglomerate, Grupo Carso. He was the richest person in the world in 2013, and currently is the richest person in Latin America.
Larry Page, $50.8 Billion
CEO of Alphabet Inc., the parent company of Google, Larry Page is cited as the co-founder of Google alongside Sergey Brin. Both he and Brin remain in charge of both Google and Alphabet, though they have rearranged their roles and assets multiple times.
Charles Koch, $60 Billion
As CEO of Koch Industries, he and his late brother David each owned 42% of the company. Originally an oil and chemical refinery company, Koch Industries now processes pollution control equipment. He was ranked the 11th-richest person in the world in 2019.
Lilliane Bettencourt, $44.7 Billion
Shareholder of L'Oreal, Bettencourt was a French heiress, socialite, and businesswoman. At the time of her death, she was the richest woman and fourteenth-richest person in the world.
Christy Walton, $41.7 Billion
Widow of John T. Walton, one of the sons of Walmart founder Sam Walton, Christy Walson is the main heir to her late husband's fortune following his death in a plane crash in 2005. She was the richest woman in the world for several years. Much of her wealth is now in the hands of their son, Lukas Walton.
Li Ka-Shing, $31 Billion
The Hong Kong business magnate, investor, and philanthropist is the 30th richest person in the world. He is the senior advisor for CK Hutchinson Holdings and is the world's leading port investor.
Stefan Persson, $18.5 Billion
The Swedish business magnate earned his net worth as the Chairman of fashion company H&M. He is the 50th richest person in the world, and he took over the fashion conglomerate in 1982 and served as its manager until 1998.