The Richest Person in Every U.S. State in 2017
By Visual Capitalist
August 15, 2017
•2 min read
The massive empires of business tycoons like Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and Jeff Bezos are continually topics of discussion throughout the world, but much less attention finds its way towards the largest personal fortunes at the state level.
That’s because while some of the wealthiest people in their respective states are household names, such as Ray Dalio (Connecticut) or Michael Bloomberg (New York), the majority of people on this list fly below the radar at both the national and international levels. Further, the dropoff from the largest to smallest fortunes on the list is also steeper than you might think.
Examining the Top Ten States
Today’s visualization, which shows the richest person in every U.S. state in 2017, comes from cost information site HowMuch.net while using the latest information from Forbes.
The list is topped by Bill Gates, who was briefly overtaken as richest person in the world by fellow Seattleite Jeff Bezos for a short period of time in July, but now again sits in the #1 position. Not surprisingly, Mark Zuckerberg (California) and Michael Bloomberg (New York) also sit high, outranking other high net worth individuals from those states like Larry Ellison ($62.2 billion) or George Soros ($25.2 billion).
The list is dominated by those who are self-made or growing their fortunes, but the second half has billionaire siblings that inherited their family fortunes such as Jim and Alice Walton (Walmart), or John and Jacqueline Mars (Mars).
Flying Under the Radar
In some ways, the bottom portion of the rankings for the Richest Person in Every U.S. State is just as interesting. Many of these people are lesser known, and the disparity between these fortunes and those on the Top 10 list show how hard it really is to grow a fortune to the >$20 billion range.
The sources of the fortunes near the end of the list are also quite diverse. Robert Gore and Elizabeth Snyder (and their four other siblings) were the heirs to the Gore-Tex empire, each owning 7% of the company. Meanwhile, Mack C. Chase is an oil tycoon, John Abele has made his money from making medical devices, and Leonard Hyde and Jonathan Rubini are partners in a real estate firm that owns much of the Anchorage skyline.Just one person in the Bottom 10 is a billionaire – the rest have fortunes in the hundreds of millions.
Trending Now
2
4
Read Next
Thought Leaders
Introducing the NEW Equities News: Transforming the world by investing in what matters most
Paula DeLaurentis
Mar 15, 2024
Economic
An opportunity for women in the clean-energy transition
Green Money
Mar 12, 2024
Economic
Making diversity in venture-capital funding a priority
Yinka Faleti
Mar 11, 2024
Environment
E-bike incentives are a costly way to cut carbon emissions, but they also promote health
The Conversation
Mar 7, 2024
3 dividend-paying health-care stocks that top analysts recommend
Benzinga
Mar 7, 2024
Economic
The true cost of food is far higher than what you spend at the grocery checkout
The Conversation
Mar 6, 2024
The Latest
Thought Leaders
Introducing the NEW Equities News: Transforming the world by investing in what matters most
Mar 15, 2024
Economic
An opportunity for women in the clean-energy transition
Mar 12, 2024
Economic
Making diversity in venture-capital funding a priority
Mar 11, 2024
Environment
E-bike incentives are a costly way to cut carbon emissions, but they also promote health
Mar 7, 2024