The U.S. is home to 5 of the top 10 cities with the most billionaires in the world, according to a recent analysis of the Forbes list of billionaires. Ever wonder who the richest person is where you live? Our map has the answers.
- Jeff Bezos tops the list as the richest person in the U.S. The founder of Amazon, based out of Washington, is worth some $117.1B, or about $27B more than Warren Buffet ($89.6B, NE).
- 6 states are home to billionaires with more than $50B to their name, including Michael Bloomberg ($58.4B, NY) and Jim Walton ($51.9B, AR).
- The richest people in 6 states are also not even billionaires. The Leonard Hyde and Jonathan Rubini and families ($0.3B, AK) are worth the least in our map.
- Many of the people on our map represent some of the most famous companies in the country, including Walmart, Facebook and Amazon.
We originally found the idea for our map thanks to 24/7 Wall St. The underlying data for estimated net worth figures come from Forbes. Our approach was to not only display a photo of the richest person with their associated fortunes, but to color-code each state based on the size of their wealth. This makes it abundantly clear just how wealthy the most elite people are in every state.
Top 10 Richest People in the U.S. by State
1. Jeff Bezos (WA): $117.1B
2. Warren Buffett (NE): $89.6B
3. Mark Zuckerberg (CA): $81.9B
4. Michael Bloomberg (NY): $58.4B
5. Jim Walton (AR): $51.9B
6. Alice Walton (TX): $51.7B
7. Charles Koch (KS): $42.8B
8. Sheldon Adelson (NV): $41.4B
9. Phil Knight and family (OR): $40B
10. Jacqueline Mars (VA): $30.2B
Our map provides an interesting snapshot of the ultra-wealthy around the country. For starters, the richest person in almost every state is a white man. There are some notable exceptions, like Alice Walton (TX, $51.7B) and Victoria Mars (PA, $7.5B). There are also only a handful of states shaded light green, which indicates the richest person has a net worth of less than $1B. In fact, the richest person in 37 states is a multi-billionaire ($2B+), and 6 are over $50B. The Leonard Hyde and Jonathan Rubini and families, the “poorest” rich people on our map, are multi-millionaires several times over ($0.3B, AK). These are all telltale signs of runaway wealth inequality.
Our map also displays some familiar household names from the business world, including Mark Zuckerberg (CA, $81.9B) and Jeff Bezos ($WA, $117.1B). But there are also people on our map whose last names are industry giants, like the Mars candy company from Pennsylvania, the Waltons of Walmart fame in Arkansas, and the Menards hardware chain based in Wisconsin. Mike Bloomberg is the wealthiest New Yorker with a fortune estimated to be worth $58.4B. With that much money at his fingertips, Bloomberg can no doubt easily afford the enormous price tag for his failed presidential run.
One thing a lot of the billionaires on our map have in common? They first started out by creating and growing a small business. If you want to kickstart a business today, check the small business loan guide, or the credit line guide if you want to expand what you’ve already got.
Which names and faces on our map surprised you the most? Who did you expect to find, but didn’t? Let us know in the comments.
Data: Table 1.1