Boasting outrageous riches that will make your jaw drop, the world's 30 most-moneyed families are collectively worth nearly $315 trillion (£241tr).
Counting down from the 30th richest family to the wealthiest dynasty in the world, read on as we reveal the most affluent clans globally, based on their recent net worths as estimated by Forbes or Bloomberg, except where otherwise stated.
This ranking doesn't include royal families, whose collective net worth is often impossible to pin down. All dollar values in US dollars.
The Dassault family fortune dates from 1892 when Marcel Dassault invented a new plane propeller, later used by the French military during World War I. Fast-forward more than 100 years, and the Dassault Group now has a diverse portfolio that includes everything from aerospace software to real estate and vineyards.
Until his death in 2018, Marcel's son Serge (pictured here in 2011, second left) ran the family business. His four children inheirited his staggering wealth and are all billionaires today.
The four-generation wealth of this family is traced back to A.N. Pritzker, who began making real estate and other investments as a side hustle while working at his father's law firm.
With his sons Jay and Donald, he founded the Hyatt Hotel chain in 1957 and their fortune soared. Each had several children who have all inheirited the largesse, with many going on to be successful outside of the family business.
Thomas Pritzker is the chairman and CEO of the Pritzker Organization that owns Hyatt Hotels; John Pritzker owns a boutique hotel group; Gigi Pritzker is a movie producer; JB Prizker is the current Governor of Illinois, and Penny Pritzker is an ex-US Secretary of Commerce.
Tadashi Yanai is the businessman behind Japanese fashion giant Fast Retailing, the parent company of brands including Uniqlo, Helmut Lang, and GU. As its flagship company, Uniqlo currently has around 2,500 locations in 25 countries.
Yanai, who has aspirations for Fast Retailing to become the largest retailer in the world, is married with two sons. He reportedly lives in a 16,586-square-foot mansion just outside Tokyo and owns two golf courses in Hawaii.
In 1896, Fritz Hoffman-La Roche founded the Swiss drug maker Roche. More than 125 years later, his descendants still control 10% of the company, whose cancer drugs generated more than $20 billion (£15bn) in revenue in 2022.
Other family interests include the World Wildlife Fund, which was cofounded by Lukas Hoffman in 1961. The picture shows one of the Hoffmann-La Roche clan, Maja Oeri (pictured second left), at the Museum of Modern Art's Party in the Garden in 2014. Oeri has a fortune of $3.5 billion (£2.7bn) and serves as a vice chair on the museum's board.
Edward C Johnson II founded the mutual fund Fidelity in 1946, before his son, also named Edward, took over.
Edward Johnson III ran the business until 2014, before passing the responsibility on to his daughter Abigail (the pair are pictured here). He died in March 2022.
The Johnson family, including Edward's other two children Edward IV and Elizabeth, owns around 49% of Fidelity. The other 51% is owned by employees.
Oei Wie Gwan founded the clove cigarette firm Djarum, which grew into one of the largest cigarette makers in Indonesia. Following his death in 1963, his sons Michael and Budi diversified by investing in Bank Central Asia.
While most of the family fortune comes from the bank, Budi's son Victor still runs the cigarette firm.
Late brothers Karl (pictured) and Theo Albrecht founded discount grocery store Aldi in Essen, Germany, after World War II. The supermarket chain split into two different entities in 1960, Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd, after the siblings disagreed over whether to stock cigarettes.
Both groups expanded internationally, and Aldi Nord snapped up US chain Trader Joe's in 1979. The firm is now controlled by Karl's children, Beate Heister and Karl Albrecht Jr., while Aldi Süd is owned by Theo's namesake son and the heirs of his brother Berthold.
Industrialist Günther Quandt established the firm that would become the BMW Group in the 1910s. His descendants have managed to hold on to a controlling stake in the multinational automaker, which is the parent company of Rolls-Royce and Mini, and generates annual revenues of around $160 billion (£123bn).
Günther's grandson Stefan Quandt owns a 23.6% share of the company, while Stefan's sister Susanne Klatten controls around 19%. Her stake in the family fortune might seem enviable, but in 2019 Susanne told the German business magazine Manager Magazin that inheriting huge sums of money comes with strings attached "that aren't so nice".
Founded in 1885 in Germany by Albert Boehringer, the manufacturer Boehringer Ingelheim initially produced tartaric acid for the food industry before branching out into pharmaceuticals.
Today, the drugmaker is one of the biggest pharma companies in the world, with the type 2 diabetes treatment Jardiance a significant seller. Boehringer's descendants still control the family firm, with scion Hubertus von Baumbach (pictured) serving as company chairman.
The Cargill-MacMillan dynasty has built a $60.6 billion (£46.4bn) fortune from its agribusiness firm Cargill Inc., one of America's largest privately owned companies.
The clan consists of seven generations and approximately 100 members. Pictured here is Martha MacMillan, great-great-granddaughter of William Wallace Cargill, who founded the family firm.
Through their investment firm Woodbridge, the Thomsons own a controlling stake in media information giant Thomson Reuters, which started as a humble radio station in Ontario back in the 1930s opened by Roy Thomson.
Third-generation family member David, the 3rd Baron Thomson of Fleet (pictured), is the chairman of Reuters, while his brother Pete is chairman of Woodbridge.
Pierre Wertheimer took over French make-up firm Bourjois in 1917 and went on to bankroll fashion designer Coco Chanel during the 1920s and 1930s in exchange for a 70% share of her company.
Pierre's grandsons Alain and Gérard (pictured) still own the controlling interest in Chanel and have a net worth of more than $41.2 billion (£31.4bn) each.
Françoise Bettencourt Meyers and her family inherited a 33% stake in global cosmetics leviathan L'Oréal in 2017 on the death of her mother, Liliane Bettencourt.
The granddaughter of L'Oréal founder Eugène Schueller, Bettencourt Meyers' fortune reached $100 billion (£76.5bn) in 2023, making her the first woman to reach that milestone. Bloomberg estimates it has sinced dropped down to around $90 billion (£68.9bn). She's pictured here with her sons Nicolas (left) and Jean-Victor.
The richest person in the world from 2010 to 2013, Carlos Slim Helú has slipped down the rankings somewhat but still boasts a staggering net worth and remains the richest man in Mexico.
The Mexican tycoon and his family own 79% of conglomerate Grupo Carso, the company where he made his fortune.
In February 1984, Michael Dell, who was just 19, founded his eponymous computer hardware company in Austin, Texas, using a $1,000 investment from his parents.
The firm produced its first PC in 1985 and has since gone from strength to strength. Today, Dell is a global household name and Michael Dell is married with four children.
Michael Bloomberg founded his eponymous media, financial services, and software firm in 1981 after cutting his teeth at New York securities brokerage Salomon Brothers.
Now a major philanthropist who's given away more than $17.4 billion (£13.3bn) to date, the magnate was mayor of the Big Apple for three terms. He ran in America's 2020 Presidential Campaign but pulled out early on.
He shares his billions with his daughters Georgina (left) and Emma, and partner Diana Taylor.
India's Gautam Adani (pictured) is the chairman of the Adani Group, which has interests in ports, airports, energy, edible oils, cement, and real estate. Forbes reports his wealth at $81.4 billion (£62bn). His older brother Vinod is worth another $25.1 billion (£19bn), making a family total of $106.5 billion (£81.5bn).
At one point, the Adani family's wealth had been estimated at around $150 billion (£120bn), but accusations in 2023 of fraud and stock market manipulation have caused the group's shares to plummet, along with their net worth.
Fast-fashion retailer Amancio Ortega (pictured with his youngest daughter Marta) and his late ex-wife Rosalía Mera opened the first Zara store in 1975.
The chain is now part of Ortega's Inditex group, which also includes the Massimo Dutti, Bershka, and Pull&Bear brands.
Ortega is the richest man in Spain, with a fortune of $108 billion (£82.7bn) according to Business Insider. His eldest daughter Sandra has a fortune of $10.2 billion (£7.8bn), while Marta is now chairperson of the Inditex group.
Indian tycoon Dhirubhai Ambani co-founded oil and gas giant Reliance Industries in 1965 and transformed his Mumbai textile company into one of India's largest conglomerates.
Upon his death in 2002, Ambani's son Mukesh took over as chairman, MD, and majority shareholder. His three children are all involved in the business today.
Computer scientist Sergey Brin cofounded Google with Larry Page back in 1998. At the time of writing, his net worth stands at $123.7 billion (£94bn).
Brin's ex-wife Anne Wojcicki, with whom he has two children, is the cofounder and CEO of personal genomics firm 23andMe. She's independently worth around $270 million (£206m).
Fred C. Koch founded the game-changing oil refining company that became Koch Industries in 1940 and passed it on to his four sons upon his death in 1967. However, it wasn't such a happy family, and Charles and David successfully sued their brothers, Bill and Frederick, for control of the firm during the 1980s and 90s.
David and Frederick have both passed away, with David leaving control of the company to his brother Charles. The family is worth a staggering $127.3 billion (£97.4bn).
Google's Larry Page is worth more than company cofounder Sergey Brin, with his fortune pegged at $129 billion (£98bn) as of August 2024.
Page is the former CEO of Alphabet Inc., for which he was paid a symbolic one dollar per year.
The computer science mastermind shares his wealth with his wife, biomedical scientist and philanthropist Lucinda Southworth (pictured left), and their two children.
Genius investor Warren Buffett has been the chairman and largest shareholder of the hugely successful holding company Berkshire Hathaway since 1970. This year alone, his fortune has grown by $18 billion ($13.8bn) to $138 billion (£105.6bn) according to Bloomberg.
A signatory of the Giving Pledge, the so-called Oracle of Omaha, who lives relatively modestly with his children, has promised to give away more than 99% of his wealth during his lifetime or upon his death.
Steve Ballmer was hired by Bill Gates in 1980 and served as Microsoft CEO from 2000 to 2014.
Since leaving the company, the tech whiz has become the sole proprietor of the Los Angeles Clippers basketball team, and in 2018 he sold a 4% stake in Twitter.
Ballmer has been married to Connie Snyder since 1990, and the couple are committed philanthropists. They have three sons who share in the family fortune.
When Forrest Mars Sr. died in 1999, the confectionery tycoon bequeathed Mars, Inc., the candy and pet food empire his father founded in 1911, to his three children Jacqueline (pictured here with her granddaughters Graysen Airth and Katherine Burgstahler), Forrest Jr and John.
The Mars siblings have complete control over the company, which boasts a plethora of popular brands, from Snickers and M&Ms to Whiskas and Dolmio.
The family is worth a staggering $141.9 billion (£108.6bn), according to Bloomberg.
Owners of French luxury goods firm Hermès, the Dumas family has an estimated combined fortune of $150.9 billion (£115.5bn), according to Bloomberg.
The clan's company was founded by patriarch Thierry Hermès in 1837 and started as a Parisian harness workshop, before branching out into the high-end fashion and luxury goods business.
Notable descendants of the family include the late Jean-Louis Dumas, who transformed the firm into a global powerhouse, and Axel Dumas, the current CEO (pictured).
The cofounder, executive chairman, and CTO of the Oracle Corporation, Larry Ellison is one of the world's richest tech entrepreneurs. As cloud services business' largest shareholder he's worth an estimated $152 billion (£116.3), according to Bloomberg.
Meanwhile, both his children are prominent in the movie industry.
Ellison's daughter Megan (pictured here at the Golden Globe Awards) is a producer who's worked on hit movies, including Zero Dark Thirty and American Hustle, while his son David is the founder of Skydance Media.
Consistently one of the richest people on the planet, Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg has dropped down the rankings considerably but still boasts a net worth of $182 billion (£138.6bn)
The social network billionaire shares his fortune with his wife, Priscilla Chan and their three children. He's planning to give a sizeable portion of his fortune to charity.
France's Bernard Arnault and his family control luxury goods conglomerate LVMH, which was created by Arnault in 1987 and boasts some of the world's most prestigious brands, including Dior, Givenchy, and Dom Pérignon. The company also bought Tiffany and Co for $15.8 billion (£13.9bn) in 2021.
Taking an active role in the running of the group, Arnault is chairman and CEO, and he's been vying with Elon Musk for the position of world's richest man. His five children also play an active role in the company with two of his sons joining him on the company's board in April 2024. At that time the family's net worth was estimated at $214 billion (£163.8bn).
The world's most-moneyed family is the Waltons, who control 46% of the world's biggest retailer by revenue, Walmart.
The fortune is shared between the living heirs of Sam Walton, who founded the unstoppable family company in Arkansas back in 1962.
Major scions include Christy, Rob (pictured left), Alice (centre), and Jim (right).
Learn more about the Waltons and the story behind Walmart's staggering success