While big cities like New York, Los Angeles, and the Bay Area are home to many of America's billionaires, some of the nation's most monied residents actually live outside these wealthy urban enclaves.
From the Mars clan to the Waltons, by way of a new generation of tech titans, America’s wealthiest families and individuals have some serious money in the bank. Read on to discover who the richest person in your state is and find out how they made their money.
Net worth data courtesy of Forbes, unless otherwise stated.
Partners Leonard Hyde and Jonathan Rubini own equal stakes in JL Properties. Alaska’s biggest real estate firm, it has a portfolio market value of more than $2 billion.
Hyde and Rubini, who are president and CEO of the company respectively, own and manage some of Alaska’s most iconic buildings, including the JL Tower (pictured) and the ASRC Building.
While their wealth may be modest compared to others in this round-up, the business has allowed each family to accumulate net worths of $400 million apiece, according to Forbes.
Elizabeth Snyder, with an estimated net worth of $800 million, is the wealthiest person in Delaware.
Her money comes from the family business, W. L. Gore & Associates, which was started by her dad and brother in 1969. The company is perhaps better known as the maker of Gore-Tex sports fabric and turns over $4.5 billion annually. Snyder owns around 5.5% of the organization.
In West Virginia, the richest person is Brad Smith, the president of Marshall University. His $900 million net worth has not been earned in academia, however, but through his previous role as the CEO of software company Intuit.
Smith overtook Governor Jim Justice as the richest person in West Virginia when Forbes removed Justice from its list of billionaires due to his unpaid debts worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Born and raised in North Dakota, Gary Tharaldson owns a group of namesake companies that build and manage business-oriented hotels across America.
The Fargo-based entrepreneur was reported as having a net worth of $1.2 billion by Forbes in 2024, making him the first billionaire in the state.
If you don't recognize Jimmy Rane, CEO of Great Southern Wood Preserving, by name, it may be because you know him as his TV commercial cowboy alter ego, the "Yella Fella."
Following the sudden deaths of his in-laws in 1970, Rane took over their nearly bankrupt lumber business in Abbeville, Alabama and transformed it into a company worth $2 billion.
Today, he's worth an estimated $1.5 billion, making him the richest person in the state.
Nicknamed the "Godfather of Solar," Ron Corio developed a solar tracking system in 1989 and went on to launch Array Technologies.
The company has since installed some of America's biggest large-scale solar projects, as well as expanding overseas.
Corio stepped down as CEO when the company went public in 2020 and sold his stake for an estimated $1.2 billion. He's New Mexico's first billionaire, and worth at least $1.7 billion.
The co-founder of medical device company Boston Scientific, John Abele has earned hundreds of millions of dollars from the firm's success and is worth nearly $2 billion, according to Forbes.
The only billionaire in Vermont, he takes the title of the state's richest person.
T. Denny Sanford owns the high-risk credit card provider First Premier Bank, one of the largest issuers of Mastercards in the country.
He's actively involved in philanthropy and has previously said he wants to "die broke." He's already given more than $1.6 billion to charity.
Despite this generosity, the banking mogul (pictured here in 2010 with Arnold Schwarzenegger) still has an estimated net worth of $2.1 billion, according to the most recent Forbes figures.
Over in neighboring Minnesota, the richest resident has a much more diverse source of income.
From sports franchises like the Timberwolves and Lynx basketball teams to the Star Tribune newspaper, Glen Taylor has stakes in many of the state's well-known businesses.
Having had a relatively modest and rural upbringing, the future billionaire bought a wedding services business in 1975, which he grew into a printing company that has made over $2 billion in sales.
Brothers Thomas and James Duff have transformed the small-scale tire business their father Ernest founded in 1973 into Southern Tire Mart, one of America's biggest tire dealers.
The duo also owns Duff Capital Investors, a holding company comprising a number of other lucrative firms. The Mississippi siblings are worth an estimated $3 billion each.
A family-owned shoe business is the source of wealth for Maine's richest resident.
Harold Alfond (pictured) started the Dexter Shoe Company in 1956, and later sold it to Berkshire Hathaway in 1993 for hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of stock.
Susan Alfond and her siblings (who have either passed away or live out of state) inherited Harold's wealth and are worth around $3 billion each today, according to Forbes.
The richest person in Idaho is health products entrepreneur Frank VanderSloot, the founder and CEO of Melaleuca.
Selling everything from beauty items and cleaning products to vitamins and weight loss shakes through the company's "referral marketing" business has netted an estimated $3.3 billion.
Rhode Island native Jonathan Nelson founded media-focused private equity firm Providence Equity Partners in 1989 and has discretely amassed a $3.4 billion fortune over the years.
The firm's investments often focus on the education and communications industries, and have included video game developers and even a scuba diving certification program.
The late Larry H. Miller was one of Utah's all-time most successful businesspeople, counting everything from car dealerships to sports teams and movie theaters in his bulging portfolio.
Following his death in 2009, ownership of the companies passed to his wife Gail (pictured) and their five children. As of March 2024, Gail has a net worth of $3.9 billion.
Robert "Bob" Faith started his real estate career with Trammell Crow Company in 1986. He later went on to start his own investment firm and a number of other businesses, including global real estate firm Greystar, of which he's the chair and CEO.
It's an understatement to say that his hard work has paid off handsomely. Greystar operates more than $300 billion worth of real estate around the world, as well as managing a further $35 billion of assets under development.
Between 2002 and 2006, Faith also served as the South Carolina Secretary of Commerce.
Les Wexner founded clothing company The Limited in 1963 and has built a formidable retail group. Over the years, he's bought up numerous brands, including Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works.
Wexner found himself in the public eye in 2019 thanks to his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, who was his confidant and financial manager from the early 1990s until the mid-2000s.
Wexner and his family have a combined net worth of $6 billion.
The founder of eBay, Pierre Omidyar lives with his wife Pamela and their three children in Honolulu. With a fortune of $6.4 billion, he's Hawaii's richest person.
The Omidyars are renowned philanthropists, having committed hundreds of millions of dollars to good causes around the world.
Back in 1952, Ted Lerner borrowed $250 from his wife Annette to set up real estate firm Lerner Enterprises in Rockville, Maryland.
The real estate mogul went on to develop property that's been valued in the billions, bought major league baseball team the Washington Nationals, and became the largest private landowner in the Washington, D.C., area.
Annette and her family are estimated to be worth $6.4 billion following Ted's passing in 2023.
Starting out in the late 1950s as a low-paid construction worker, Dennis Washington formed his first construction company in 1964.
He later diversified into mining, real estate, aviation, rail, and more, making billions in the process. He sold the construction side of the business for $2.6 billion in 2007, and currently has a net worth of $7 billion.
Kentucky’s wealthiest citizen is Tamara Gustavson, who has a net worth of $7.8 billion.
This wealth comes via storage company Public Storage, which her late father, B. Wayne Hughes, founded in 1972. Hughes left a significant portion of his shares to his daughter, as well as to his son, B. Wayne Hughes Jr., who is worth $2 billion and lives in Wyoming.
Their father also established the home rental company American Homes 4 Rent in 2011, and had amassed a fortune of $3.3 billion by the time he passed away in August 2021.
The Garcias have made their billions in the auto industry, with Ernest Garcia III (pictured) co-founding the used car buying and selling website Carvana in 2012. His father, Ernest Garcia II, is a majority shareholder of the company.
However, don't think that he's riding his son's coattails. The senior Garcia owns DriveTime Automotive, the fourth-biggest used car retailer in the US, and his $8 billion fortune makes him the wealthiest person in Arizona.
Born in Italy, Rocco Commisso came to America at the age of 12 and became a self-made success in the telecommunications industry, eventually launching his own cable TV company, Mediacom.
Enjoying the fruits of his labor, Commisso bought Italian soccer team Fiorentina in June 2019, in a deal worth somewhere between $150 million and $200 million. Currently, he has a net worth of $8 billion, making him the richest resident of New Jersey.
Louisiana’s richest person is worth $9.1 billion – which may come as a surprise to his college professor.
Todd Graves, CEO and founder of fast food chain Raising Cane's, got the lowest grade in the class when he proposed the idea of a restaurant that served only chicken fingers. Unfortunately, the banks agreed with his professor.
After graduation, Graves went to work in Alaska as a boilermaker and salmon fisher in order to save up cash for his first restaurant. He eventually launched the fast-growing chicken chain in 1996, with the brand enjoying sales of $3.7 billion in 2023.
In 1972, John Morris (center), started selling fish tackle at his dad's liquor store in Springfield, Missouri. That business grew to become outdoor retailer Bass Pro Shops, and Morris is now the state's wealthiest resident.
Along with buying up competitor Cabela's in 2017, the company also owns White River Marine Group, which is the world's largest boat manufacturer by volume, selling fishing and recreational boats.
Fittingly in a state where agriculture is big business, the richest person in Iowa owns America’s largest independent seed company.
Stine Seed was founded in the 1950s by the father of current head honcho Harry Stine (pictured). The only billionaire in the state of Iowa, Stine has an estimated net worth of $9.7 billion.
Since co-founding software company SAS (previously Statistical Analysis System) in 1976, data guru James Goodnight has made billions crunching numbers. In fact, the firm's fast-growing revenues exceeded $3 billion in 2022.
With a net worth of $10.1 billion according to Forbes, Goodnight is the wealthiest person in North Carolina.
The Cook Group was established in 1963 by Gayle and Bill Cook, operating out of the spare bedroom of their home in Bloomington, Indiana.
From humble beginnings, the medical device company has grown to turn over more than $2 billion annually. Ownership of the company passed to the couple's son, Carl Cook (pictured), who took over as CEO when Bill passed away in 2011.
Carl is now the richest individual in Indiana, with a net worth of $10.6 billion.
In a three-way tie for the richest person in Georgia, Dan Cathy, Bubba Cathy, and Trudy Cathy White are each worth an estimated $11.2 billion.
Their father, S. Truett Cathy, started fast food chain Chick-fil-A back in 1967. Dan (pictured) is chair and CEO of the popular restaurant chain, while Bubba is the executive vice president. Trudy spent 10 years as a missionary in Brazil and has started a number of Christian nonprofit organizations.
Officially Colorado's richest resident, Philip Anschutz started out working in his father's oil business in the 1960s. He later moved into a diverse range of sectors, including sports, entertainment, and windpower.
The tycoon owns everything from the NHL's LA Kings and Crypto.com Arena (formerly the Staples Center) to the Coachella Music Festival, giving him a net worth of $15.2 billion, according to Forbes.
One of the earliest fracking pioneers, Harold Hamm started Continental Resources in 1967. The oil company is the largest leaseholder and producer in the Bakken oil field in North Dakota and Montana.
Having taken it public in 2007, Hamm and his five children opted to take the company private again in 2022, in a deal worth $27 billion.
Their estimated net worth is $18.5 billion, making the Hamm clan the richest family in the state – and overtaking the Oklahoma-based Judy Love and her family, who are the owners of Love’s Travel Stops and Country Stores.
Rick Cohen is owner of C&S Wholesale Grocers, the nation's largest grocery wholesaler. His grandfather founded the business back in 1918.
However, most of the Cohen family's wealth comes from Symbotic, a warehouse automation company that sells technology Rick developed while trying to solve distribution problems at C&S. Symbotic counts Walmart as one of its major customers, and the firm went public in 2022 for $5.5 billion.
Cohen and his family are the richest in New Hampshire, with an estimated net worth of nearly $20 billion.
The richest person in Connecticut, Steve Cohen made a name for himself while running hedge fund SAC Capital, which he was forced to shut down after reports of insider trading. He also had to cough up $1.8 billion in penalties.
Despite that, he has an estimated net worth of $19.8 billion, oversees the $30-billion hedge fund Point72 Asset Management, and bought the New York Mets baseball franchise in 2020 for $2.4 billion. At the time, the figure was the highest sale price ever agreed for an MLB team.
With hundreds of stores across the midwest, John Menard Jr. can attribute his fortune to his family business, the Menards home improvement chain. It's safe to say that he's made a fortune over the years, with the company pulling in $13 billion in sales in 2022.
Having started a construction business in 1958, Menard beat Home Depot to the market by 20 years. His net worth is estimated to be around $25.2 billion, making him Wisconsin's richest person.
Over in neighboring state Michigan, Daniel Gilbert is the richest resident, with an estimated net worth of $26.2 billion.
Co-founder of mortgage lender Quicken Loans, he took the firm public in 2020 under the name Rocket Companies, securing a $36 billion valuation. Like many on this list, he's expanded his interests into sports, becoming the owner of the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers in 2005.
He's also invested more than $5 billion in buying up and renovating buildings in downtown Detroit as part of regeneration efforts, as well as launching StockX, an online sneaker sales platform that has been valued at $3.8 billion.
Tennessee's wealthiest person owes his $26 billion fortune to the company he co-founded with his father.
Frist (pictured) and his father, Thomas Frist Sr., who passed away in 1998, were both physicians when they co-founded Hospital Corporation of America back in 1968.
The father-son duo grew the organisation into the largest operator of private healthcare providers in the world.
Businessman Jeff Yass is the richest person in Pennsylvania, with an estimated net worth of $27.6 billion.
He's one of several co-founders of the trading and investment firm Susquehanna International Group (SIG). Among its various ventures, SIG owns a 15% share of ByteDance, which is the parent company of social media platform TikTok.
Until he moved to Florida in 2022, hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin had long been Illinois's richest person.
With a net worth of $28 billion, the wealthiest person in the state is now Lukas Walton, the grandson of late Walmart founder, Sam Walton.
Lukas inherited his fortune in 2005 when his father John died in a plane crash, and now serves on the board of directors for the Walmart Family Foundation.
Abigail Johnson, who has been described as the "most powerful woman in finance", owns a controlling stake in Fidelity Investments. The fund management company was started by her grandfather, Edward Johnson II, in 1946.
She took over from her father as CEO in 2016, and is currently the richest person in Massachusetts, with a net worth of $29 billion. Her family's total wealth is nearly $45 billion.
As you might expect, gambling is the source of wealth for Nevada's richest person, Miriam Adelson.
Her late husband, Sheldon Adelson, started his first business at the age of 12. He got involved in the world of casinos in the late 1980s, and built hotel-casino The Venetian Las Vegas in the late 90s, cashing in on its success in a major way.
The chairman of the Las Vegas Sands Corporation, he passed away in January 2021 at the age of 87, leaving his then-fortune of $26.8 billion to his family. Miriam is currently worth $32 billion.
When Forrest Mars Sr. died in 1991, the candy tycoon bequeathed Mars Inc. to his three children: Jacqueline Mars, Forrest Mars Jr., and John Mars.
Jacqueline and her family have complete control over the company, which has a multitude of popular brands and saw revenues of $50 billion in 2023, according to Forbes.
On that note, there's plenty of money to go around behind the beloved candy brands of M&M, Twix, and Milky Way.
With an equal stake in the family business, John Mars has the same $38.5 billion estimated net worth as his sister Jacqueline, making him the richest person in his home state of Wyoming.
While very little is known about John and his family, we do know that Queen Elizabeth made him an honorary knight in 2015.
Phil Knight, the co-founder of Nike, and his family are Oregon's wealthiest people.
Knight, shown here with his son Travis Knight, established the sportswear brand with Bill Bowerman way back in 1964. Originally naming their venture Blue Ribbon Sports, both Phil and Bill put in $500 to start the business that now sees annual revenues of more than $50 billion. Knight is still involved with the company to this day.
Charles Koch (pictured, right) is one of four brothers who inherited the oil refining business Koch Industries from their father.
He and his brother David successfully sued their siblings William and Frederick for control of the firm during the 1980s and 1990s. As of early March 2024, Charles is worth at least $58 billion according to Forbes, making him the richest person in the state of Kansas.
It should come as no surprise that the richest person in Arkansas is part of the wealthy Walton family (pictured).
The youngest son of Walmart founder Sam Walton, Jim is the chair of family-owned Arvest Bank and one of the main shareholders of Walmart.
Combined with the other Walton heirs, he and the family hold approximately half of Walmart's stock.
Michael Bloomberg is the richest person in New York, with a staggering net worth of $106 billion.
After being fired from Wall Street, Bloomberg co-founded financial information and media company Bloomberg LP in 1981. The media mogul then turned his attention to politics, serving as the Mayor of New York between 2002 and 2013.
There's no doubt that Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is a wealthy man, with an estimated net worth of $128 billion and around 1.3% of the computer company's shares to his names.
However, until recently he wasn't the richest person in the state of Washington – Amazon's Jeff Bezos held that title until he moved to Florida in late 2023.
Warren Buffett is Nebraska's richest person, with Forbes reporting earlier thsi year that he has an estimated net worth of $133 billion.
While many of the people on this list have inherited their wealth through family connections, the boss of famed conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway isn't planning to leave his kids much of his fortune.
Buffett has signed the very same Giving Pledge that he helped co-found with Bill Gates in 2010, meaning that he will give away more than 99% of his wealth during his lifetime or at death.
Launching Facebook while still a teenager, Mark Zuckerberg is the richest resident of California. His company, now known as Meta, went public in 2012, helping to build his vast fortune in the process.
Zuckerberg still owns about 13% of Meta's stock. Much like Warren Buffett, the Facebook billionaire and his wife, Priscilla Chan, have also committed to donating the bulk of their wealth to good causes via the Giving Pledge.
Before Amazon founder Jeff Bezos moved to Florida, Hungarian-born Thomas Peterffy of electronic brokerage firm Interactive Brokers had been the state's richest resident.
However, Bezos's net worth of $194 billion is a whopping five times higher than that of the financier who is worth – a still very respectable – $38.8 billion.
Beating Bezos by a mere $1 billion, Tesla CEO Elon Musk is worth $195 billion. This currently makes him the richest person in both Texas and America, as well as the second richest person on the planet, according to Forbes.
In 2020, Musk relocated his business dealings from Silicon Valley to the Lone Star State after officials wouldn't let him open Tesla factories in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Now discover who the richest American was in the decade you were born
Updated by Nicole Robinson