How many billionaires live in every state and DC?
Daniel Coughlin
22 January 2020
Where in America the ultra-wealthy reside
The US has more billionaire residents than any other country in the world, more than the next eight richest nations combined. Yet while some states boast scores of individuals with 10-figure-plus fortunes, others count just a handful and six have none at all. Using data from Forbes and US News & World Report, we reveal exactly how many billionaires live in every state and DC.
Alaska: zero
The Last Frontier is the last place a 10-figure-plus tycoon would call home if the lack of billionaires in the state is anything to go by. The most moneyed individuals, Alaska's leading real estate developers Leonard Hyde and Jonathan Rubini are worth a relatively humble $300 million each. Be that as it may, the state ranks ninth in the country for millionaire households per capita at 7.71%.
Vermont: zero
Likewise, Vermont is devoid of any billionaire residents. The richest person to call the Green Mountain State home is the co-founder of medical device manufacturer Boston Scientific John Abele, who is worth $640 million. The state does have its fair share of millionaire households however. They total a rather impressive 15,090.
New Mexico: zero
The wealthiest person in New Mexico is also a mere centimillionaire. Petroleum and natural gas magnate Mack C. Chase amassed his fortune thanks to the oilfields of the Permian Basin, which is located in the southeastern part of the state as well as parts of western Texas. Chase is worth some $700 million. His household is one of 37,520 in New Mexico with a million dollar-plus net worth.
New Hampshire: zero
New Hampshire ranks seventh in the country for both median income and millionaire households per capita, making it one of America's richest states, but billionaire residents are non-existent. The wealthiest individual in the Granite state is German-born heiress and philanthropist Andrea Reimann-Ciardelli who is worth $720 million, followed by C&S Wholesale Grocers boss Rick Cohen (pictured).
Delaware: zero
The second-smallest state in the US isn't a big draw for the nation's billionaires but it does have a decent amount of millionaire households, which number 24,615. Robert Gore, the inventor of the Gore-Tex fabric, and his sister Elizabeth Snyder are the richest folks in Delaware. They each have a fortune of $885 million.
Alabama: zero
Alabama lost its only billionaire in 2015 when deep-pocketed philanthropist Marguerite Harbert passed on. Lumber tycoon Jimmy 'Yella Fella' Rane is currently the wealthiest individual in the Heart of Dixie. According to Forbes the self-made centimillionaire from Abbeville is worth $900 million.
North Dakota: one
Billionaires are especially thin on the ground up to North Dakota, which may surprise you given the state's relatively recent shale oil and natural gas boom. In fact, the state is home to just one person with a 10-figure fortune, former high school gym teacher Gary Tharaldson, who made his money building and operating hotels and motels across the nation. He is worth bang on a billion dollars.
Utah: one
Ditto Utah. The Beehive State counts only one billionaire resident, Gail Miller, who has a fortune of $1.6 billion. The chairwoman of the group of companies established by her late husband Larry, Miller is the owner of 64 car dealerships in Utah and a number of other states, not to mention the proprietor of a movie theater chain and the Utah Jazz NBA team. What's most impressive about this? The couple started with a single Toyota dealership.
West Virginia: one
Another one-billionaire state, West Virginia has few mega-wealthy residents, and its only billionaire just happens to be State Governor Jim Justice, who ran as a Democrat but switched his allegiance to the Republican Party while in office. The coal baron turned politician (pictured here with President Donald Trump) has a net worth of $1.5 billion.
Maine: one
A resident of Scarborough, Susan Alfond is Maine's sole billionaire. The investor and philanthropist inherited a ton of money from her father Harold (pictured), the founder of the Dexter Shoe Company. The firm was sold to Warren Buffett in 1993 in exchange for $420 million of Berkshire Hathaway stock, which turned out to be a very shrewd move. Today, Ms Alfond is worth some $1.9 billion.
South Carolina: one
Anita Zucker is CEO of The InterTech Group, the conglomerate established by her late husband Jerry in 1982. The businesswoman and philanthropist has a fortune of $1.9 billion, which makes her South Carolina's only billionaire. In 2019 a lucky resident of the state was the sole winner of a $1.5 billion US Mega Millions lottery jackpot, but the winning ticket holder ended up opting for a one-time cash sum of $877 million.
Rhode Island: one
The tiniest state in the Union, Little Rhody perhaps unsurprisingly has just one billionaire resident. The founder and CEO of private equity firm Providence Equity Partners, Jonathan Nelson is worth $1.8 billion. The super-successful investor, who along with a slew of billionaires in the US has signed up to the Giving Pledge, lives in the state capital.
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South Dakota: one
A long-time denizen of Sioux Falls, T. Denny Sanford is South Dakota's one and only billionaire. Sanford is the founder and ultimate chairman and CEO of First Premier Bank, which offers credit cards to high-risk borrowers with exceedingly low credit scores. A major philanthropist, Sanford has devoted much of his time to giving away his fortune, which currently stands at $2.4 billion.
Louisiana: one
Gayle Benson is the only billionaire that calls the state of Louisiana home. The widow of sports team mogul Tom Benson, the former interior designer, who lives in the Big Easy, owns the NFL New Orleans Saints and NBA New Orleans Pelicans. At the last count, her net worth amounted to $3.1 billion.
DC: one
Although 11 billionaires reside in the surrounding area, the District of Columbia counts just one billionaire resident, none other than Donald Trump. America's first billionaire president, the real estate mogul and reality TV star turned leader of the free world is currently worth some $3.1 billion.
Idaho: one
Now the Simplot billionaires have spread their wealth across the next generation of heirs, Idaho has just one inhabitant rocking a 10-figure net worth in Frank VanderSloot. The rags-to-riches founder and head honcho of consumer-direct marketing company Melaleuca has a fortune of $3.8 billion.
Iowa: one
Iowa's sole billionaire, Harry Stine has made serious sums of cash genetically modifying corn and soybeans. His eponymous seed company, the world's largest, has cleaned up on the back of collaborations with the likes of Monsanto and Syngenta. Currently, the agri-entrepreneur is worth $5.6 billion.
Hawaii: one
While Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison owns an entire Hawaiian island, the tech mogul doesn't technically live in the Aloha State, which has only one permanent billionaire resident: Pierre Omidyar. The Paris-born founder of eBay and major PayPal shareholder, who has a net worth of $13.3 billion, calls Honolulu his home.
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Mississippi: two
Mississippi is the poorest state in terms of median incomes and has the lowest concentration of millionaire households at just 3.89%, but the Magnolia State does have two billionaire residents: brothers James and Thomas Duff. Each worth $1.4 billion, the siblings own Duff Capital Investors, a holding company with assets ranging from construction to energy firms.
Kentucky: two
Kentucky's two billionaires are also related. The co-founder of the largest self-storage business in the world, B. Wayne Hughes (pictured) has a fortune of $2.9 billion, while his daughter Tamara Gustavson is even richer. The Lexington resident is worth $5.1 billion according to Forbes.
Oregon: two
Next up is Oregon. The Beaver State counts two billionaire residents who spookily are both alumni of the University of Oregon and derive their fortunes from sports apparel: Nike co-founder and former chairman Phil Knight (pictured) and Timothy Boyle, the president and CEO of Columbia Sportswear. They are worth $41 billion and $2.7 billion respectively.
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Kansas: two
Following the death of Garmin co-founder Gary Burrell in June, Kansas has just two billionaires who call the state home. They are Koch Industries chairman and CEO Charles Koch, and Min Kao (pictured), the executive chairman of Garmin. Koch is by far the richest of the pair with a fortune of $42.8 billion. Kao has a net worth of $4.1 billion.
Nebraska: two
Nebraska also counts two billionaire denizens and both owe their wealth to the state's most successful company, Berkshire Hathaway. The 'Oracle of Omaha' Warren Buffett, the fourth richest person on the planet, is of course the wealthiest with a net worth of $90 billion. Buffett's close friend Walter Scott Jr, who owns a sizable stake in Berkshire Hathaway Energy, has a fortune of $4.5 billion.
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Indiana: three
Three Hoosiers feature on Forbes' latest list of billionaires. In order of wealth they are: biotech magnate Carl Cook; Herb Simon, who is the co-founder and chairman emeritus of Simon Property Group; and Indianapolis Colts CEO Jim Irsay (pictured). Cook is worth $10.6 billion, Simon has a fortune of $3.3 billion, and Irsay is sitting on a cool $3 billion.
Montana: four
Montana may be the one of most sparsely populated states but it doesn't do too badly at all when it comes to billionaire residents. In total, four Montanans have 10-figure fortunes. They include mining and railroad magnate Dennis Washington (pictured), who is worth $6.8 billion, and Austen Cargill II. One of 14 billionaire Cargill heirs, he has a net worth of $4 billion.
North Carolina: four
Four billionaires reside in North Carolina. The most flush of the lot is James Goodnight, the CEO of software firm SAS Institute, who is worth $8.3 billion. Tim Sweeney (pictured), the founder and chief exec of the video games company behind Fortnite, is next with a fortune of $4.5 billion, followed by SAS Institute's John Sall, and the CEO and chairman of Quintiles Transnational, Dennis Gillings, who are worth $4.2 billion and $1.9 billion respectively.
Wyoming: four
Wyoming counts four billionaire residents. Candy and pet food heir John Mars is the most wealthy with a fortune of $30.7 billion. Walmart family member Christy Walton (pictured) is next with $8.5 billion, followed by Swiss-born entrepreneur Hansjoerg Wyss, who is worth $6.4 billion, and John Edson, the owner of two boat-building firms, who has a net worth of $1.4 billion.
Missouri: five
Missouri has a total of five billionaires. With a net worth of $7.1 billion, Cargill heir and major shareholder Pauline MacMillan Keinath is richest, followed by John Morris, CEO of Bass Pro Shops, who is worth $4.1 billion. The state's other billionaires include Scottrade founder Rodger Riney and newly-minted billionaire Jim McKelvey (pictured) of payments firm Square.
Arkansas: five
Arkansas counts five billionaire residents at the current time. Walmart heirs Jim and Rob Walton (pictured) lead the way. Jim is the richer of the brothers with a fortune of $52 billion, while Rob is worth $51.8 billion. The Natural State's other billionaires include transportation tycoon Johnelle Hunt with $3.1 billion, and John Tyson, the chairman of Tyson Foods, who has a net worth of $2.8 billion.
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Ohio: six
Six billionaires call Ohio home. The wealthiest person in the state, Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works boss Les Wexner (pictured) has a fortune of $4.5 billion. Wexner is followed by Denise York, the owner of the San Francisco 49ers, who is worth $3.2 billion, and pet food industry bigwig Clayton Mathile, whose net worth totals $2.3 billion. The remaining three derive their fortunes from finance.
Minnesota: six
Six residents of Minnesota have earned a coveted spot on Forbes' latest list of billionaires. Cargill CEO Whitney MacMillan is the state's most affluent individual with a fortune of $5.8 billion. Two other billionaire Cargill family members reside in Minnesota, John and Martha MacMillan. The state's remaining billionaires include Glen Taylor (pictured), the printing magnate and owner of the Timberwolves NBA team, who is worth $2.8 billion.
Oklahoma: seven
Seven residents of the state, most of whom live in Oklahoma City, have 10-figure fortunes. The richest of them all is Harold Hamm (pictured). The fracking king is worth some $9.1 billion. Oklahoma's other billionaires range from Hobby Lobby founder David Green, who has a fortune of $7.8 billion, to oilman turned bank owner and philanthropist George Kaiser.
Virginia: seven
Virginia has seven billionaires. The most moneyed is candy and pet food heiress Jacqueline Mars (pictured), who is worth $30.7 billion. An heir to the SC Johnson family fortune, Winifred Johnson-Marquart is next in terms of wealth with $4 billion. The state's other billionaires include AOL founding CEO Steve Case and Carlyle Group co-founders William Conway Jr and Daniel D'Aniello.
Maryland: eight
Maryland is home to eight people with 10-figure fortunes. The richest is real estate baron Ted Lerner, who is worth $5.6 billion. The other billionaires in the state in order of wealth are: Stephen Bisciotti, Mitchell Rales, Bernard Saul II, David Rubenstein, Dan Snyder, and Under Armour founder and CEO Kevin Plank (pictured).
New Jersey: eight
Eight billionaires reside in the state of New Jersey. Out of the eight, five derive their wealth from investment management. The richest of the bunch is John Overdeck. The hedge fund boss is worth some $6.1 billion. Interestingly, New Jersey has the highest concentration of millionaire households in the country.
Wisconsin: eight
The Badger State has a total of eight resident billionaires. Home improvement retail mogul John Menard Jr (pictured) is the richest with a fortune of $12.1 billion. Wisconsin's other billionaire inhabitants include Cargill heir James Cargill, as well as three members of the Johnson family, the owners of home cleaning products company SC Johnson.
Arizona: nine
Nine billionaires call Arizona home. Ernest Garcia II is the most well-off individual. The DriveTime Automotive boss and Carvana shareholder has a net worth of $5.8 billion. Phoenix-based brothers Mark and Joe Shoen of U-Haul have a combined fortune of $6.2 billion, while Los Angeles Angels owner Arturo Moreno (pictured), who also lives in Phoenix, is worth $3.4 billion.
Michigan: nine
Quicken Loans founder and Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert (pictured) is the richest Michigan resident with a fortune of $7.1 billion, followed by supermarket magnates Hank and Doug Meijer, who together are worth $10.1 billion. The state's other billionaires include: medical equipment mogul Ronda Stryker; Little Caesars boss Marian llitch; and Martha Firestone Ford, a descendant of the Ford family and owner of the Detroit Lions NFL team.
Tennessee: nine
Tennessee matches Michigan and Arizona with a total of nine billionaire residents. The wealthiest is Hospital Corp. co-founder Thomas Frist Jr with $13 billion. The remaining eight include FedEx founder Fred Smith and Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam (pictured), who is one of three billionaire governors. The other two are the aforementioned Jim Justice of West Virginia and Illinois' J.B. Pritzker.
Pennsylvania: 10
Candy and pet food heiress Victoria Mars (pictured) is the richest of Pennsylvania's 10 billionaire residents. The businesswoman and philanthropist is worth $7.7 billion. The Keystone State's other billionaire inhabitants include: John Middleton, who made his money from tobacco; Campbell Soup Company heiress and current largest shareholder Mary Alice Dorrance Malone; and Urban Outfitters president and CEO Richard Hayne.
Colorado: 11
Colorado is home to 11 individuals with 10-figure-plus fortunes. The most moneyed resident is Philip Anschutz (pictured), who owns everything from soccer and ice hockey teams to ranchland, entertainment venues and the Coachella Music Festival. Anschutz is worth $11.6 billion. The state's remaining billionaires include DISH Network's Charles Ergen, 'Cable Cowboy' John Malone, and two Cargill heirs.
Nevada: 11
A total of 11 billionaires are based in Nevada. As you've probably guessed, several of them made their money from casinos and hotels including the wealthiest person in the state, Las Vegas Sands CEO Sheldon Adelson, who is worth $40.5 billion, and Steve Wynn (pictured) of Wynn Resorts. The casino magnate has a fortune of $3.1 billion.
Georgia: 13
Georgia has 13 billionaire inhabitants, all of whom live in Atlanta. Cox Enterprises chairman Jim Kennedy is tops in terms of net worth with a fortune of $10.1 billion. Other notable billionaires who reside in the Peach State's capital include Chick-fil-A brothers Bubba and Dan Cathy, CNN founder Ted Turner, and Sara Blakely (pictured), the inventor of Spanx shapewear.
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Washington: 13
Washington is home to 13 billionaires. Amazon's Jeff Bezos is both the wealthiest in the state and the whole wide world with a fortune of $117.2 billion. The further 12 billionaires residing in Washington include: Bill Gates; former Microsoft CEO and LA Clippers owner Steve Ballmer; Starbucks chairman Howard Schultz; and siblings Bruce Nordstrom and Anne Gittinger, the largest shareholders of the Nordstrom department store chain founded by their grandfather.
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Connecticut: 17
Ray Dalio (pictured), the founder of the world's number one hedge fund business, is the richest of Connecticut's 17 billionaire residents, 13 of whom live in Greenwich, the so-called hedge fund capital of the world. Dalio is worth $18.7 billion. Other notable billionaires who have their primary residence in the state include Hyatt Hotels heiress Karen Pritzker, and Vince McMahon, the chairman and CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).
Illinois: 18
Illinois boasts 18 billionaire inhabitants. The most moneyed of the lot is hedge fund boss Ken Griffin, who has a net worth of $13.2 billion. Five billionaire members of the Pritzker family live in the state including of course Illinois Governor J. B. Pritzker (pictured), as do real estate moguls Sam Zell and Neil Bluhm, and Ty Warner, the creator of the Beanie Babies toys.
Massachusetts: 18
Massachusetts ties with Illinois in terms of billionaire residents. The wealthiest are Abigail Johnson (pictured) and her father Edward Johnson III of Fidelity Investments who have a combined fortune of $24.7 billion. They are followed by New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who is worth some $6.9 billion. Other billionaires of note in the state include New Balance's Jim Davis and Wayfair co-founder Niraj Shah.
Florida: 52
A total of 52 billionaires have chosen to make their home in the Sunshine State. Thomas Peterffy is the richest Floridian. The discount brokerage tycoon has a net worth of $17.9 billion. Also featuring on this year's Forbes' list of billionaires are cruise ship operator Carnival Corp chairman Micky Arison, car parts entrepreneur and sports team owner Shahid Khan (pictured), and Katherine Tanner, an heir to the Cargill family fortune.
Texas: 56
The Southern state with the highest number of billionaires, Texas counts 56 individuals rocking 10-figure-plus fortunes. Walmart heiress and art collector Alice Walton is the wealthiest with a net worth of $51.5 billion. Computers entrepreneur Michael Dell (pictured), who has $30.7 billion, takes second place, while banker Andrew Beal is third with $10.3 billion, followed by Jerry Jones. Mr Jones is best-known for his ownership of the Dallas Cowboys.
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New York: 112
The Big Apple has more billionaire residents than any other city in the world and New York State as a whole counts a total of 111. Michael Bloomberg has the highest net worth at $60.2 billion. The media mogul and former NYC mayor is followed by Rupert Murdoch (pictured right with Bloomberg left), who has a fortune of $20 billion. Other famous names include George Soros, Carl Icahn, and Ralph Lauren.
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California: 158
Drum roll please, the state with the greatest number of billionaires is California with a bewildering 158. Mark Zuckerberg is the Golden State's richest resident with a fortune of $81.9 billion. California is also home to Larry Ellison, Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Elon Musk, David Geffen, George Lucas, Lauren Powell-Jobs, and Kylie Jenner (pictured), to name but a few.
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