/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/dmn/FRN6YPOKCJFMVEEIVIKLELTNLY.JPG)
It was a big year for the wealthy in Texas.
The 43 who have claimed places this year Forbes Ranking of the 400 richest Americans now make up more than a tenth of the nation’s wealthiest people, as the group grew by six from a year ago.
One of Texas’ most prominent transplants is not only the richest man in the state, but also the nation’s and the world’s. Elon Musk, who made Texas his official residence when he began investing heavily in the state, sits at the top of the rankings with an estimated net worth of $251 billion.
In Dallas, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones continues to expand his lead over every other billionaire in town, with a fortune that Forbes now stands at $16 billion. He benefited from the rising valuation of the Cowboys, already considered the NFL’s most valuable franchise, and benefited from his majority stake in Frisco-based oil and gas company Comstock Resources. The value of the team has increased by 10% compared to last year’s valuation.
Musk’s fortune has jumped more than $100 billion from a year ago as SpaceX soars with new funding and a dissolved deal to take over Twitter heads to court.
Tesla CEO also ousted Amazon founder Jeff Bezos Forbes’ No. 1 spot, which Bezos has held for four straight years.
The two business moguls have cemented Texas as a key state in their plans to privatize space. Musk’s SpaceX uses a launch site along the Gulf Coast on the Texas-Mexico border, and Bezos sends Blue Origin rockets into the air from a remote location in West Texas.
Behind Musk in Texas is Walmart heiress Alice Walton, whose net worth has dropped more than $12 billion from a year ago. The drop ousted her from a seven-year run as America’s richest woman. The Fort Worth resident is now second only to Julia Koch and her family.
New additions to Texas’ most exclusive firm include 84-year-old oil tycoon Autry Stephens of Midland, whose company owns the rights to drill more than 500,000 acres in the United States, most of which are in Texas; Joe Gebbia, founder of Airbnb from Austin, who left her full-time role this summer to become a parent; Texas-based HEB grocery chain board members Charles Butt and Eleanor Butt Crook and fintech executive Hayes Barnard from Austin.
Considered the father of the aircraft leasing industry, Steven Udvar Hazy joins other Lone Star State billionaires as he lists Westlake as his place of residence.
Austin’s John Paul DeJoria, who founded Paul Mitchell Systems hair care products and co-founded Patrón Tequila, and Fort Worth oilman and investor Sid Bass joined the rankings after failing last year.
As a group, the nation’s richest are worth $4 trillion, down $500 billion from last year, Forbes said. The base net worth to make the elite list has dropped for the first time since the Great Recession, now requiring $2.7 billion to score a spot.
Comments are closed.