big money
17 Houstonians cash in on Forbes' 2021 list of world's billionaires
Houston's unofficial benefactor, Richard Kinder, is officially the richest person in the Bayou City, according to Forbes 2021 list of the world’s billionaires. Sixteen other uber-wealthy Houston-area residents join Kinder on that list.
But that's not the biggest news, statewide: Eclectic entrepreneur Elon Musk has officially knocked Walmart heiress Alice Walton of Fort Worth off her longtime perch as the richest person in Texas.
On April 6, Forbes released its 2021 list. Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, landed at No. 2 globally with a net worth of $151 billion. He sat at No. 31 in last year’s ranking. Forbes lists Musk’s place of residence as Austin, although he hasn’t confirmed where in Texas he settled last year.
Now at No. 2 in Texas is Walton, whose net worth is $61.8 billion. That puts her at No. 17 on the global list.
Walton is the only daughter of Walmart founder Sam Walton; as of December 2020, the Walton family still reigned as the richest family in the U.S., with Alice Walton's wealth accounting for a little over one-fourth of the family fortune.
The only other Texan who comes close to Musk and Walton in the Forbes ranking is Michael Dell. The chairman and CEO of Round Rock-based Dell Technologies boasts a net worth of $45.1 billion. That places him at No. 30 on the global list and No. 3 in Texas.
In all, the Forbes list features 64 Texas billionaires collectively worth $460.1 billion. (What pandemic?) Among the state’s metro areas, Dallas-Fort Worth leads with 27 billionaires, followed by Houston (17), Austin (10), and San Antonio (three).
What follows is a breakdown of Texas billionaires in other cities, including their global ranking, source of wealth, and estimated net worth.
Houston:
- Richard Kinder, pipelines, No. 369, $7 billion
- Dannine Avara, pipelines, No. 451, $6 billion
- Robert Brockman, software, No. 451, $6 billion
- Scott Duncan, pipelines, No. 451, $6 billion
- Milane Frantz, pipelines, No. 451, $6 billion
- Randa Duncan Williams, pipelines, No. 451, $6 billion
- Tilman Fertitta, Houston Rockets owner/food/entertainment, No. 622, $4.6 billion
- Dan Friedkin, Toyota dealerships, No. 705, $4.1 billion
- Janice McNair, Houston Texans owner and energy, No. 705, $4.1 billion
- John Arnold, hedge funds, No. 925, $3.3 billion
- Jeffery Hildebrand, oil, No. 1,580, $2 billion
- Leslie Alexander, former Houston Rockets owner, No. 1,750, $1.8 billion
- Fayez Sarofim, money management, No. 2,035, $1.5 billion
- Jim Crane, Houston Astros owner and logistics, No. 2,141, $1.4 billion
- Wilbur “Ed” Bosarge Jr., high-speed trading, No. 2,674, $1 billion
Two billionaires in the Houston suburbs also show up on the list:
- Leo Koguan of Sugar Land, information technology services, No. 1,444, $2.2 billion
- George Bishop of The Woodlands, oil and gas, No. 1,517, $2.1 billion
Fort Worth
- Robert Bass, oil and investments, No. 550, $5.1 billion
- David Bonderman, private equity, No. 705, $4.1 billion
- Sid Bass, oil and investments, No. 1,064 $2.9 billion
- Donald Horton, homebuilding, No. 1,299, $2.4 billion
- Edward Bass, oil and investments, No. 1,444, $2.2 billion
- Lee Bass, oil and investments, No. 1,664, $1.9 billion
- John Goff, real estate, No. 2,263, $1.3 billion
Mark and Robyn Jones of Westlake, who derive their wealth from the insurance industry, appear at No. 1,249 on the Forbes list with an estimated net worth of $2.5 billion.
Dallas:
- Jerry Jones, Dallas Cowboys owner, No. 264, $8.9 billion
- Andy Beal, banking and real estate, No. 311, $7.9 billion
- Mark Cuban, online media and Dallas Mavericks owner, No. 655, $4.4 billion
- Ray Lee Hunt, oil and real estate, No. 680, $4.2 billion
- Margot Birmingham Perot, technology and real estate, No. 705, $4.1 billion
- Trevor Rees-Jones, oil and gas, No. 727, $4 billion
- Robert Rowling, Omni Hotels and Gold’s Gym, No. 752, $3.9 billion
- Kelcy Warren, pipelines, No. 891, $3.4 billion
- H. Ross Perot Jr., real estate, No. 1,174, $2.7 billion
- Gerald Ford, banking, No. 1,249, $2.5 billion
- Ray Davis, pipelines, No. 1,517, $2.1 billion
- W. Herbert Hunt, oil, No. 1,580, $2 billion
- Todd Wagner, online media, No. 1,664, $1.9 billion
- Stephen Winn, real estate services, No. 1,664, $1.9 billion
- Kenny Troutt, telecom, No. 2,035, $1.5 billion
- Darwin Deason, software, No. 2,141, $1.4 billion
- Timothy Headington, oil and gas/investments, No. 2,141, $1.4 billion
- A. Jayson Adair, car salvage business, No. 2,674, $1 billion
Austin:
- Elon Musk, Tesla and SpaceX, No. 2, $151 billion
- Michael Dell, technology, No. 30, $45.1 billion
- Robert F. Smith, private equity, No. 451, $6 billion
- Bert “Tito” Beveridge, vodka, No. 622, $4.6 billion
- Thai Lee, information technology, No. 956, $3.2 billion
- Joe Liemandt, software, No. 1,008, $3 billion
- John Paul DeJoria, hair care and tequila, No. 1,174, $2.7 billion
- Jim Breyer, venture capital, No. 1,249, $2.5 billion
- David Booth, mutual funds, No. 1,750, $1.8 billion
- Whitney Wolfe Herd, Bumble dating app, No. 2,263, $1.3 billion
San Antonio:
- Christopher “Kit” Goldsbury, salsa and private equity, No. 1,833, $1.7 billion
- James Leininger, medical products, No. 2,035, $1.5 billion
- Red McCombs, real estate/oil/car dealerships/sports/radio, No. 2,035, $1.5 billion
