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    Multibillion-dollar dynasty

    These Texas billionaires rank among America's 25 richest families

    John Egan
    Jul 25, 2018 | 4:15 pm
    Alice Walton of Wal-Mart
    Alice Walton sold her Millsap ranch for an undisclosed amount last year.
    Photo courtesy of Wal-Mart

    The Bushes and the Kennedys reign as perhaps the two most prominent political dynasties in the U.S. But if you turn to America’s wealthiest families, one dynasty dominates the list — the heirs of Walmart founders Sam and Bud Walton.

    A new list from Business Insider pegs the net worth of the Walton heirs at $151.5 billion, handing them the title of America’s richest family.

    Among the seven Walton relatives who share that treasure trove is Alice Walton, the world’s richest woman, who calls Fort Worth home and boasts a fortune estimated at $43.7 billion, according to Business Insider. (Forbes assigned a lower net worth — $41.5 billion — to Alice as of June 25.) Alice, 68, is one of Sam Walton’s three children.

    “Rather than working in the family company with brothers Rob and Jim, [Alice] went into investment banking before leaving to pursue her passions for art and horses,” Forbes reported in 2017.

    Her legendary father once described Alice, a 1971 graduate of Trinity University in San Antonio, as “the most like me — a maverick — but even more volatile.”

    In 2017, Alice, whose passions include horse breeding, sold her 1,460-acre Rocking W Ranch in the small town of Millsap for an undisclosed amount, according to Business Insider. The initial asking price was $19.75 million, but the price later dropped to $16.5 million, Business Insider reported.

    Courtesy of Alice Walton, the Walmart heirs have a strong foothold among Texas billionaires. However, the Waltons aren’t the only family with Texas ties to appear on the Business Insider list.

    The Hunt family — owing its estimated $13.7 billion net worth to oil baron H.L. Hunt — ties for 16th place in Business Insider’s ranking of America’s wealthiest families. Hunt’s array of heirs, including more than a dozen children, have gone on to invest in energy, real estate, hotels, and even sports teams (the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs and the NBA’s Chicago Bulls).

    Seventy-five-year-old Dallas oil and gas magnate Ray Lee Hunt, the wealthiest child of H.L. Hunt, has a net worth of $5 billion, according to a June 25 estimate from Forbes. Ray Lee is an alumnus of Southern Methodist University.

    The Butt family, whose fortune stems from the San Antonio-based H-E-B grocery chain, lands at No. 23 on Business Insider’s list of America’s wealthiest families. The Butts’ estimated net worth: $11 billion.

    Florence Butt founded H-E-B in Kerrville in 1905. In the 1920s, her son Howard expanded the company statewide after taking over the reins. Today, Howard’s 80-year-old son, Charles, is H-E-B’s No. 1 shareholder and runs the company. Charles’ siblings and two nephews also own stakes in H-E-B, according to Business Insider.

    Forbes estimated Charles Butt’s net worth at $10.7 billion as of June 25.

    In May, Charles Butt committed to donating the bulk of his wealth to philanthropic causes. He joins billionaires like Bill Gates and Warren Buffett in making that pledge.

    “The roots of the Spirit of Giving at the company I have headed over the past 50 years are directly traced back to my parents’ decision in 1933 to contribute 5 percent of our pre-tax income to charitable causes. We’ve kept that pledge through changes in tax rates and other variables,” Butt wrote in his letter for the Giving Pledge campaign.

    Business Insider used the most up-to-date estimated net worths available from Forbes and Bloomberg to determine their rankings.

    Other noteworthy entries on the top-25 list include the Gallo family of wine-making fame (No. 25); the famous Rockefeller family (No. 24); the beer-making Busch family (No. 18); cosmetics' (Estée) Lauder family (No. 11); and the Mars family, with its candy empire (No. 3).

    listsrankings
    news/city-life

    The Hot List

    Houston shines among best summer vacation destinations for 2026

    Amber Heckler
    May 14, 2026 | 6:30 pm
    downtown Houston skyline at night
    Photo by © Debora Smail Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau
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    Nearly three quarters of Americans are planning on going on vacation this summer, and Houston is climbing up the national hot list of the best summer destinations of 2026.

    The Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land metro ranked as the No. 20 best summer travel destination in WalletHub's annual study, which compared 100 of the largest U.S. metro areas across 41 metrics based on travel costs and hassles, local costs, attractions, weather, and activities and safety.

    The U.S. metros that scored the top three spots are Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, Georgia (No. 1); Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida (No. 2); and Texas neighbor Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos (No. 3).

    Houston's 2026 ranking is up 15 spots from last year's report when the city was the 35th best summer travel destination.

    Here's how H-Town stacked up in the six main categories:

    • No. 7 – Attractions
    • No. 13 – Local costs
    • No. 24 – Activities
    • No. 50 – Weather
    • No. 84 – Travel costs and hassles
    • No. 90 – Safety
    Summer activities may draw in more tourists, but that shouldn't stop Houstonians from exploring their own city. From Fourth of July celebrations, to a one-night only hip-hop show, there are plenty of things to do to keep occupied and beat the summer heat in the city. And a trip to the Johnson Space Center, Houston Museum of Natural Science, or the Houston Zoo are always options for locals that want to pretend to be tourists for the day.
    Other top Texas summer travel destinations
    The Austin metro ranked as the third-best summer travel destination in the U.S., and it's the most conveniently located neighbor from Houston that's less than three hours away.
    The study found air travel to Austin — though not entirely cheap — has plenty of short nonstop flights from other major cities, making it an easily reachable destination compared to most other U.S. cities. Austin's reputation as foodie city and its outdoor recreational activities also bring in a lot of summer tourism.

    "One reason why Austin is a great destination is that it’s really easy to find affordable restaurants that are rated at least 4.5 stars out of 5 on Yelp," the report's author wrote. "Austin offers a mix of culture and outdoor fun, boasting a high number of attractions including the Bullock Texas State History Museum as well as shopping centers, music venues, food festivals and hiking trails."

    The suburbs also attract tourists looking for fun things to do that aren't just in central or downtown Austin, like checking out new restaurants in Round Rock and Georgetown.

    Visitors taking an extended trip to Texas can also visit San Antonio-New Braunfels and Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, which also ranked among the top 25 and landed in the No. 11 and No. 21 spots, respectively.

    The top 10 best summer travel destinations in 2026 are:

    • No. 1 – Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, Georgia
    • No. 2 – Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida
    • No. 3 – Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, Texas
    • No. 4 – Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-Virginia-Maryland-West Virginia
    • No. 5 – Urban Honolulu, Hawaii
    • No. 6 – Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida
    • No. 7 – Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Delaware-Maryland
    • No. 8 – Salt Lake City, Utah
    • No. 9 – Cincinnati, Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana
    • No. 10 – Richmond, Virginia
    wallethubreportssummer vacationtravel
    news/city-life

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