I imagine the day when the Forbes' 400 list of the wealthiest Americans is released is like the billionaire version of Christmas morning, with old men bounding out of their silk sheets, around the Chippendale armoire, over the zebra-skin rug, out of the east wing, down to the stairs to the mezzanine, past the billiard room Rothko collection and to the refurbished Provençal farmhouse kitchen table where the butler has placed the magazine, on top of the mail, in a solid gold serving tray.

But this year's list includes a number of Houstonians who are younger and more lively than the stereotypes of the monied set that usually sit atop the rankings.

The 2011 list of American billionaires includes 47 Texans and 13 men and women living in and around Houston. The list of Houstonians (which includes Astros owner Drayton McLane, who calls Temple home) is unchanged from last year.

According to Forbes, the money king of Houston is Rich Kinder, with a $6.4 billion fortune made in the oil pipelines business.

Kinder comes in at No. 46 overall on the list, and he's the fifth-highest Texan after Fort Worth Wal-mart heir Alice Walton (No. 10, $20.9 billion), Austin computer company founder Michael Dell with $15 billion and Dallasites Harold Simmons and Andrew Beal.

Once again the Dallas/Fort Worth area amassed the highest number of billionaires — over half of Texas' most wealthy live in the DFW metroplex, including famous names like former presidential aspirant H. Ross Perot (No. 91, $3.5 billion), Mark Cuban (No. 171, $2.3 billion) and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones (No. 227, $1.9 billion).

The 2010 death of Houston pipeline magnate Dan Duncan left room at the top of the list, but actually increased the number of Houston's billionaires. Duncan's four children — Scott Duncan, Dannine Avara, Milane Frantz and Randa Williams — are each on the list at No. 96 with $3.4 billion each. At 28 years old, Scott Duncan is also the third-youngest billionaire on the list, behind Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and Dustin Moskovitz. Older sister Milane is the 11th-youngest at 42, and the siblings are also counted as the seventh-richest family, with a combined wealth of $13.6 billion.

Jeff Hildebrand is Houston's second-richest man at No. 59, with $5.3 billion made in oil, followed by John Arnold with $3.5 billion in hedge funds at No. 91. At 37, Arnold is also the sixth-youngest billionaire on the list.

Other Houstonians on the Forbes 400 include George Mitchell (No. 188, $2.2 billion), Houston Astros owner Drayton McLane (No. 260, $1.75 billion), Thomas Friedkin (No. 273, $1.6 billion), Joe Jamail (No. 293, $1.5 billion), Houston Texans owner Bob McNair (No. 293, $1.5 billion) and Kenneth "Bud" Adams (No. 375, $1.1 billion).