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    Ranking the rich

    13 Houston billionaires make Forbes' list of America's richest for 2018

    John Egan
    Oct 4, 2018 | 11:15 am
    Nancy and Rich Kinder at MD Anderson Legends dinner
    Richard Kinder, pictured with wife, Nancy, leads the list of Houston billionaires.
    Photo by Michelle Watson/Catchlight Group

    As if Houston needed any more evidence that the city is booming, a new report reveals that the Bayou City boasts the most billionaires in Texas.

    Thirteen Houston billionaires land on the latest Forbes 400 list of the richest Americans. Ranked in order, the Houstonians are Richard Kinder (No. 79), Dannine Avara (No. 88), Scott Duncan (tied for No. 88), Milane Frantz (tied for No. 88), Randa Williams (tied for No. 88), Tilman Fertitta (No. 153), Dan Friedkin (No. 179), Jeffery Hildebrand (tied for No. 179), Robert McNair (No. 200), John Arnold (No. 239), George Bishop (No. 328), Drayton McLane Jr. (No. 354), and Leslie Alexander (No. 383).

    The Houston list features familiar sports franchise owners (Fertitta, McNair, McLane, and Alexander); the youngest Texas billionaire (Duncan, at 35); and one of only two Texans to earn a top Forbes philanthropy score (Arnold, for his impressive post-Harvey charity). Kinder has also recently gained even more fame in Houston thanks to his massive gift to Memorial Park.

    Many try, but no one, it seems, can topple Walmart heiress Alice Walton of Fort Worth from her perch as the wealthiest person in Texas. In fact, her net worth soared by $6.7 billion from 2017 to 2018, according to the latest Forbes 400 list of the richest Americans.

    The new Forbes 400 ranking puts Walton, with an estimated net worth of $44.9 billion, atop the list of Texas billionaires and at No. 12 nationwide.

    Walton also happens to be the country’s and world’s richest woman. Last year, Walton ranked 13th nationwide with an estimated net worth of $38.2 billion, up from $35 billion in 2016 and $32 billion in 2016. From 2017 to 2018 alone, Walton’s net worth jumped nearly 18 percent.

    Not far behind her on this year’s Forbes 400 — at No. 2 in Texas and No. 17 in the U.S. — is Austin tech titan Michael Dell, whose net worth is estimated at $27.6 billion in 2018, up from $23.2 billion last year. He’s chairman and CEO of the Round Rock-based tech company that bears his name.

    For those keeping score, Houston leads the Texas list (13), followed by Dallas (12), Fort Worth and Austin (six each), and Brownsville (one). No one from San Antonio appears in this year’s Forbes 400.

    Walton and Dell are the only two Texans among the 20 richest Americans. In all, 38 Texans appear in this year’s Forbes 400. Other than Walton and Dell, they are:

    Andrew Beal
    City: Dallas
    Net worth: $9.9 billion
    U.S. rank: 46
    Source of wealth: Banking, real estate
    Notable: Sold Preston Hollow estate in 2017 for $36.2 million

    Jerry Jones
    City: Dallas
    Net worth: $6.9 billion
    U.S. rank: 75
    Source of wealth: Dallas Cowboys
    Notable: Controls NFL’s most valuable franchise, worth estimated $5 billion

    Richard Kinder
    City: Houston
    Net worth: $6.6 billion
    U.S. rank: 79 (tie)
    Source of wealth: Pipelines
    Notable: Through family foundation, donated $70 million for Houston’s Memorial Park

    Dannine Avara
    City: Houston
    Net worth: $6.2 billion
    U.S. rank: 88 (tie)
    Source of wealth: Pipelines
    Notable: Formerly practiced law

    Scott Duncan
    City: Houston
    Net worth: $6.2 billion
    U.S. rank: 88 (tie)
    Source of wealth: Pipelines
    Notable: Is youngest Texas billionaire on list (age 35)

    Milane Frantz
    City: Houston
    Net worth: $6.2 billion
    U.S. rank: 88 (tie)
    Source of wealth: Pipelines
    Notable: Became billionaire after 2010 death of father Dan Duncan

    Randa Williams
    City: Houston
    Net worth: $6.2 billion
    U.S. rank: 88 (tie)
    Source of wealth: Pipelines
    Notable: Chairs board of family-owned energy company

    Robert Rowling
    City: Dallas
    Net worth: $5.8 billion
    U.S. rank: 107
    Source of wealth: Hotels, investments
    Notable: Donated millions of dollars for law and leadership center at Southern Methodist University

    Ray Lee Hunt
    City: Dallas
    Net worth: $5.3 billion
    U.S. rank: 127 (tie)
    Source of wealth: Oil, real estate
    Notable: Chairs board of family-owned businesses

    Trevor Rees-Jones
    City: Dallas
    Net worth: $5.3 billion
    U.S. rank: 127 (tie)
    Source of wealth: Oil and gas
    Notable: Sold University Park estate in 2018

    Robert Bass
    City: Fort Worth
    Net worth: $5 billion
    U.S. rank: 134 (tie)
    Source of wealth: Oil, investments
    Notable: Chairs board of company seeking to develop first supersonic business jet

    Kelcy Warren
    City: Dallas
    Net worth: $4.9 billion
    U.S. rank: 136 (tie)
    Source of wealth: Pipelines
    Notable: “Flunked out” of University of Texas at Arlington but returned to earn engineering degree

    Tilman Fertitta
    City: Houston
    Net worth: $4.5 billion
    U.S. rank: 153 (tie)
    Source of wealth: Houston Rockets, restaurants, entertainment
    Notable: Bought Rockets in 2017 for $2.2 billion

    Robert Smith
    City: Austin
    Net worth: $4.4 billion
    U.S. rank: 163 (tie)
    Source of wealth: Private equity
    Notable: Paid $59 million for three-story New York penthouse in 2018

    Ross Perot Sr.
    City: Dallas
    Net worth: $4.2 billion
    U.S. rank: 172 (tie)
    Source of wealth: Computer services, real estate
    Notable: Is oldest Texas billionaire on list (age 88)

    Bert “Tito” Beveridge
    City: Austin
    Net worth: $4 billion
    U.S. rank: 179 (tie)
    Source of wealth: Vodka
    Notable: Net worth shot up by 60 percent from 2017 to 2018

    Dan Friedkin
    City: Houston
    Net worth: $4 billion
    U.S. rank: 179 (tie)
    Source of wealth: Toyota dealerships
    Notable: Controls largest private company in Houston

    Jeffery Hildebrand
    City: Houston
    Net worth: $4 billion
    U.S. rank: 179 (tie)
    Source of wealth: Oil
    Notable: Sits on University of Texas System Board of Regents

    Mark Cuban
    City: Dallas
    Net worth: $3.9 billion
    U.S. rank: 190 (tie)
    Source of wealth: Online media
    Notable: Owns Dallas Mavericks and is investor on “Shark Tank”

    Robert McNair
    City: Houston
    Net worth: $3.8 billion
    U.S. rank: 200 (tie)
    Source of wealth: Energy, sports
    Notable: Owns Houston Texans

    Sid Bass
    City: Fort Worth
    Net worth: $3.4 billion
    U.S. rank: 232 (tie)
    Source of wealth: Oil, investments
    Notable: Invested millions of dollars in maker of Blue Bell ice cream

    John Arnold
    City: Houston
    Net worth: $3.3 billion
    U.S. rank: 239 (tie)
    Source of wealth: Hedge funds
    Notable: Donated millions of dollars to help survivors of Hurricane Harvey

    David Bonderman
    City: Fort Worth
    Net worth: $3.3 billion
    U.S. rank: 239 (tie)
    Source of wealth: Private equity
    Notable: Chairs board of low-cost Irish airline Ryanair

    Joseph Liemandt
    City: Austin
    Net worth: $3 billion
    U.S. rank: 271 (tie)
    Source of wealth: Software
    Notable: Drove effort to establish nonprofit Ride Austin ride-hailing service

    Gerald Ford
    City: Dallas
    Net worth: $2.9 billion
    U.S. rank: 280 (tie)
    Source of wealth: Banking
    Notable: Donated $20 million to build football stadium at Southern Methodist University

    Ray Davis
    City: Dallas
    Net worth: $2.6 billion
    U.S. rank: 316 (tie)
    Source of wealth: Pipelines
    Notable: Co-owns Texas Rangers

    John Paul DeJoria
    City: Austin
    Net worth: $2.6 billion
    U.S. rank: 316 (tie)
    Source of wealth: Hair care products, tequila
    Notable: Sold 70 percent stake of Patron tequila brand in 2018 for $5.1 billion

    William F. Austin
    City: Brownsville
    Net worth: $2.5 billion
    U.S. rank: 328 (tie)
    Source of wealth: Hearing aids
    Notable: Named Goodwill Global Ambassador for Ear and Hearing Health in 2017

    Lee Bass
    City: Fort Worth
    Net worth: $2.5 billion
    U.S. rank: 328 (tie)
    Source of wealth: Oil, investments
    Notable: Owns two cattle ranches in South Texas

    George Bishop
    City: The Woodlands
    Net worth: $2.5 billion
    U.S. rank: 328 (tie)
    Source of wealth: Oil and gas
    Notable: Owns ranch in South Texas and golf course near Houston

    W. Herbert Hunt
    City: Dallas
    Net worth: $2.5 billion
    U.S. rank: 328 (tie)
    Source of wealth: Oil
    Notable: Named (with wife Nancy) Les Femmes du Monde’s 2016 Couple of the Year

    Edward Bass
    City: Fort Worth
    Net worth: $2.4 billion
    U.S. rank: 344 (tie)
    Source of wealth: Oil, investments
    Notable: Married longtime girlfriend Sasha Camacho in 2017

    Thai Lee
    City: Austin
    Net worth: $2.3 billion
    U.S. rank: 354 (tie)
    Source of wealth: Information technology
    Notable: Runs one of country’s largest woman-owned businesses

    Drayton McLane Jr.
    City: Houston
    Net worth: $2.3 billion
    U.S. rank: 354 (tie)
    Source of wealth: Walmart, logistics
    Notable: Chairs initiative bringing high-speed “bullet” train to Texas

    Ross Perot Jr.
    City: Dallas
    Net worth: $2.3 billion
    U.S. rank: 354 (tie)
    Source of wealth: Real estate
    Notable: Sold Dallas Mavericks to Mark Cuban in 2000

    Leslie Alexander
    City: Houston
    Net worth: $2.1 billion
    U.S. rank: 383 (tie)
    Source of wealth: Sports
    Notable: Sold Houston Rockets in 2017 for $2.2 billion

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    news/city-life

    income analysis

    Texas families need to make this much money for one parent to stay home

    Amber Heckler
    Dec 8, 2025 | 9:30 am
    Stay at home parents, SmartAsset, income analysis
    Photo by CDC on Unsplash
    With costs to raise a child soaring over $20,000 a year in Texas, some households might decide to have one parent work while the other stays at home to raise their child.

    As the cost of raising a child balloons in major cities like Houston, many families are weighing the choice between paying for child care or having one parent stay home full-time.

    A recent analysis from SmartAsset determined the minimum income one parent needs to earn to support their partner staying at home to raise one child in all 50 states. In Texas — not just Houston — that amount is just under $75,000.

    The study used the MIT Living Wage Calculator to compare the annual living wages needed for a household with two working adults and one child, and a household with one working adult, a stay-at-home parent, and one child. The study also calculated how much it would cost to raise a child with two working parents based on factors such as "food, housing, childcare, healthcare, transportation, incremental income taxes and other necessities."

    A Texas household with one working parent would need to earn $74,734 a year to support a stay-at-home partner and a child, the report found. If two parents worked in the household, necessitating some additional costs like childcare and transportation, it would require an additional $10,504 in annual income to raise their child.

    SmartAsset said the cost to raise a child in Texas in a two-working-parent household adds up to $23,587. Raising a child in Houston, however, is somewhat more affordable. A separate SmartAsset study from June 2025 determined it costs $21,868 to raise a child in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro.

    In the report's ranking of states with the highest minimum income needed to support a family with one working adult, a stay-at-home parent, and one child, Texas ranked 32nd on the list.

    In other states like Massachusetts, where raising a child can cost more than $40,000 a year, the report acknowledges ways families are working to reduce any financial burdens.

    "This often includes considerations around who’s going to work in the household, and whether young children will require paid daycare services while parents are occupied," the report said. "With tradeoffs abound, many parents might seek to understand the minimum income needed to keep the family afloat while allowing the other parent to stay home to raise a young child."

    The top 10 states with the lowest minimum income threshold to support a three-person family on one income are:

    • West Virginia – $68,099
    • Arkansas – $68,141
    • Mississippi – $70,242
    • Kentucky – $70,408
    • North Dakota – $70,949
    • Oklahoma – $71,718
    • Ohio – $72,114
    • South Dakota – $72,218
    • Alabama – $72,238
    • Nebraska – $72,966
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