John Morris, the founder of Bass Pro Shops, lives in Missouri.
Billionaire net worth: $28.5B
Industry with most billionaires: Fashion and retail
Missouri’s six billionaires have an aggregate net worth of $28.5 billion, derived from a variety of industries. They made money by selling outdoors equipment like John Morris, or through inheriting retail billions like Wal-Mart heiress Ann Walton Kroenke. The state’s richest person is her husband Stanley Kroenke. he owns a roster of sports teams, but is probably best-known as the man who is bringing the NFL’s Rams back to Los Angeles from St. Louis, where the franchise has been since 1995.
Montana
(Jacob W. Frank)
Billionaire net worth: $14B
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Montana’s top billionaire-making industry is food and beverages, where two of its four billionaires derived their fortunes. Siblings Austen Cargill and Marianne Liebmann are two of 14 heirs to the Cargill-Macmillan food and commodities fortune, with net worths of $3.2 billion each. Linda Pritzker uses her $1.8 billion inherited wealth to bring Tibetan philosophy to Americans, and is building a Buddhist retreat in Montana. Dennis Washington, the state’s only self-made billionaire, made his fortune in mining and construction and is worth $5.8 billion.
Nebraska
Photograph by Michael Prince/The Forbes Collection
Billionaire net worth: $64.6B
Industry with most billionaires: Finance and investments, Energy
Both of Nebraska’s billionaires are self-made, and superstar investor Warren Buffett dominates the state’s billionaire wealth. He has a net worth of $60.8 billion, derived from astute investments through his company Berkshire Hathaway, the fifth largest corporation in the United States. Buffett made the biggest deal of his career in 2015, when Berkshire Hathaway paid $37 billion for industrial and aerospace parts maker Precision Castparts. His longtime friend and fellow Nebraska native Walter Scott is worth $3.8 billion. Scott got his start at his father’s construction company, and partnered with Berkshire Hathaway to invest in an electric and gas utility.
Nevada
(David Paul Morris/Bloomberg)
Billionaire net worth: $40.8B
Industry with most billionaires: Gambling and casinos
It’s no surprise that casinos and gambling supply most of Nevada’s $40.8 billion in billionaire wealth, but the odds are you didn’t know that seven of the state’s eight billionaires are self-made. Sheldon Adelson is the state’s richest person, with a $25.2 billion fortune made by running the Las Vegas Sands casino group, with properties in Las Vegas, Macao, Singapore and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. He is known as the “godfather” of the GOP, having spent more than $100 million on Republican candidates in 2012. Other billionaire-making industries in Nevada include food and beverages, sports, fashion and retail.
New Hampshire
(Jeffrey Joseph)
Billionaire net worth: $1B
Industry with most billionaires: Fashion and retail
Andrea Reimann-Ciardelli is New Hampshire’s only billionaire, with a net worth of $1 billion derived from the sale of her inherited stake in the JAB Holding Company. Her family had built up the business since the 19th century, though just four heirs retain stakes in the company now.
New Jersey
The wealthiest billionaire in New Jersey is the self-made hedge funder David Tepper. (Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg)
Billionaire net worth: $34.4B
Industry with most billionaires: Finance and investments
Like those in neighboring New York, the billionaires of Garden State derive great wealth from the finance and investments industry. Those industries minted the majority of the state’s eight billionaires, who have a combined wealth of $34.4 billion. It’s worth noting the proven business acumen of New Jersey billionaires. Every single one is either self-made, or is actively growing their inherited wealth. The wealthiest billionaire in New Jersey is the self-made hedge funder David Tepper, with a net worth of $11.4 billion.
New York
Billionaire net worth: $429.7B
Industry with most billionaires: Finance and Investments
New York state is home to 93 billionaires, and 78 of them live in New York City. Fifty-three of the New Yorkers in the three-comma club made their money in finance and investments. New York is home to titans of the billionaire class, with nine men whose net worths are at least $10 billion each, including George Soros ($24.9), David Koch ($39.6), Carl Icahn ($17B), Rupert Murdoch ($10.6), and former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg ($40B). Eight of the top ten highest net worth individuals in New York are self-made, and the other two are growing inherited fortunes.
North Carolina
James Goodnight is one of North Carolina’s richest residents. (Kyle Hood. Bloomberg News)
Billionaire net worth: $14.3B
Industry with most billionaires: Technology
One technology company generated the majority of North Carolina’s billionaire wealth. James Goodnight and John Sall founded business analytics software firm SAS in 1976, and have led the company to continuous growth since then. They’re now worth $8 billion and $3.9 billion, respectively. The state’s remaining billionaire, Clemmie Spangler, has a net worth of $2.4 billion, built from a wide variety of investments.
Ohio
Les Wexner developed some of America’s best
known clothing brands, including Abercrombie & Fitch, and lives in
Ohio. (Kyle Hood. Bloomberg News)
Billionaire net worth: $15.3B
Industry with the most billionaires: Finance and investments
Finance and investments produced the highest number of billionaires in Ohio, including three members of the Lerner family, who have a combined net worth of $3 billion in inherited investment wealth. The state’s richest person bucks the trend with a self-made retail fortune. Les Wexner developed some of America’s best known clothing brands, including Abercrombie & Fitch, Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works.
Oklahoma
(Jeremy Woodhouse)
Billionaire net worth: $27.1B
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Natural gas and oil dominates the Oklahoman economy, so it’s unsurprising that the energy industry fuels the state’s billionaire wealth. Three of the state’s five billionaires made their money in the energy industry, and one other billionaire couple derive their wealth in part from selling gas. Tom and Judy Love (who are counted as one in the FORBES rankings) are the business family behind Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores, a national chain of interstate-hugging gas-and-convenience stores with more than 100 locations in 39 states. David Green, another Oklahoma billionaire, is the controversial founder and CEO of retailer Hobby Lobby.
Oregon
Phil Knight, who lives in Oregon, has a net
worth of $24.4 billion and was the chairman of Nike for 51 years.
Billionaire net worth: $26.1
Industry with most billionaires: Fashion and retail
Two activewear billionaires dominate in Oregon, a state known for its natural beauty and outdoors pursuits. Phil Knight has a net worth of $24.4 billion, and was the chairman of Nike for 51 years before resigning in 2015. Timothy Boyle derives his $1.7 billion net worth from global behemoth Columbia Sportswear, a family company that he rescued from bankruptcy in 1970.
Pennsylvania
(Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
Billionaire net worth: 20.3
Industry with most billionaires: Food and beverage
Of the 10 billionaires that call Pennsylvania home, seven inherited their wealth, although four of those heirs and heiresses are growing their business. The highest net worth self-made billionaire in the Keystone State is Michael Rubin ($2.3B), the 43-year-old CEO of Kynetic, a holding company that operates e-commerce sites like Rue La La. He also has a minority stake in the Philadelphia 76ers and the New Jersey Devils.
Rhode Island
Forbes media
Billionaire net worth: $1.8B
Industry with most billionaires: Finance and investments
The smallest state in the union is home to one self-made billionaire, Jonathan Nelson. The Rhode Island native heads up $40 billion Providence Equity Partners in the state’s capital city, which had mixed success investing in a variety of ventures including a security firm, a for-profit college company, a used-car website and the Ironman triathlon series. Nelson has used his billions to fund an entrepreneurship center at Brown University, his alma mater.
South Carolina
Forbes media
Billionaire net worth: $1.8B
Industry with most billionaires: Manufacturing
Anita Zucker is the only billionaire in South Carolina, with a net worth of $1.8 billion. She’s the CEO of the InterTech Group, a conglomerate with interests in specialty chemicals, commercial real estate, manufacturing and aerospace parts. Zucker inherited the company from her husband when he died in 2008, having grown the company from a single plant to a multinational holding company. Today, her son, Jonathan, is president.
South Dakota
T. Denny Sanford, the only billionaire in South Dakota, made his fortune in credit cards. (Associated Press)
Billionaire net worth: $1.4B
Industry with most billionaires: Finance and investments
T. Denny Sanford, the only billionaire in South Dakota, made his fortune in credit cards. His company, First Premier Bank, is one of the world’s largest issuers of Visa and Mastercards. It specializes in offering high-interest credit cards to high-risk borrowers — but keeps the credit limits low. He’s on a mission to give away as much money as possible, with hefty donations to hospitals, the Mayo clinic and children’s education projects.
Tennessee
FedEx founder Frederick Smith lives in Tennessee
Billionaire net worth: $26.5 billion
Industry with most billionaires: Healthcare, Fashion and retail
Tennessee’s ten billionaires have diverse sources of wealth. The state’s biggest billionaire by far is the self-made healthcare chief Thomas Frist Jr., who founded Hospital Corp. of America with his father. Eldercare tycoon Forrest Preston is the state’s next healthcare billionaire. Jimmy and Bill Haslam made their money in retail, and have respective net worths of $2.3 and $1.6 billion. The state is also closely split between self-made billionaires like FedEx founder Frederick Smith and successful heiresses like Martha Ingram, who took over and grew Ingram Industries following her husband’s death.
Texas
(Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Billionaire net worth: $176.1B
Industry with the most billionaires: Energy
Everything’s bigger in Texas, including the billionaire count. Texas’ billionaire population is the fourth highest in the U.S. Almost half of all Texan billionaires derive their net worth from the energy industry, like Ray Lee Hunt, successful scion of the “oil-soaked” Hunt family, or self-made pipeline tycoon Richard Kinder. But the state’s three richest billionaires don’t owe their fortunes to fossil fuels. Alice Walton ($32.3B) is a Wal-Mart heiress, Michael Dell ($19.8B) founded the tech company that bears his name, and math genius Andrew Beal ($9.4B) made his fortune through smart investments.
Utah
(AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
Billionaire net worth: $1.4B
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Utah’s sole billionaire is a self-made businesswoman who spent decades building an empire of car dealerships and movie theaters with her husband. When her husband died in 2009, Gail Miller assumed full ownership of the Larry H. Miller Group of Companies. She is now worth $1.4 billion, a fortune that counts the NBA’s Utah Jazz among its assets.
Virginia
Jacqueline Mars is worth more than Virginia’s four other billionaires combined Forbes media).
Billionaire net worth: $32.6B
Industry with most billionaires: Finance and investments
Jacqueline Mars is worth more than Virginia’s four other billionaires combined. The candy heiress is worth $24.4 billion, though she leaves the day-to-day running of the company up to her brothers. She’s trailed by Winnie Johnson-Marquart, who inherited her net worth of $3.3 billion and runs the Johnson Family Foundation. Two of the remaining three billionaires derive their fortunes from finance and investment, making it the dominant industry in terms of billionaire number, if not wealth creation.
Washington
Forbes media
Billionaire net worth: $180.3B
Industry with the most billionaires: Technology
Washington is home to the world’s richest man, Microsoft founder and dedicated philanthropist Bill Gates. The self-made man rules here; 10 of the the state’s billionaires built their fortunes from the ground up, and the remaining three are all growing their inheritances. Readers might be surprised to learn that just five of the Washington billionaires made their money in technology, though that number includes famous names like Jeff Bezos ($34.8B) of Amazon and Steve Ballmer ($23.5B) and Paul Allen ($17.5B) of Microsoft. Other notable billionaires include Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz ($2.9B) and department store chain president Bruce Nordstrom ($1.2B).
West Virginia
(Photo by Luke Sharrett/Getty Images)
Billionaire net worth: $1.6B
Industry with most billionaires: Metals and mining
Jim Justice is West Virginia’s only billionaire, and the country’s sole mining billionaire. He inherited his coal business from his father, and has faced million dollar settlements and fines following regulatory violations. He remains popular in the coal state after saving a historic resort from bankruptcy. Justice plans to run for governor in November 2016.
Wisconsin
Samuel C. Johnson founded his eponymous cleaning products company in Wisconsin in 1886. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)
Billionaire net worth: $40.5
Industry with most billionaires: Manufacturing
Wisconsin has a sizable sum of inherited manufacturing wealth. Samuel C. Johnson founded his eponymous cleaning products company here in 1886. Over a century later, four heirs to the Johnson fortune live in the state and boast a combined net worth of $13.2 billion. The retired third-generation CEO of Kohler, a toilet and faucet-making firm, also calls Wisconsin home. That said, self-made hardware store tycoon John Menard Jr. is the state’s richest man, with a net worth of $9.3 billion.
Wyoming
The state is home to extremely wealthy heirs like John Mars (Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg).
Billionaire net worth: $70.6
Industry with most billionaires: Manufacturing, Healthcare, Food and beverage, Fashion and retail
Like Tennessee’s, Wyoming’s crop of billionaires came by their wealth many different ways. The state is home to extremely wealthy heirs like Forrest and John Mars, and John and Christy Walton, who inherited billions of the Mars and Wal-Mart fortunes. But self-made individuals like medical-device tycoon Hansjoerg Wyss and consumer products billionaire Leandro Rizzuto also live here. Perhaps the diverse group chose Wyoming for its lack of income tax.