Top 5 richest American family ‘dynasties’


Money can be hard to come by for some families, who barely get by with enough money to put food on the table. Other families are lucky enough to be a part of a dynasty that was established long before they were around and that pays the bills nicely for them. These families are the top five richest in America.

Edward C. Johnson family – $38.7 billion

Edward C. Johnson must have had the ability to see into the future as he made his family very rich by forming an investment company. Fidelity Investments is run by the Johnson family, and they are all worth a total of $38.7 billion. Edward’s son Ned retired from running the company in 2016 but still has a personal net worth of over $9 billion while his daughter Abigail took the reins.

Abigail Johnson

Cargill-MacMillan family – $38.8 billion

According to Forbes, the Cargill-MacMillan family has more billionaires than in any other clan in the world. The family owns a large percentage of the Cargill Inc. private firm which sells a wide range of services.

Cargill Inc. trades commodities, sells food, sources ingredients, processes crops, and even finds the time to provide financial risk management. The company was founded in 1865 as a grain storage business at the end of the American Civil War and rose to become one of the biggest firms in the country.

Mars family – $72 billion

You’ve probably seen some of the Mars family products in your nearest grocery store. Together the Mars siblings Jacqueline and John are worth $72 billion thanks to the candy company’s success. The company is the world’s largest candy company and first found success with Milky Way and Snickers bars. They have since invented M&Ms, Uncle Ben’s rice, and pet food Pedigree.

Koch family – $107 billion

Koch Industries is one of America’s largest private companies, and it has undergone dramatic changes in the past 30 years. Brothers William and Frederick Koch were bought out of the company for $800 million in 1983 but have spent a lot of their fortune trying to sue for more.

The family’s other siblings, Charles and David remained and helped the company make over $100 billion in sales. The Koch family could have been worth even more if William and Frederick hadn’t wasted so much money trying to get more from the company.

David and Julia Koch

Walton family – $169.7 billion

Walmart is one of the wealthiest companies in the world, and the family behind that dynasty, the Waltons, have made a lot of money from it. Seven heirs of original founder Sam Walton and his brother James control the company today. The company made over $495 billion just last year, making the heirs of Sam and James Walton the richest family in America.

These families are all enjoying the lifestyle of the rich and the famous, but just because the hard work was done in the past doesn’t mean they are relaxing. Most are now heading up billion-dollar firms, and that takes a lot of work making sure they stay on top.

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