Home Billionaires The Highest Net-Worth Individuals In Each of the 50 States

Billionaires

The Highest Net-Worth Individuals In Each of the 50 States

Shannon July 6, 2019

The United States is a massive country divided into 50 individual states. Each of these territories has its own unique culture and landscape. It truly is interesting to see how the wealthiest people in each state made their money because it says so much about the location and the opportunities that arise there. Here are the 50 richest people in each state.

Jimmy Rane stars in commercials as a character called “Yella Fella”. Credit: Yellafella.com

50. Alabama: Jimmy Rane – $950 million

Jimmy Rane is the CEO of the Great Southern Wood Preserving company. Back in the 1970s, Jimmy and his brother had a very small family company treating wood in their backyard. For years, they were only bringing in $22,000 annually, but Rane spent years building the company until it began making more than $1 billion in profits every year.

JimmyRaneFoundation on Twitter: "Jimmy Rane welcoming the new class of @JRaneFoundation scholars #JRF2017… " — Credit: Twitter

Now, they treat massive quantities of lumber that is used for decks, construction, and fencing. When he appears on TV commercials for his company, Jimmy Rane has a cowboy persona called “The Yella Fella”. He has a personal net worth estimated at $950 million.

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Iceland's booming tourism market draws big players in Alaska real estate - Anchorage Daily News — Leonard Hyde & Jonathan Rubini co-own a real estate development company. Credit: The Anchorage Daily News

49. Alaska: Leonard Hyde & Jonathan Rubini – $300 million

For years, Alaska was the home of one of a huge gold rush. Today, the richest men are running a very different kind of business. Co-owners of JL Properties, Leonard Hyde and Jonathan Rubini, own the corporation 50/50. Hyde is the president, and Rubini is the CEO. This is a huge real estate development company in Anchorage, Alaska.

They also both own several of Anchorage’s largest buildings. Just a few examples are the JL Tower, and the ConocoPhillips Towers. They also own an entire business park in Utah and a hotel in Florida. They each respectively have a net worth of $300 million, putting them at a tie for the richest men in Alaska.

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Mark Shoen owns one-fifth of UHaul. Credit: Shutterstock

48. Arizona: Mark Shoen – $3.3 Billion

One-fifth of Amerco, the parent company of U-Haul, is owned by a man named Mark Shoen. He is the owner of a storage unit facility that collaborates with U-Haul. Apparently, there was a lot of drama going on in the Shoen family.

U-Haul billionaire surrenders sick rottweilers to Arizona dog rescue — via: The Arizona Republic

Mark and his brother Joe had to fight to gain control of U-Haul from their father. There is not much that is known about Mark Shoen, because he insists on having a very private life. But we do know that today, Mark Shoen is worth $3.3 billion.

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Jim Walton is one of the heirs to the Walmart corporation. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

47. Arkansas: Jim Walton – $50.8 Billion

Jim Walton is one of the sons of Sam Walton, who was the founder of Walmart. So, of course, he is going to be very rich regardless of his own career path. Indeed, Jim sat on Walmart’s board of trustees for over ten years. He handed the position over to his own son, Steuart, in 2016.

Jim Walton is one of the heirs to the Walmart corporation. Credit: Getty Images

Now, Jim Walton is in charge of running Arvest Bank. They have assets of over $19 billion. Together with the rest of his siblings, Jim Walton owns a significant portion of Walmart stock. He is currently estimated to be worth $50.8 billion.

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46. California: Mark Zuckerberg $71.7 Billion

You probably already know all about Zuckerberg’s life story because of the blockbuster movie called The Social Network. He started out as a computer science student at Harvard University. In 2004, he was only 19 years old when he created Facebook.com. At the time, the website matched faces to names of people in each class. Zuckerberg ended up in a lawsuit that challenged the ownership of Facebook, but he eventually came out on top.

As time went on, he began to accept more and more colleges to Facebook, and it eventually became open to the general public. Facebook had its IPO in 2012, but Zuckerberg held on to 15% of the stock for himself. In 2018, there was a massive scandal that revealed that Facebook shared user data with a firm called Cambridge Analytica. He had to face Congress for his actions. Facebook has also been criticized for the fact that the site is full of fake news. Even so, Zuckerberg continues to be one of the wealthiest men in the world. He has a current net worth of $71.1 billion.

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Philip Anschutz is a self-made owner of a successful hedge fund. Credit: Billboard.com

45. Colorado: Philip Anschutz – $12.1 billion

Entrepreneur Philip Anschutz has dipped his hands in several industries over the course of his 50-year career. He has made a fortune in railroads, telecommunication, oil, entertainment, and real estate. Anschutz owns one-third of the Los Angeles Lakers, as well as the Staples Center stadium. But that isn’t the only venue they own. The Anschutz Entertainment Group owns and operates over 100 concert venues all over the world.

Philip Anschutz is a self-made owner of a successful hedge fund. Credit: cpr.org

Recently, Anschutz purchased over 300,000 acres in Wyoming, because he plans to create the largest wind farm on the planet. He has given an impressive $2 billion to charity. He also gave away $300 million to the University of Colorado’s medical campus, which has been named after him.

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44. Connecticut: Ray Dalio – $18.4 billion

Dalio grew up in a middle-class family in Long Island, New York. He became interested in the stock market at the age of 12. Working as a caddy, he got some stock tips from the wealthy men that were playing golf. In 1975, he earned an MBA from Harvard Business School.

As an adult, he founded Bridgewater Associates out of a small two-bedroom apartment in New York City. Now, Bridgewater is the biggest hedge fund on the planet. Today, it manages over $160 billion. In 2018, Dalio brought on a partner to help manage the firm, as well as a new team of employees. Over the course of his lifetime, Dalio has given $769 million to charities. His personal net worth is estimated to be $18.4 billion.

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Robert Gore’s parents founded a chemical firm when he was a child. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

43. Delaware: Robert Gore – $885M

Gore’s parents founded their firm, W.L. Gore & Associates in 1958. He earned a Ph.D. in chemical engineering and began working for his parent’s company after he graduated in 1960. During his time working in the lab, he was trying to stretch Teflon in order to make improvements on plumber’s tape.

Robert Gore’s parents founded a chemical firm when he was a child. Credit: delawareonline.com

The result was a brand new material called “Gore-Tex”, along with 7,000 other patents for new inventions. Gore-Tex is now a waterproof fabric that is used in outdoor clothing, and it helped to grow his massive $885 million fortune.

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Thomas Peterffy created one of the first digital trading firms Credit: vanityfair.com

42. Florida: Thomas Peterffy – $19 billion

Peterffy was a Hungarian immigrant who emigrated to the United States in 1965. His family history is fascinating because he descended from aristocrats who lost everything they had built to the Soviet Union. Peterffy founded Interactive Brokers in 1993, which was a pioneering digital trading firm that offered low-cost trades on the stock market.

Thomas Peterffy created one of the first digital trading firms Credit: forbes.com

As you can imagine, getting in on Internet trading was an amazing decision back in the ’90s, and it is now commonplace today. His company became incredibly successful, and he began to invest in real estate. He now owns 500,000 acres of land, and his total net worth is estimated to be $19 billion.

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41. Georgia: Jim Kennedy – $9.3 billion

All the way back in 1898, Kennedy’s grandfather, James M. Cox, founded a company called Cox Enterprises after he purchased the Dayton Evening News. As a young man, Kennedy worked as a production assistant at his grandfather’s news station, beginning in 1972. He became the CEO from 1988 to 2008. When he first began working as the CEO, the company was worth $1.8 billion, and today, it is worth over $15 billion.

When his grandfather and parents passed away, he inherited 25% of Cox Enterprises. By this time, the company had branched out into several media enterprises, as well as private automotive sales. Today, he has an estimated net worth of $9.3 billion.

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Pierre Omidyar was the founder of eBay and the richest man in Hawaii. Credit: inc.com

40. Hawaii: Pierre Omidyar – $13.3 billion

Omidyar founded eBay back in 1995. In 2002, eBay bought Elon Musk’s payment company, PayPal, and then sold it again in 2014. Today, Omidyar still serves on eBay’s board of directors. He owns 6% of PayPal, and 5% of eBay stock. In 2004, he started his non-profit called the Omidyar Network, and he has donated $1.4 billion to help tackle global issues.

Pierre Omidyar was the founder of eBay and the richest man in Hawaii. Credit: Fortune.com

After creating eBay, he also became the founder of First Look Media, Topic Studios, and a news website called The Intercept. He also believes so strongly in freedom of the press, that he created the Press Freedom Defense Fund in 2017. Overall, Omidyar is reported to have a $13.3 billion net worth.

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Frank Vandersloot went from farm boy to billionaire. Credit: Forbes.com

39. Idaho: Frank VanderSloot – $3.5 billion

Vandersloot was born into poverty. His family had a farm, and his father also had to work on the railroad. When he was going to college, he had to live in a laundromat in order to pay for his education. As an adult, he became the founder of the massive Melaleuca corporation. They create loads of different products from health supplements, vitamins, and household cleaners. Once he began making a lot of money, he started to invest in real estate. He now owns over 117,500 acres of land in Idaho, Utah, and Montana.

Frank Vandersloot went from farm boy to billionaire. Credit: Melaleucanews.com

On his land, he is using his background knowledge in farming to run a cattle farm that produces purebred Angus beef. As he grew older, became active in the Republican party. Vandersloot gives millions of dollars to conservative candidates. He was also the financial co-chair for Mitt Romney. Today, he has an estimated net worth of $3.5 billion.

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Ken Griffin runs the Citadel hedge fund. Credit: qz.com

38. Illinois: Ken Griffin – $11.7 billion

When Griffin was a student at Harvard University, he began trading on the stock market in 1987. Since this was before the dawn of the internet, he bought a satellite dish and installed it on the roof in order to get stock quotes in real-time. In 1990, he graduated from college and launched a hedge fund in Chicago called Citadel.

Ken Griffin runs the Citadel hedge fund. Credit: chicagobusiness.com

Today, it has grown to manage $28 billion in assets. Even today, Griffin’s hedge fund has done exceedingly well. In 2018, there was a dip in the market, but Citadel still managed to produce a return of 9.1% for its investors Griffin has also donated over $700 million to charity. His total net worth is estimated to be $11.7 billion.

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Carl Cook is from Indiana. Credit: Shutterstock

37. Indiana: Carl Cook – $9.5 billion

The Cook Group was started by Carl Cook’s parents in 1963, out of their apartment in Bloomington, Indiana. He grew up watching his parents turn the modest medical device manufacturer into a massive corporation.

Cook Pharmica in Indiana. Credit: Indianapublicmedia.org

Since he grew up with such influential parents, he was able to invest and learn a tremendous amount about the pharmaceutical industry throughout his lifetime. In 2017, Cook Pharmica was sold to Catalent for $950 million. His personal net worth is $9.5 billion.

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Harry Stine grew up on a farm and created genetically altered seeds. Credit: Bloomberg.com

36. Iowa: Harry Stine $3.9 billion

The life story of Stine is inspirational because he grew up with a lot of disadvantages, and learned to make the most of what he was born with. Growing up in Iowa, Stine had Asperger’s and was also dyslexic. His parents were poor farmers, and as a young boy, he was completely obsessed with studying seeds. He became a math and data genius in school and was a great negotiator. As an adult, he founded a company called Stine Seed, where he began to experiment with seed genetics. He wanted to create seeds that were more resistant to pesticides, and also yielded better crops for farmers, because it would ultimately mean more money for people like his parents.

Harry Stine grew up on a farm and created genetically altered seeds. Credit: Desmoinesregister.com

In the 1990s, he was able to get licensing deals with huge corporations, and he began building his seed empire. He has worked with big names like Monsanto and Syngenta. Even after he earned his wealth, he never forgot about the little guy and has given millions to charities. Today, he has an estimated net worth of $3.9B.

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35. Kansas: Charles Koch – $43.5 billion

Back in 1927, a man named Fred Koch figured out an improved method to refine crude oil into gasoline. In 1940, he began the family industry, Koch Industries. His son, Charles Koch, has been the CEO of Koch Industries since 1967. He managed to take his relatively small family-owned business and grow it to where it is bringing in revenue of $110 billion, making it the second-largest private company in the United States.

The corporation has its hands in a lot of different industries. They work in oil pipelines, chemicals, Stainmaster carpet, and even Dixie Cups. Charles Koch shares the value of the company together with his brother, and his son Chase now heads the venture capital arm of the company. Koch’s personal net worth is estimated to be $43.5 billion.

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Billionaire Wayne Hughes is from Kentucky. Credit: Shutterstock

34. Kentucky: B. Wayne Hughes – $3 billion

You have probably seen one of the many Public Storage facilities that have been around 1972. This company was founded by B. Wayne Hughes, and he has made a massive fortune helping Americans store their junk. After succeeding in the storage business, he created another company in 2011 called American Homes 4 Rent, which has 50,000 single-family homes for rent.

B Wayne Hughes busy looking for his next star despite advancing years | Bloodstock News | Racing Post — Credit: Racing Post

The company earns $2.3 billion in sales over their 2,300 locations in the US and Europe. His personal net worth has been estimated to be $3 billion, and his children are all billionaires as well.

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33. Louisiana: Gayle Benson – $2.9 billion

In the 1970s, Gayle Benson ran her own interior design company and created a horse racing company called GMB Racing in 2014. Her husband, Tom Benson, was the owner of the NFL New Orleans Saints and the NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans.

When her husband passed away, Gayle became the new owner of the team. She now has a personal net worth of $2.9 billion.

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Susan Alfond is the richest person in Maine. Credit: Shutterstock

32. Maine: Susan Alfond – $1.7 billion

Back in 1958, a man named Harold Alfond created a shoemaking company. He began to sell millions of boots and shoes to the general public. When he passed away, Susan Alfond and her siblings inherited the fortune of their father’s Dexter Shoe Company.

Susan Alfond is the richest person in Maine. Credit: Ibtimes.com

In 1993, she sold the company to Berkshire Hathaway, and she retained $420 million in stock. Since then, the stock has grown to be worth billions. Her current net worth is $1.7 billion.

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31. Maryland: Ted Lerner – $5.2 billion

Back in 1952, Lerner was 26 years old. He had an idea to begin a real estate company, so he borrowed $250 from his wife to bring it to life. At first, he was selling homes for developers who were already established. After selling 22,000 new homes, he decided to take all of his experience and become a builder, too.

He now owns hotels, apartments, retail spaces, and commercial buildings. In 2006, Ted Lerner purchased the baseball team called the Washington Nationals, and he gave it to his son, Mark, in 2018. His current estimated net worth is $5.2 billion.

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Abigail Johnson. Credit: Bostonglobe.com

30. Massachusetts Abigail Johnson – $15.1 billion

In 1946, Edward Johnson II created Fidelity Investments in Boston, Massachusetts. Today, they manage $2.7 trillion of assets. As a young woman, Edward’s granddaughter, Abigail, worked at Fidelity every summer. She went to Harvard University and graduated with an MBA.

Since 2014, Abigail Johnson has been serving as the CEO of Fidelity. She currently owns a 24.5% stake in this firm. In 2018, Abigail Johnson launched a branch of Fidelity that allows investors to stake crypto-currencies.

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Dan Gilbert is a billionaire living in Michigan. Credit: USA Today

29. Michigan: Dan Gilbert – $6.8 billion

In 1985, Gilbert co-founded Quicken Loans and it grew to become the largest online lender in the world. In 1999, he sold the company to Intuit for $532 million. A few years later, the company was not doing so well, so Gilbert decided to buy it back at a discount price of $64 million. Even though it is very different than owning a financial institution, Gilbert decided to purchase the NBA team Cleveland Cavaliers.

Dan Gilbert is a billionaire living in Michigan. Credit: Fear The Sword

He has invested $2.5 billion in downtown Detroit with the plan to completely renovate and bring the city back to its former glory. He also wants to create a soccer league in the city, as well.

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Glen Taylor is a billionaire in Minnesota. Credit: Twincities.com

28. Minnesota: Glen Taylor – $2.9 billion

As a young man, Taylor worked at a wedding business to put himself through college. In 1975, Taylor purchased a pre-existing wedding business for $2 million. He transformed it into Taylor Corp, which became a printing firm that generated over $2 billion in sales.

Glen Taylor is a billionaire in Minnesota. Credit: NBA

In 2014, he purchased the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and farms in both Minnesota and Iowa. He now owns stakes in the NBA team The Timberwolves, the United FC soccer team, and WNBA team called The Lynx. With all of these different businesses, Taylor has built his net worth to $2.9 billion.

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Brothers James and Thomas Duff are billionaires in Mississippi. Credit: Forbes.com

27. Mississippi: James & Thomas Duff – $1.2 billion

James and Thomas Duff are brothers who inherited their father’s commercial tire dealership, Southern Tire Mart. The brothers decided to co-found a corporation called Duff Capital Investors, and the tire business is still one of its largest holdings. Since then, they began to acquire other companies under the umbrella of their corporation.

Brothers James and Thomas Duff are billionaires in Mississippi. Credit: Djournal.com

They purchased a trucking company called KLLM, a construction firm called TL Wallace, and an energy company called DeepWell Energy Services. They both have a similarly equal net worth of $1.2 billion each.

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26. Missouri: Pauline MacMillan Keinath – $7 billion

Back in 1865, a man named W.W. Cargill built a grain warehouse next to the tracks of the Iowa Railroad line. It grew to a larger food company as the years went on. By the time his great-granddaughter Pauline MacMillan Keinath came along, she helped to grow the company into a multibillion-dollar industry that boasts $115 billion in revenue.

Most Richest And Deserving Women Of The World | Comedymood — Credit: Comedy Mood

The company is still family-owned, with 90% of the assets being split up among W.W. Cargill’s descendants. Pauline is the largest shareholder at Cargill Foods, with a 12% stake. Her net worth is estimated to be $7 billion.

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Montana’s richest man is Dennis Washington. Credit: Forbes.com

25. Montana: Dennis Washington – $6.3 billion

As a young man, Washington worked construction for his uncle’s business, and gained a significant amount of experience. He was able to get a $30,000 loan and launch the Washington Construction business. Today, he owns a copper mine, a railroad, and two diamond mines.

Montana’s richest man is Dennis Washington. Credit: wsj.com

He also has investments in boats, as well as Seaspan Corp, which has 110 shipping containers. His current net worth is estimated to be $6.3 billion. Not bad for a guy who started out with $30,000.

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Warren Buffet is one of the wealthiest men in the United States. Credit: Latestlaws.com

24. Nebraska: Warren Buffet – $87.5 billion

It should be no surprise to you that Buffett is on this list. He’s famous for being the most successful investor in history. As a young man, Buffet studied the stock market religiously, and read any book on investing he could get his hands on. He bought his first stocks at age 11, and had to file taxes by 13. This obsession led him to make great decisions that helped propel him forward, so much so that he was called “The Oracle of Omaha”.

Warren Buffet is one of the most wealthy. Credit: inc.com

Today, he runs a firm called Berkshire Hathaway and owns over 60 companies like Geico, Dairy Queen, and Duracell. Now that he is getting older, he has promised to give 99% of his $87.5 billion fortune away to charitable donations.

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Sheldon Adelson is a billionaire casino owner living in Nevada. Credit: Time.com

23. Nevada: Sheldon Adelson – $35.7 billion

When he was young, Adelson grew up in Boston. His parents were immigrants from Lithuania and Wales. They were so poor, he was forced to sleep on the floor.

Sheldon Adelson is a billionaire casino owner living in Nevada. Credit: Forbes

He grew up to be a wealthy businessman, and when he was 55 years old, he purchased the Sands Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas for $128 million. Once he was apart of the casino business, this is when he went from millionaire to billionaire.

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22. New Hampshire: Andrea Reimann-Ciardelli – $720 million

The Reimann family has been wealthy for several generations, and Andrea Reimann-Ciardelli inherited a fortune connected with his family’s investment firm in Luxembourg called JAB. They own Krispy Kreme Donuts, Panera Bread, Peet’s Coffee, and Reckitt Benckiser.

Andrea Reimann-Ciardelli. Credit: Gazetaprawna.pl

The family also owns a profitable chemical company as well. When you combine all of these successful businesses together, you end up with Andrea Reimann-Ciardelli’s $720 million personal net worth.

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21. New Jersey: John Overdeck – $6.1 billion

Overdeck co-founded an investment firm called Two Sigma, and they manage $57 billion. This firm is incredibly successful because they take the time to examine the data of securities with a fine-tooth comb.

Overdeck’s personal net worth is $6.1 billion. Thankfully, he is willing to share his fortune with charities and has given $145 million to a children’s education program.

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Mack Chase. Credit: Pboilandgasmagazine.com

20. New Mexico: Mack Chase – $700 million

As a young man, Chase worked together with his father and brother in their well-pumping business. In 1968, he decided to start his own company. In 1979, he partnered with John Gray to create Marbob Energy, and they began offering pumping services to people who owned wells in New Mexico.

Mack Chase. Credit: Chaseenergyservices.com

Eventually, he and Gray decided to go their separate ways. This is when he created an oil company called Mack Energy Corp, and he began making a massive fortune in the Permian Basin oil fields.

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David Koch is New York’s richest man. Credit: The New York Post

19. New York: David Koch – $50 billion

Koch is the majority stakeholder and former vice president of Koch Industries. The company does loads of different things from refining crude oil to making fertilizer. They also own Quilted Northern and Dixie Cups.

David Koch is New York’s richest man. Credit: flipboard.com

He also ran as the 1980 Libertarian candidate to try to become Vice President of the United States. With all of these projects underway, it’s really no surprise that David Koch has a net worth of $50 billion.

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James Goodnight is a multi-billionaire in North Carolina. Credit: Shutterstock

18. North Carolina: James Goodnight – $9.3 billion

James Goodnight was a graduate of North Carolina State University, and he earned his Ph.D. In 1976, James Goodnight co-founded an analytic software firm called SAS together with his partner, John Sall. Their goal was to analyze data from agriculture.

James Goodnight is a multibillionaire in North Carolina. Credit: Boomsbeat.com

They became incredibly successful, and they sold that software to 83,000 organizations all over the planet. Goodnight and Sal remained friends, and they co-founded a private school called Cary Academy. They also opened a hotel and country club. In 2018, they brought in a revenue of $3.27 billion. Goodnight has a personal net worth of $9.3 billion.

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Gary Tharaldson is the richest man in North Dakota. Credit: bismarcktribune.com

17. North Dakota: Gary Tharaldson – $1 billion

Tharaldson started his journey to becoming a millionaire by purchasing a Super 8 Motel in 1982. As he grew that location, he continued to buy more and more hotels all over the country. He has accumulated over 350 properties. In 2006, he sold 130 of those hotels to Goldman Sachs and received $1.2 billion.

Gary Tharaldson is the richest man in North Dakota. Credit: Forbes

He made more than enough to retire, but he immediately re-invested that money into more real estate development. His current net worth is estimated to still be around $1 billion.

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Leslie Wexner is the richest man in Ohio. Credit: Manager Magazin

16. Ohio: Les Wexner – $4.7 billion

Back in 1963, Wexner received a $5,000 loan from his aunt to open the now-famous clothing store called The Limited. From there, he continued to acquire other clothing brands and created his overarching company called L Brands.

Leslie Wexner is the richest man in Ohio. Credit: Bloomberg

A few of these brands are Victoria’s Secret, Bath & Body Works, and more. Wexner is famous for being the man who bought Victoria’s Secret for just $1 million before turning it into a $12 billion empire. Today, his personal net worth is estimated to be $4.7 billion.

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Harold Hamm grew up on a farm and became an oil baron. Credit: Fortune.com

15. Oklahoma: Harold Hamm – $12.2 billion

When he was a child, Haam was in a family of sharecroppers. He was just one of 13 children, and they were all picking cotton and helping with the family farm. When he was 16, he got his first job at a gas station and brought in money to help the entire family.

Harold Hamm grew up on a farm and became an oil baron. Credit: The New York Times

Eventually, he began his own trucking company to carry water to the oil fields. Once he learned about the oil business, he was able to drill his first oil well in 1971. Today, they produce 200,000 barrels a day. His net worth is estimated to be $12.2 billion.

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Phil Knight is the creator of Nike. Credit: gsb.stanford.edu

14. Oregon: Phil Knight – $34.4 billion

When he was a college student, Knight ran on the track team at the University of Oregon. He created the brand Nike together with track coach, Bill Bowerman. They both contributed $500 to start the company together.

Phil Knight is the creator of Nike. Credit: USA Today

At the time, it was called Blue Ribbon Sports. Today, that modest $1,000 business brought in revenues of $364 billion in 2018 alone. His personal net worth has been estimated to be $34.4 billion.

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Victoria Mars is one of the heirs to the Mars candy fortune. Credit: mars.com

13. Pennsylvania: Victoria Mars – $6.9 billion

You have probably heard of the Mars candy corporation, because of famous treats like M&M’s, Milky Way, Skittles, and more. The company was founded by Frank Mars, the great-grandfather of Victoria Mars.

Victoria Mars is one of the heirs to the Mars candy fortune. Credit: som.yale.edu

Today, she and her three sisters inherited the family’s food company, and she owns an 8% stake. Just from these investments alone, Mars is worth $6.9 billion.

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Jonathan Nelson is the richest man in Rhode Island. Credit: Forbes

12. Rhode Island: Jonathan Nelson – $1.8 billion

As a young man, Nelson studied economics at Brown University, and he transferred to Harvard Business School and earned his MBA. In 1989, Jonathan Nelson founded the private equity firm called Provide Equity Partners.

Jonathan Nelson is the richest man in Rhode Island. Credit: Fortune

They have over 180 companies, and they span across multiple industries including education, media, and communications. They even owned the triathlon series called Ironman. Nelson decided to sell it for $900 million in 2015. Overall, his net worth is $1.8 billion.

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Anita Zucker is the richest person in South Carolina. Credit: postandcourier.com

11. South Carolina: Anita Zucker – $1.8 billion

As a young man, Jerry Zucker immigrated to the United States from Israel, and he began his career by inventing several different things. Eventually, he founded his company called InterTech Group, which still remains family-owned to this day and is run by Anita Zucker.

Anita Zucker is the richest person in South Carolina. Credit: cityofnorthcharleston.blogspot.com

They are a chemical manufacturer, but they also own an aerospace engineering firm, and commercial real estate. Over his lifetime, Zucker donated more than $75 million to philanthropic causes.

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Denny Sanford is the wealthiest man in South Dakota. Credit: sundayadelajablog.com

10. South Dakota: T. Denny Sanford – $2.5 billion

Most credit card companies and financial institutions are afraid of lending to customers who will be likely not to repay their debts. Sanford feels the opposite. He opened First Premier Bank, which specifically targets borrowers who are considered “high risk”.

Denny Sanford is the wealthiest man in South Dakota. Credit: argusleader.com

He has 12 branches of his bank, but he is also an issuer with Visa and Mastercard. Sanford keeps credit limits low, and interest high. While this is a brilliant plan to make tons of money, Denny Sanford actually said he would prefer to die broke and give his money away to charities. He has given away $1.6 billion, but he is still worth $2.5 billion.

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9. Tennessee: Thomas Frist Jr. – $12.1 billion

As a young man, Frist Jr. joined the air force, and he became a flight surgeon He and his father decided to found the Hospital Corp. of America together in 1968.

HCA CEO  R. Milton Johnson; President and Chief Operating Officer and incoming CEO Sam Hazen; and  co-founder and former CEO Dr. Thomas Frist Jr. Credit: modernhealthcare.com

He decided to take the hospitals and surgical centers public, and was able to expand his medical empire to 179 hospitals and 119 surgical centers in 20 different US states, and London.

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Alice Walton is one of the heirs of the Walmart fortune. Credit: BusinessInsider.com

8. Texas: Alice Walton – $49.9 billion

Sam Walton was the founder of Walmart, and he had three children; Alice, Rob, and Jim. Instead of joining the family business, Alice followed her passion by curating works of art.

Alice Walton is one of the heirs of the Walmart fortune. Credit: crystalbridges.org

She opened the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas. Her personal art collection is worth hundreds of millions of dollars and her net worth is $49.9 billion.

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Gail Miller is the owner of Utah Jazz. Credit: The Salt Lake Tribune

7. Utah: Gail Miller – $1.5 billion

Gail Miller and her husband Larry started out with just one Toyota dealership. They were so successful at selling cars, they managed to grow the business into a massive empire of 64 dealerships. In 1968, the Millers purchased the Utah Jazz NBA team for $22 million, and it is now worth over $1 billion.

Gail Miller is the owner of Utah Jazz. Credit: The Salt Lake Chamber

After experiencing so much in her lifetime, Gail Miller published a book called Courage To Be You: Inspiring Lessons From An Unexpected Journey.

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John Abele is the richest man in the state of Vermont. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

6. Vermont: John Abele – $640 million

In 1979, Abele founded Boston Scientific, which is a medical device development company. In 1992, Abele took the company public, and he became a billionaire just four years later, in 1996. Even though he should be a billionaire, he has donated almost all of his money to charity.

John Abele is the richest man in the state of Vermont. Credit: egconf.com

He only kept a small stake in the company. In 2016, John Abel joined up with the co-founder of AOL, Steve Case, to created an educational startup called Knowledgehook.

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The Mars candy company. Credit: Shutterstock

5. Virginia: Jacqueline Mars – $27.7 billion

Earlier on this list, we already mentioned the heirs to the Mars candy company. Jacqueline Mars was another one of the granddaughters of the founder, Frank Mars. For twenty years, she worked on the company’s board of directors.

The Mars candy company. Credit: Getty Images

Today, Jacqueline is a philanthropist who serves on six different planning boards for museums, including The Smithsonian and The National Archives.

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Jeff Bezos is the richest man in the US. Credit: Fortune.com

4. Washington: Jeff Bezos – $155.6 billion

Bezos is not just the richest man in Washington state, he is the wealthiest person in the world. After working as a successful stockbroker in New York City, Bezos could see that the future of retail was going to be completely changed by the invention of the Internet. He and his wife MacKenzie chose to move to Seattle so they could begin Amazon.com in 1994. When they first started the website, it was run out of the garage of his house. The original employees were all able to own a slice of the Amazon.com stock, and Bezos currently still owns 16%.

Jeff Bezos is the richest man in the US. Credit: Wired.com

As time went on, Bezos has expanded the number of products and services offered by Amazon.com. He also purchased The Washington Post, and an aerospace company called Blue Origin, which aims to create commercial rocket ships to go into space. In 2018, Amazon earned $230 billion in revenue, and $10 in net profit. It is continuing to grow all the time. His current personal net worth is $155.6B.

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3. West Virginia: Jim Justice – $1.5 billion

As a young man, Jim Justice inherited a coal business from his father, and they expanded the coal mines to five different states. Not only is Justice the richest man in West Virginia, but he is also the state’s one and only billionaire.

In 2016, he ran for governor. He has some scandals dealing with unpaid taxes, and liabilities. However, even though he owed millions, he is still a billionaire.

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Menards Hardware Store. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

2. Wisconsin: John Menard – $11.3 billion

Back in 1958, John Menard started his construction business. He created a home improvement retail chain called Menards long before Home Depot and Lowes had a chance to.

Menards Hardware Store. Credit: jsonline.com

They still have 300 stores throughout the midwest, and they bring in $10 billion in sales annually. His net worth is over $11 billion.

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John Mars is one of the heirs to the candy corporation. Credit: Shutterstock

1. Wyoming: John Mars – $27.7 billion

Last but not least, John Mars is yet another person on his list who inherited part of the Mars Candy fortune. Together with his sister, John Mars has been sitting on the board of the company and continues to carry on the legacy.