Let's call it a case of the haves and the have nots. These families are the haves and the rest of us are the have nots – in that we don't have billions, mansions in multiple locations, private jets, etc. Collectively, the 25 richest families in America are worth $722 billion. It has been a rough year for them though: that $722 billion is $11 billion less than a year ago. Must be rough, eh?
In all seriousness, the 10 families below run the gamut. They are behind some of the biggest American brands like Hyatt hotels, Snickers, and Ziploc bags.
It won't surprise many to learn that the Waltons are the richest family in America, again. The seven heirs of Sam and Bud Walton are worth a collective $130 billion, down from $149 billion last year, but still enough to make them far and away the richest in the land. The Waltons are nearly $50 billion richer than the second-richest family, the Kochs.
Let's take a look at the 10 richest American families.
ALEX VAN LIESHOUT/AFP/Getty Images
10. Duncan Family
Net Worth: $21.5 billion
Source: Pipelines
Siblings Randa, Milane, Dannine, Avara, and Scott inherited a $10 billion estate from their father Dan Duncan when he died in 2010. The family fortune has more than doubled since thanks to a rise in the stock price of Enterprise Products Partners, which their father founded.
9. Hearst Family
Net Worth: $28 billion
Source: Hearst Corp.
The Hearst family heirs descend from William Randolph Hearst, who founded The San Francisco Examiner in 1887. His son, William Jr., became a Pulitzer prize winning journalist. His grandson William III runs the Hearst Corp. today, which owns 46 newspapers, 340 magazines, and has stakes in ESPN, Lifetime, and A&E.
8. Edward Johnson Family
Net Worth: $28.5 billion
Source: Money Management
Edward C. Johnson II founded Boston-based Fidelity Investments. Third generation family member Abigail Johnson currently serves as its CEO. Fidelity is the second largest mutual fund company in the world with $1.8 trillion in assets under management. The Johnson family owns 49% of the company.
7. Pritzker Family
Net Worth: $29 billion
Source: Hotels
The Pritzker clan lays claim to the Hyatt Hotel fortune. Hyatt was founded by A.N. Pritzker and his sons Jay, Donald, and Robert. There are 11 billionaires in this family.
6. S.C. Johnson Family
Net Worth: $30 billion
Source: Cleaning products
S.C. Johnson founded a parquet flooring company in 1886 and developed a floor way for his customers. That is how the S.C. Johnson company and fortune began. Today, the company is known for products such as Ziploc, Windex, and Pledge. The Johnson family continues to own and run the $9.6 billion privately held company.
5. Cox Family
Net Worth: $41 billion
Source: Media
The Cox family fortune began when James M. Cox bought the Dayton Evening News in 1898. The company expanded from there. Cox Enterprises is made up of Cox Communications, Cox Media Group, DealerTrack, AutoTrader.com, Kelley Blue Book, and Manheim car auctions.
4. Cargill-MacMillan Family
Net Worth: $49 billion
Source: Cargill, Inc.
The Cargill-MacMillan fortune got started when W.W. Cargill founded a small grain storage company in 1865 just as the Civil War was ending. The expansion of the railroads to the west made him a wealthy man. Today there are more billionaires in the Cargill-MacMillan family—14 to be exact—than in any other family in the world.
3. Mars Family
Net Worth: $78 billion
Source: Candy
The three Mars siblings (Forest Jr., Jacqueline, and John) own the world's largest candy company. Mars has $33 billion in sales. The company was started when their grandfather began making and selling candy from his kitchen in Tacoma, Washington in 1911.
2. Koch Family
Net Worth: $82 billion
Source: Diversified
Charles and David Koch run Koch Industries, the U.S.'s second-largest private company with more than $100 billion in sales. The company was started by their father Fred, who made his fortune in the 1920s by developing a new oil refining process.
1. Walton Family
Net Worth: $130 billion
Source: Walmart
The Waltons are the richest family in America thanks to Walmart. Founded by Sam and Bud Walton in Rogers, Arkansas in 1962, Walmart is the largest business in the U.S. in terms of revenue, with $482 billion in sales.
