The 10 Richest Families in America (2025 Edition)

If you need proof that dynasties are alive and well in America, look no further than the balance sheets of the country's wealthiest families. We're talking about families that turned a single storefront, candy bar, or grain elevator into multigenerational fortunes—and kept them growing through wars, recessions, political scandals, and TikTok trends. While the rest of us are clipping coupons or paying off student loans, these families are deciding whether to invest their billion-dollar dividend checks into a new company, a yacht, or maybe just another sports team.

This list isn't about overnight tech success or hedge fund hotshots. These are true American dynasties—families that built something big and have held onto it through sheer will, smart succession planning, and the occasional intra-family lawsuit. In many cases, the businesses they control are private, tightly held, and worth more than some countries' GDPs. You won't always see their names in headlines, but their companies touch your life every single day—from the cereal you eat and the soap you use, to the chicken sandwich you had for lunch.

So, how much money are we talking about here? Combined, the ten richest families in America control well over a trillion dollars in wealth. And as you'll soon see, the top few are so wealthy, they make the rest of the list look relatively modest, even when the "modest" part still means tens of billions. Let's take a look at who made the cut in 2025.

#10: The Cox Family – $27 Billion (Cox Enterprises)

The Cox family of Atlanta proves that media isn't dead, at least not when you've diversified like crazy. Cox Enterprises began with newspapers over a century ago and today spans broadband (Cox Communications, one of the largest cable providers in the U.S.), automotive services (Autotrader, Kelley Blue Book, etc.), and still some media (radio, TV, and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper).

This fourth-generation family business is led by Alex Taylor, a Cox great-grandson who serves as CEO and chair, keeping the leadership in family hands. Annual sales top $22 billion, showing the company successfully reinvented itself for the digital age.

The Cox fortune – roughly $27 billion – is shared among many relatives, given that founder James M. Cox had a large family. Most Cox heirs are content to quietly enjoy their wealth, but recent family drama popped up in 2023: James "Fergie" Chambers, a rebellious Cox cousin (and self-described communist, no less), publicly sold his shares back to the company in protest. His gripe? He opposed the family's involvement in funding a controversial police training center in Atlanta. That unusual episode aside, the Cox clan generally flies under the radar. They've kept the enterprise thriving through industry upheavals that sank lesser media families. By embracing cable and tech early, the Coxes ensured their dynasty would survive the print media ice age. And survive it has – with billions in the bank and a legacy as one of America's great family business success stories.

#9: The Duncan Family – $30 Billion (Enterprise Products)

The Duncans might not have a household name, but in Texas oil country, they're practically royalty. The late Dan Duncan started Enterprise Products Partners in 1968 with just $10,000 and a truck, building it into one of the nation's largest pipeline and energy storage companies (it now operates 50,000 miles of pipelines and generates $58+ billion in revenue annually). When Dan Duncan died in 2010, he famously became the first U.S. billionaire to pass on his fortune tax-free, due to a quirk in estate tax law that year – an irony not lost on those who watched his $10 billion estate triple to ~$30 billion under his heirs. Today, his four children own the bulk of Enterprise Products. Randa Duncan Williams, Dan's eldest, chairs the board and is the only family member still actively involved in running the business. The company has continued to prosper, benefiting from America's shale boom and rising energy exports. The Duncan family quietly collects hefty dividends from Enterprise's success (it's a publicly traded partnership, though family-controlled). While they keep a low public profile, the Duncans made headlines in financial circles for that generational wealth transfer. Talk about leaving a legacy: Papa Duncan's foresight (and maybe luck) set up his family for perpetual billionaire status. From humble pipelines to a gushing fortune, the Duncans exemplify Texas-size wealth passed down with minimal fuss.

#8: The Cathy Family – $34 Billion (Chick-fil-A)

The Cathys are the first family of fried chicken, turning a single Atlanta diner into one of America's most beloved (and at times controversial) fast-food empires. The late S. Truett Cathy opened the original Chick-fil-A in 1967, and the business remains family-owned and privately held to this day. Now in its third generation, grandson Andrew Cathy took over as CEO in 2021, succeeding his father, Dan Cathy. Under the Cathys' watch, Chick-fil-A has grown to over 3,000 locations and an estimated $6+ billion in annual revenue – all while famously staying closed on Sundays.

The family's net worth, built on those juicy chicken sandwiches and waffle fries, is about $33–34 billion. And growth isn't slowing: Chick-fil-A is planning its first overseas expansion – breaking into Europe with a UK store in 2025. The Cathys have carefully maintained control, expanding at a pace that keeps demand high (just witness the drive-thru lines). They're also known for a strong, faith-driven company culture, which has brought both loyal fans and some critics. But from a financial perspective, the model is golden. By mixing family values, savvy franchise strategy, and darn good chicken, the Cathys have deep-fried their way into America's wealth elite. Even with one less day of sales per week, this family's fortune is crispy on the outside and growing on the inside.

#7: The Johnson (S.C. Johnson) Family – $39 Billion (S.C. Johnson & Co.)

"S.C. Johnson – A Family Company" isn't just an advertising tag line; it's literal. This Wisconsin-based family has been making household products for five generations, ever since Samuel Curtis Johnson founded a parquet flooring and wax company in 1886. Fast-forward to today: S.C. Johnson is a private consumer goods giant behind brands like Windex, Glade, Ziploc, Raid, and Pledge – basically, everything you need to keep a suburban home clean, bug-free, and smelling fresh. Annual sales are around $11 billion, all of it still 100% family-owned.

The current boss, H. Fisk Johnson III, is the great-great-grandson of the founder and serves as chairman and CEO. His sister, Helen Johnson-Leipold, runs a spin-off company (Johnson Outdoors) that sells camping gear, showing the family's hands-on approach continues.

With an estimated family fortune just shy of $40B, the Johnsons are content to keep a low profile – they aren't fixtures on the high society circuit, but their products are fixtures in millions of homes. Notably, they've avoided the family drama that sometimes plagues dynasties; instead, they focus on steadily growing the business and occasionally "cleaning up" by acquiring complementary brands. The result is an enduring example of a family enterprise that's thrived for over a century. When they say "family company," they mean it – and their multibillion-dollar net worth is the proof in the polished pudding.

#6: The Pritzker Family – $42 Billion (Hyatt Hotels & Investments)

If any family could trademark the phrase "diversified portfolio," it's the Pritzkers. This Chicago dynasty's wealth sprang from a single Hyatt hotel purchase in 1957, but today their interests sprawl across hotels, industrial holdings, and investments.

The third-generation Pritzkers number over a dozen billionaires, and they're a high-achieving bunch: Penny Pritzker served as U.S. Commerce Secretary and more recently was tapped as a special envoy to aid Ukraine's economic recovery; her cousin J.B. Pritzker is the governor of Illinois (the richest elected official in the country); others include filmmakers, philanthropists, and of course those running the family business interests. The Hyatt Hotels chain, still a core asset, rebounded strongly as travel picked up post-pandemic, boosting the family fortune. But getting here wasn't without family feuds – in the early 2000s, the Pritzkers engaged in bitter lawsuits against each other over trust funds, before finally reaching a 2005 agreement to divvy up the empire. (Nothing says "family bonding" like a courtroom battle over billions…) Water under the bridge now, as the Pritzkers collectively sit on around $42 billion and counting. They continue to invest and reinvent – from backing tech startups to expanding their hospitality footprint. This family proves that starting with one motel and thinking big can spawn a dynasty, albeit one with a few internal scuffles along the way.

#5: The Johnson Family – $45 Billion (Fidelity Investments)

No relation to the cleaning products folks, this is the Boston-based Johnson financial dynasty behind Fidelity Investments. The late Edward C. "Ned" Johnson III transformed his dad's modest mutual fund company into a $4+ trillion asset management titan. Now his daughter, Abigail Johnson, helms the ship as CEO and chairman, representing Fidelity's third generation of leadership.

Since Abby took over in 2014, Fidelity's assets under management roughly doubled from $2 trillion to $4.4 trillion, as she expanded into new areas like ETF indexing and even Bitcoin trading (yes, one of America's stodgiest fund families has embraced crypto).

The Johnson family's wealth, largely tied up in Fidelity stock, is estimated around the mid-40 billions. Abby's two siblings are also involved: her brother Edward IV runs a real estate arm of Fidelity, and her sister Elizabeth chairs the family's charitable foundation. Notably, when Ned Johnson III passed away in 2022, he had already prepped a smooth handoff – no public drama, just a massive fortune split among heirs (and a sizable chunk to philanthropy, per his will). The Johnsons keep a low profile given their influence over millions of Americans' 401(k)s. They continue to "manage the money of the masses" while amassing plenty of their own, proving that steady and (relatively) conservative can win the race in the long run.

#4: The Cargill-MacMillan Family – $60 Billion (Cargill, Inc.)

Meet America's largest private company, Cargill, the agribusiness colossus that literally feeds the world. This Minnesota-based grain empire was founded in 1865 and is still 88% owned by the extended Cargill-MacMillan family – all 100 or so of them.

At last count, 21 family members are individual billionaires, which has to make Christmas gatherings an interesting affair – do you swap stock tips instead of gifts?

Cargill Inc. pulls in mind-boggling revenue – about $177 billion in 2022 – from businesses like commodity trading, meatpacking, animal feed, and sweeteners. Recently, global events have supercharged the family fortune: soaring food prices during 2022's supply shocks led Cargill to record profits and even minted four new Cargill billionaires in one year.

The company's scale is hard to fathom: it touches everything from the grain in your cereal to the corn syrup in your soda. Despite its size, Cargill has stayed resolutely family-controlled; however, no family member has run the firm since CEO Whitney MacMillan retired in 1995. They prefer to hire outside executives to manage the day-to-day, while the heirs quietly collect dividend checks. The Cargill-MacMillans are notoriously media-shy – they'd rather the brand be known, not their faces. But with a fortune around $60 billion, they've certainly made their mark. If you've eaten today, there's a decent chance a Cargill family member got a few cents of your meal.

#3: The Koch Family – $127 Billion (Koch Industries)

The Kochs operate on a different wavelength – quietly building a conglomerate so varied that you probably use Koch-made products daily without realizing it. Koch Industries, based in Wichita, Kansas, rakes in over $125 billion in annual revenues from a grab bag of businesses: oil refining, pipelines, fertilizer, paper towels, even fiber optics. This second-generation dynasty owes its growth to Charles Koch, now 88, who took the helm in 1967 and still isn't keen on retirement.

Fun fact: Back in the 1980s, Charles and his late brother David Koch bought out their other brothers for a mere ~$800 million, leading to decades of family lawsuit drama over whether that payout was fair.

Today, Charles and David's widow, Julia Koch, each hold 42% stakes, ensuring the family retains control. Under Charles's watch, Koch Industries has prospered and diversified aggressively – from Dixie cups to Stainmaster carpets – making the Koch name a byword for industrial might.

Lately, Charles Koch has also been playing political chess: he's a major Republican donor but pointedly not a Trump fan, funneling Koch cash into a super PAC supporting Nikki Haley for president. Succession-wise, Charles's son Chase Koch is waiting in the wings (he's taken on leadership roles in the family's venture capital and philanthropy efforts), implying that Koch Industries will likely stay a Koch-family fiefdom well into the future. They're not flashy – you won't see them on Instagram – but with a fortune north of $100B, the Kochs don't need hype. They let their balance sheet do the talking.

Ron Sachs-Pool/Getty Images

#2: The Mars Family – $142 Billion (Mars Inc.)

Life is sweet for the Mars family – and not just because they can eat all the M&M's they want. This family owns 100% of Mars Incorporated, the maker of iconic treats like M&M's and Snickers, plus pet care brands like Pedigree and IAMS. Siblings Jacqueline Mars and John Mars (now in their 80s) and the fourth-generation heirs have kept the company privately held and fiercely secretive. But some numbers have slipped out: Mars Inc. churned out $54.6 billion in sales in 2024, up 4.6% from the year prior. The family also treated themselves to a $1.5 billion dividend payout in 2024, triple what they took in previous years – a sign of robust profits (and perhaps confidence to splurge).

In a rare bold move, Mars is expanding beyond candy in a big way: it's financing a nearly $36 billion acquisition of Kellanova, Kellogg's snacks spinoff, which will add cereals and Cheez-Its to their pantry. Not bad for a company that started in 1911 with Frank Mars selling candy from his kitchen. The last Mars family member to serve as CEO stepped down in 2001, but make no mistake – the family still calls the shots from behind the scenes. With iconic brands, strategic expansions, and confections that never go out of style, the Mars family fortune keeps on growing (much like the nation's collective waistline after all that candy).

#1: The Walton Family – $432 Billion (Walmart)

The Waltons have reigned as America's richest family for years, and 2024 only widened the gap. Thanks to an 80% surge in Walmart's stock price in 2024, the family's fortune jumped by a staggering $173 billion in one year. That's roughly $328,000 of new wealth per minute from the Walton enterprise – talk about making money in your sleep. Despite selling about $22 billion in stock and giving away $11 billion to charity over the past decade, Sam Walton's heirs still own roughly 46% of Walmart's shares. In fact, their combined stake is so valuable that the family's net worth has eclipsed even Elon Musk's.

The family's grip on the company remains tight: Sam's son Rob Walton is on the board, as is his nephew Steuart Walton, and son-in-law Greg Penner serves as chairman. The Waltons even extend their wealth into sports – notably through in-law Stan Kroenke (married to a Walton daughter), who owns the NFL's LA Rams and Premier League's Arsenal, among other teams.

The takeaway? Even after decades and multitudes of Walmart store openings, the Walton dynasty is only getting richer – they could literally buy a small country and still have cash to spare. (Maybe they'll settle for a few more sports teams instead.)

Rob, Alice and Jim Walton (Photo by Rick T. Wilking/Getty Images)