How do you become the wealthiest person in your state? In some places, the path to prosperity is obvious. In California, you want to be in tech. In Nevada, it pays to own casinos. But others may surprise you. The richest person in Texas? Not an oil tycoon. In New York? Not a Wall Street banker.
Forbes has again detailed the richest person in every state, a group of 54 people (due to ties) that combine for $682 billion in personal wealth. Their fortunes stem from 16 different sectors ranging from finance to metals and mining.
The most popular: finance and investments, which accounts for 8 of the 50 states. The biggest billionaire-producing sector worldwide, it’s no surprise that it has also created the most state-topping fortunes. Prominent financiers and investors include Massachusetts’ Abigail Johnson, the CEO of Fidelity, and Illinois’ Ken Griffin, who led our latest list of the most successful hedge funders, earning $1.7 billion last year.
The wealthiest person in New York is not a finance billionaire, though. It is former NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg, whose media & entertainment fortune was built by supplying information to Wall Street through financial news and the Bloomberg Terminal, a market data and electronic trading computer system.
Fashion and retail make up the second-biggest source of large fortunes. Seven states are led by billionaires from this sector, including Nike founder Phil Knight (Oregon) and Victoria’s Secret boss Les Wexner (Ohio). The clan behind the world’s biggest retailer, Wal-Mart, boasts two family members on the list. Jim Walton, the son of Sam Walton, is the richest in Arkansas, thanks to the company’s massive $220 billion market cap and hefty dividend payouts. His sister, Alice Walton, is rich enough to beat out all of the Texas oil tycoons, including Richard Kinder and Ray Lee Hunt, for the top spot in the Lone Star state. A Walton-in-law, Stan Kroenke, is the wealthiest in Missouri, due to his real-estate portfolio and sports empire. He is married to Jim and Alice’s cousin, Ann Walton Kroenke.
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SOURCE: Forbes
Chase Peterson-Withorn
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