Detailed Findings & Methodology

 

Examples of heirs and heiresses who are the wealthiest residents of their respective states include Walmart heiress Alice Walton of Texas, and Carl Cook of Indiana. Examples of some of the top self-made billionaires include Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Warren Buffett of Nebraska, and Harold Hamm of Oklahoma.

A majority of America’s wealthy live in just a few states. More than 60% of the Forbes 400 wealthiest living Americans reside in just five states — 95 in California, 68 in New York, 38 in Florida, 34 in Texas, and 13 in Illinois. These five states are also the five largest states by GDP and account for 40% of the country’s economic output.

The wealth of a state’s richest resident often reflects the size of the state’s economy. The seven states in which the wealthiest resident is not a billionaire, for example, are all among the smaller states by GDP.

There are obvious exceptions, however. While Nebraska has the 16th smallest economy of any state, it is the home of Warren Buffett — the third wealthiest living American. Wyoming, which has the second smallest economy by GDP, is the home of John Mars, whose $28.2 billion candy fortune makes him the 17th wealthiest living American.

Many wealthy Americans make their presence known in a given state through philanthropy, ownership of a sports team, or other local business endeavors. Many may also make an impact through donations to their state’s politicians. B. Wayne Hughes, the wealthiest resident of Kentucky, is also the state’s top political donor. Michael Bloomberg, the richest New Yorker, was able to leverage his wealth and fame into a successful bid for New York City mayor in 2001, serving three consecutive terms.

To determine the richest person in every state, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the Forbes 400 list of the wealthiest living Americans and other sources. Real-time Forbes 400 data was accessed on the week of January 29, 2018. For states in which no resident was listed among the Forbes 400, data from Forbes’ June 2017 “Meet the Richest Person in Every State 2017” story was used. For Idaho, data from the October 2017 published version of the Forbes 400 was used to determine the state’s wealthiest resident. In cases where Forbes ascribes one net worth to multiple siblings or business partners, multiple people were listed for one state. Data on the residence of each individual came from Forbes and refers to an individual’s current residence, not their birthplace or where their business is headquartered.