The richest families in the USA. Kings of the world: the richest billionaire family clans
home11 August 2018, 21:25
I saw a selection from Business Insider on MSN and decided to translate it. This is not about the richest people, but about the richest fortunes belonging to one family (sometimes the family is very large, well, very large)
25. Gallo Family
Net worth: $10 billion.
Condition Source: E&J Gallo Winery
The Gallo family draws money from several sources. Brothers Ernest and Giulio Gallo founded one of the world's largest wineries in Modesto, California. Their other brother, Joseph, helped in the family business until he opened his own dairy farm and cheese factory, Joseph Gallow Cheese. His children now run Joseph Farms, and heirs Ernest and Giulio run the winery, which generates up to $3.8 billion a year.
24. Rockefeller Family
Source of condition: Standard Oil.
John D. Rockefeller became America's first billionaire when he founded Standard Oil in 1870. He and his son John Jr. have donated more than a billion dollars to charity.
The family fortune is divided among 174 family members.
23. Butt family.
Net worth: $11 billion.
Status Source: H.E.Butt
Florence Butt opened the H-E-B grocery store in Texas in 1905, which her son Howard expanded throughout the state when he took over management in 1920. His son Charles, a major shareholder, now runs the company, which has 400 stores throughout Texas and Mexico and earns up to $25 billion a year. Charles' siblings and two nephews have shares in the business.
22. Mellon family. Net worth: $11.5 billion.
Source of wealth: Mellon Bank
The Mellon family fortune dates back to the 1860s, when Thomas Mellon invested in coal and real estate and used the proceeds to found Mellon Bank. He left his fortune to his children so that they could increase it. And his own offspring and subsequent generations did just that, investing in companies that later became ALOCOA and Gulf Oil, as well as in the media business and railways.
Until his death in April of this year, Matthew Mellon was the face of the family.
21. Marshall Family
Net worth: $12 billion.
The Marshall family's wealth is divided into different baskets. J. Howard Marshall sold his company to Great Northern Oil Company for approximately 15 percent in Koch Industries. The shares passed to his son, E. Pierce Marshall, and from him to his widow and children. The family spent millions of its fortune on lawyers for J. Howard Jr., who was briefly married to Anna Nicole Smith.
20. Brown Family
Net worth: $12.3 billion.
Source of wealth: Brown-Forman Group
The Brown family is behind Jack Daniel's, Woodword Reserve, Old Forrester and other alcohol brands. Approximately 25 family members own most of the Brown-Forman Group, which began with pharmacist George Garvin Brown in 1870.
19. The Sackler Family
Net worth: $13 billion.
State Source: Purdue Pharma
The Sackler brothers, Arthur, Mortimer and Raymond, founded Purdue Pharma in the 1950s. Their business began to flourish with the sales of OxyContin in 1995. By 2002, the brothers were earning up to $1.6 billion a year from painkillers.
18. Busch Family
Net worth: $13.4 billion.
Status Source: Anheuser-Busch
The Busch family's fortune traces its origins to a brewery dating back to 1876, when Adolphus Busch created what is now Budweiser. Although the company itself remained in the family for generations, approximately 25 percent of the business was sold between 1998 and 2008, and in 2008 the entire company was sold for $52 billion.
Part of the family returned to business with William K Busch Brewing. Approximately 30 family members divided the money among themselves.
16 (draw). Goldman family.
Source of wealth: Solil Management.
The Goldman family's wealth comes from real estate—they own more than four hundred buildings in New York City, as well as a 17 percent stake in the World Trade Center development. Sol Goldman founded Solil Management when he began buying foreclosed properties at fair prices in the 1950s.
Today the company is run by his daughter Jane Goldman. She and her siblings own 25 percent of the company, whose assets are worth 12 billion. Saul's nephew, Lloyd Goldman, runs another real estate firm, BLDG Management, which owns another 17 percent of WTC.
16. The Hunt family.
Net worth: $13.7 billion.
Source of wealth: Hunt Oil Company
H.L. Hunt laid the foundations of his family's wealth with the founding of the Hunt Oil Company. His numerous heirs (he had 14 children) run many companies, from Hunt Oil and Petro-Hunt to Rodewood Hotels & Resorts. His children have spent their billions on real estate, including the massive SubTropilis underground business park, and sports teams - they own the Kansas City Chiefs and have a stake in the Chicago Bulls.
15. The du Pont family.
Net worth: $14.3 billion.
Status Source: DuPont
The du Pont family fortune is one of the oldest and most divided on this list. Chemical giant DuPont was founded in 1802 to produce gunpowder. Over time, they produced everything from dynamite to plastics and invented nylon and Teflon. About 3,500 family members share shares in the company, but none of them manage the company.
14. Ziff family.
Net worth: $14.4 billion.
Source of wealth: Ziff Davis Inc.
William Ziff Jr. sold his father's publishing house Ziff Davis Inc for $14.4 billion in 1994. His sons, Daniel, Robert and Dirk, multiplied their inheritance by founding Ziff Brothers Investments.
13. Dorrance family.
Net worth: $17.1 billion.
Condition source: Campbell's Soup
Approximately 11 members of the Dorrance family own more than 50 percent of Campbell's Soup, which was invented by John T. Dorrance in the late 1800s. Currently, the company not only has one soup, they own the V8 and Pepperidge Farm brands, bringing in up to 8 billion annually. Two of Dorrance's grandchildren and one great-grandson are board members.
12. Newhouse family.
Net worth: $18.5 billion.
State Source: Advance Publications
The Newhouse family's wealth rests on the publishing giant created by Sam Newhouse. Advance Publications owns Conde Nast Publications and owns more than 25 newspapers in the US, as well as the website Reddit, plus a stake in Discovery Communications. In April 2916, Sam's sons sold the cable company Bright House Network for $11.4 billion in cash and stock.
11. Lauder family.
Net worth: $24.3 billion.
Source of wealth: Estee Lauder
In 1947, Estee Lauder received her first order for $800 for beauty products from Saks Fifth Avenue. The company currently owns 30 beauty brands, including MAC and Clinique, earning up to $12 billion in cosmetics and fragrance sales.
10. The Hearst family.
Net worth: $24.5 billion.
Source of wealth: Hearst Corporation
About 67 family members share the William Randolph Hearst fortune, created in the late 1800s when he took over the San Francisco Examiner. Hearst soon bought many other newspapers and invested in radio and television, thereby creating the current giant, Hearst Corporation, which owns 46 newspapers, 340 magazines, television and radio stations, and shares in cable television.
9. The Duncan family.
Net worth: $26 billion.
Source of wealth: Enterprise Products Partners
Dan L. Duncan founded the oil and gas company Enterprise Product Partners in 1968 with just $10,000. When he died in 2010, the company remained under family control, and his four children inherited $10 billion. The family's fortune has only doubled since then.
8. Family of SC (Samuel Curtis) Johnson.
Net worth: $28.2 billion.
Status Source: SC Johnson
The Johnson family owns SC Johnson, which makes cleaning products such as glade, Pledge and Windex. The company was created by the man who gave it his name in 1882, and eventually passed to his son, Herbert Fisk Johnson. Herbert died intestate in 1928, and it was reported that the family fought over the inheritance for a long time until it was eventually divided between two children, Herbert Fisk Jr. and Henrietta Johnson Louis. Currently, the head of the company is a representative of the fifth generation of the family, Herbert Fisk III.
7. Edward Johnson's family.
Net worth: $28.5 billion.
State Source: Fidelity
Edward Johnson founded the world's second-largest mutual fund, Fidelity, in 1946, and since then it has been run by three generations of the Johnson family. It is currently run by his granddaughter Abigail Johnson. The family owns 49 percent of the company, divided among four family members.
6. The Pritzker family.
Net worth: $33.5 billion.
State Source: Hyatt Hotels
A.N. Pritzker and his sons Jay, Donald and Robert built a foundation of wealth by creating the Hyatt hotel chain and investing in holding companies like the Marmon Group. Currently, the fortune is shared by 13 family members, 11 of whom are billionaires. They reportedly spent the first years of the new century arguing over trust funds, and ended up dividing the wealth.
5. The Cox family.
Net worth: $33.6 billion.
Source of wealth: Cox Enterprises
Cox Enterprises is involved in many industries - cable and broadcast television, newspapers, radio stations. They earn up to 20 billion a year.
Five grandchildren of company founder James Cox share the family wealth.
4. The Cargill-McMillan family.
Net worth: $42.3 billion.
State Source: Cargill Inc
William W. Cargill founded the agribusiness Cargill Inc in 1865. Currently, 23 members of the Cargill-McMillan family own 88 percent of the company, which generates $108 billion a year. Of this clan, 14 are billionaires.
3. Family Mars.
Net worth: $89.7 billion.
State Source: Mars Inc
In 1999, Jacqueline and John Mars inherited a stake in the candy empire Mars Inc, maker of M&M, Milky Way and the Mars candy bar, when their father passed away. Jacqueline's son, Stephen Badger, currently runs the company.
The brother and sister run the Mars Foundation, which donates money to education, conservation, culture and healthcare.
2. Koch family.
Net worth: $98.7 billion.
State Source: Koch Industries
Brothers Charles and David Koch expanded their father's oil refining firm into the conglomerate Koch Industries when their other brothers, Frederick and William, left the business after failing to take control of the firm.
1.The Walton family.
Net worth: $151.5 billion.
State Source: Walmart
Sam and Bud Walton founded Walmart in 1962. Following this success, they founded Sam's Club in 1983. Walmart currently generates $50 billion in sales, making it the largest retailer in the world.
The family's fortune is divided among seven relatives, including three children of co-founder Sam Walton - Rob, Jim and Alice, who is the richest woman in the world, with a net worth of $43.7 billion.
Note Translator: Oh my God, the richest are not the Rockefellers, not the Rothschilds and not the Vanderbilts! My whole life has been a lie!
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You've probably heard the theory that almost all the world's money is concentrated in the hands of the richest families. Some spend millions on their whims, while others prefer a quiet, secluded lifestyle. But there is something that unites them: their position in society, which is shrouded in all sorts of secrets. Some believe that it is the clans that decide the fate of our planet and control the heads of state. And some say that they are playing their own behind-the-scenes political game.
We are in website decided to play conspiracy theorists and made a selection of families that rule this world (but this is not certain).
Rockefellers
The fortunes of the Rockefeller clan are legendary. No one knows for sure the total size of the family's wealth, but rumors range from $1 trillion to $3 trillion. The clan became famous thanks to John Rockefeller, the first dollar billionaire in history. At the end of the 19th century, the family controlled 90% of the oil on the US market. Almost all modern American oil companies trace their origins to the Rockefellers.
Two world wars only strengthened the family's well-being. She helped both Germany and the Allied coalition. Now, in addition to banking and oil business, the Rockefellers are actively involved in charity and cryptocurrency.
Conspiracy theorists consider family members to be the chairmen of a secret World Government and adherents of the idea of a “golden billion”.
Morgans
Fans of various political theories suggest that the Morgan clan determines the political course of the United States and controls all the banks in the world.
The founder of the Morgan clan, John Pierpont Morgan, founded the first financial empire in the United States. He sold weapons during the Civil War, for which he almost ended up on trial. And in 1907 he prevented the collapse of the banking system.
To this day, members of the Morgan clan continue to be the most influential bankers. Their banks have branches not only in the USA, but also in Europe. Family members ran General Motors and General Electric.
Saudis
The Saudis are a royal dynasty that has ruled Saudi Arabia since 1932. Today, the head of the family is King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and the total number of Saudis reaches 25 thousand people.
The head of the family has almost absolute political power, and family members hold important government and military positions. The Saudis can take over any post within the country. The family holds 20% of the world's oil reserves.
Rothschilds
The Rothschilds were one of the richest families already under Napoleon I. The dynasty was founded by Amschel Mayer Rothschild. In Germany, he built a large banking business and created his own financial empire. Dying, Amschel left a will to his heirs, in which he outlined his views on managing the empire. And for more than 200 years, the Rothschilds have adhered to these rules.
There are various rumors and theories floating around the family. Some argue that the family controls all the wealth of the world and financial institutions. Others say that it is the Rothschilds who encourage and sponsor most wars.
The Rothschilds' current fortune is estimated at approximately $2 trillion. They are involved in investments, trading, and banking. The family owns several vineyards and enterprises involved in oil and natural gas production.
Baruchi
The Baruchs' fortune is less than that of the Rothschilds and Rockefellers, but their influence is much greater. The founder of the Baruch clan, Bernard Baruch, was an adviser to five US presidents and a great friend of Winston Churchill. It was he who coined the term “Cold War” and oversaw the project to create the atomic bomb and the international Atomic Development Agency. Baruch is credited with creating the idea of a World Government.
Little is known about the heirs of Baruch's empire. He had 2 daughters and a son. Son Bernard Baruch Jr. died in the 90s of the last century. There is no reliable information about Bernard's grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Rumor has it that they are being hidden on purpose, but the Baruchs are still in control of the US authorities.
Waltons
In 1962, entrepreneur Sam Walton opened the first Walmart store. And thus included himself in the list of the richest people in the world. Over time, the Walmart chain of stores became the largest in the United States.
After Sam Walton's death, his wife and four children took over the company. In addition to the supermarket chain, the Waltons run Arvest Bank. They own an art collection and a charitable family foundation.
Windsors
The Windsors are the British royal family. The current head of the House of Windsor is Queen Elizabeth II. She is the head of the Church of England and the Supreme Commander of the British Armed Forces.
Besides England, Elizabeth II is the sitting monarch of 15 independent states. The queen's ratings are the envy of any politician. And this is not surprising. All members of the royal family lead a modest lifestyle, serve in the Armed Forces and engage in charity work.
Murdochs
Media magnates the Murdochs began building their empire in Australia. Keith Murdoch was a political commentator for a Melbourne newspaper. Keith was appointed editor-in-chief, increased the publication's circulation and became general director.
His son Rupert also became a journalist. Having taken over Australia's leading publications, Murdoch created the News Corporation media holding. The Murdochs now own the film company 20th Century Fox, the Fox News channel, the social network My Space and the Dow Jones stock company. News Corporation was accused of illegally wiretapping the phones of the royal family, celebrities, as well as bribing police and intelligence officers.
Rupert is a very popular figure in pop culture. He became the prototype of the Bond villain in Tomorrow Never Dies, the prototype of media tycoon Logan Roy in the series Descendants, and was mentioned in the series The Big Bang Theory and The Simpsons.
Oppenheimers
The Oppenheimers own the majority of the diamond and gold reserves. The founder of the clan, Ernest Oppenheimer, moved to live in the city of Kimberley, in South Africa. There he first became the mayor of the city, and then headed one of the diamond mining companies. Soon Ernest captured the world market for the extraction and sale of diamonds.
Now Ernest's grandson, Nick Oppenheimer, runs the diamond empire. The family mines and sells not only diamonds, but also gold, iron ore, platinum and industrial minerals.
Pritzkers
A family of Jewish emigrants moved from Kyiv to Chicago in 1881. The Pritzkers own Hayat Corporation. It is a hospitality company that sells hotels and resort tours. The corporation includes 777 hotels in 54 countries.
The Pritzkers established their own prize in the field of architecture. They now live in Chicago, where they formed their own school of architecture. In many ways, the family determines the appearance of the city.
Do you believe that the world is ruled by rich families or a secret government?
The Rothschild family is currently considered the richest people in the world. They are believed to have assets of at least $350 billion. The exact figure is difficult to determine due to the large number of their holdings, but they are without a doubt the most powerful family in the world. They are believed to control more than $1 trillion in assets. only in real estate and banking sector.
Mankind has known about the Rothschild bankers for more than two and a half centuries. This is how long their activity in the world of financial business lasts. Members of the famous clan live on all five continents and maintain family relationships. Probably no one other than the Rothschilds themselves could name the total amount of capital they own, although it is reliably known that this is a fantastic figure. What is the secret of the Rothschilds' success?
The free city of Frankfurt am Main, located in the center of bustling trade, attracted Jews from the early Middle Ages. Trade and financial transactions have been successful here over the last millennium. Before the French Revolution, Frankfurt had 35 thousand inhabitants, one tenth of whom were Jews. In 1462, they were allocated a special quarter, called the Jewish quarter.
It is from this city that the dynasty of famous financial magnates traces its ancestry. The ancestors of the founder of the Rothschild dynasty, Mayer Rothschild, lived for many centuries in one of these cramped ghettos, only 12 meters wide, “sandwiched as if in a cage” between the city wall and the moat, in a wretched house on the Judengasse, blocked on both sides ( Jewish Street), where guards stood near the heavy chains that locked the entrance and exit.
The House of Rothschild went down in the history of banking not only as the most famous, but also as the largest private banking house that the world has ever known. This is proven by the volume of government loans provided. In a hundred years, from 1804 to 1904, they earned 1,300 million pounds sterling from loans alone; according to the old German monetary system, this is about 70 billion German marks. To date, not a single European or American private bank has reached the level of the Rothschild house in terms of its financial capabilities - and it is unlikely to be able to do this in our age of globalization and transnational capital.
Many people associate the concept of “money” with the name Rothschild. This is, of course, true, since the Rothschilds were primarily bankers who made a huge fortune for themselves and sought to constantly increase it. But the latest research has shown that they were also politicians who repeatedly and decisively influenced the policies of various countries, Europe as a whole, although always in their own interests and in the interests of their millions.
To show the political influence of their loans, it is worth dwelling once again on some examples. Financing the wars against Napoleon I led to his overthrow. Receiving reparations (payments from the losing state) after the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871 in a short period of time and transferring, at that time, a huge amount of 5 billion francs without shocks to the international exchange rate was not only a high-class financial transaction, but also led to the premature liberation of occupied French territories, which greatly contributed to the strengthening of the self-esteem of the French.
Only the Rothschild banking house was able, within a few hours, to place at the disposal of the English Prime Minister Disraeli 240 million marks in cash at 3% interest for the acquisition of shares in the Suez Canal. What political significance this transaction had and still has is shown by the big politics of our days. The acquisition of monopolies for mercury mining in Europe, made possible by leasing the mines in Almaden with the simultaneous provision of a corresponding loan, strengthened the liberal regime of Queen Cristina in Spain. This example is proof that the Rothschilds knew how to combine the political aspect of loans with economic benefits for the general banking house.
The Rothschilds as the founders of banks are also remembered today by the Austrian Credit Office of Trade and Industry, which managed to survive all crises, even the crisis of 1931, and is still considered the largest bank in the Federal Republic of Austria.
The Rothschilds also used the borrowing policy to support their coreligionists, promoting their emancipation in Germany, Austria, Italy and England. One of the brothers was the first Jew in the English House of Commons, the other, becoming the first Jewish lord, entered the House of Lords. The Rothschilds were the first Jews in the upper house of parliament in Vienna and Berlin. The “Five Frankfurters,” as prominent representatives of the Jews, were sent an appeal by the British Foreign Minister Balfour on November 2, 1917, about the creation of a national homeland in Palestine.
Sometimes the Rothschilds are reproached for the fact that they did not donate so many millions to charitable causes, especially for Jews. Not a single major institution is associated with their name, as with the names of Carnegie, Rockefeller, Ford, and, more recently, the Thyssen family; they did not hold a single large public event like Krupp and Fugger. But in fact the Rothschilds donated many millions to charities, especially the Vienna and Paris lines. For the creation of a settlement in Palestine alone, they provided 70 million francs in gold, as the names of the streets in the cities of Israel recall. In their hometown of Frankfurt, there are still three charitable institutions founded by members of the Rothschild dynasty.
To conclude the story about Mayer Amschel Rothschild, we can cite the description given to him by the publicist and writer Ludwig Berne. He also came from the Jewish quarter of Frankfurt am Main and personally knew the famous founder of the banking house.
“The elder Rothschild was a pious man, pure piety and good nature. He had a kind face with a pointed beard, he wore a cocked hat on his head, his clothes were more than modest, almost pathetic. So he always walked around Frankfurt, surrounded by a whole retinue of beggars. He gave them alms or good advice. If a crowd of beggars with satisfied and calm faces was encountered on the street, they already knew that the elder Rothschild had recently passed through here. Once, when I was still a little boy, my father and I were walking through the Jewish quarter one Friday evening and met Rothschild, who had just left the synagogue. I remember that after talking with my father, he said a few warm words to me, and then put his hand on my head, as if blessing me.”
After Mayer Amschel's death in 1812, his total capital was estimated at 150–200 million gold francs, twice the assets of the Bank of France. When the sons of Mayer Amschel Rothschild dispersed throughout Europe, they did not stop their cooperation. Having created a common communication system - a courier service, they received news about the most important political events and any stock market shocks before anyone else. The Rothschilds’ ability to quickly collect information, and if necessary, spread misinformation, played a big role in the fact that the history of the house was closely intertwined with the history of Europe. All sons not only preserved the family capital, but also increased it.
The Rothschild brothers took part in many global events of the 19th century. They financed the construction of railways throughout Europe, the purchase of the Suez Canal by England, oil exploration in Russia and the Sahara, and supported diamond enterprises around the world. They lent money to the Russian Tsars, financed the Habsburgs, and provided loans to the Pope himself, saving the Papal States from bankruptcy. In the 19th century, five brothers issued loans for almost all countries.
It's no secret that the world economy and finance are tightly controlled by the richest and most influential people, and sometimes entire families. Each generation of such clans increases the family fortune, thereby increasing their influence on the development of states and the situation in the world. It will be interesting for everyone to learn about the richest and most successful dynasties.
Walton family - net worth $100 billion
Stefan, Jim, Alice and Christy Walton own the world's largest supermarket chain, Wal-Mart, with sales exceeding $400 billion a year. Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-Mart, was born into an ordinary farmer's family in 1918. Many believe that his entrepreneurial talent emerged during the Great American Depression, as it was then that he had to look for ways to survive. When Sam was 7 years old, he began actively helping his father in business, selling dairy products. Having collected some money, he himself began to raise rabbits and birds for sale.
Sam Walton made his first billion in 34 years. During this time, he organized many projects, which still did not bring him great fame, but gave him invaluable experience in the field of entrepreneurship. After his death, he bequeathed the Wal-Mart Corporation to his 4 children, who actively continue their father’s work and take the business to a new level.
Oppenheimer family - net worth $200 billion
This dynasty controls a significant part of the world diamond market. Ernest Oppenheimer became the head of the diamond mining corporation De Beers and the leading gold mining company Anglo American in 1920. However, this was not enough for Oppenheimer, and he decided to also control the sale of diamonds and precious metals. Thus came the Central Selling Organization, known as the “Syndicate”, which captured over 90% of world diamond sales.
After the death of Ernest Oppenheimer, his son Harry Frederick inherited his business. In 2011, the family moved away from the diamond business, selling its stake in De Beers for $5 billion. Today they are engaged in the high technology sector. Thus, the Oppenheimers have already bought 10% of Yandex shares.
Rockefeller family - net worth $1 trillion
This surname is heard throughout the world and is associated with untold wealth and luxury. The history of the Rockefeller family began in the forties of the 19th century, with the birth of John Rockefeller, who from an early age was distinguished by his ability to calculate all his actions in advance.
At the age of 16, he got a job in an accounting office and quickly acquired business skills. Therefore, when an oil field was discovered in his city, John invested all his savings in “black gold” and added a considerable loan to them. At that time, few people believed in the success of Rockefeller himself and the oil business. However, soon, in 1879, Rockefeller's company already controlled 90% of the US oil market. Rockefeller's descendants managed not only to preserve the family's fortune, but also to increase it. Today, this dynasty owns more than 40 American companies with annual revenues of $1 trillion.
Morgan family - net worth $1.5 trillion
This dynasty controls approximately 20% of the United States' GDP, producing a total of $1.5 trillion in goods and services. They own hundreds of American companies, including General Motors and General Electric. The founder of the richest family in the world, John Pierpont Morgan, is an American businessman who built the first financial empire in the United States.
Rothschild family - net worth $2.5 trillion
What is attractive about this family is not only its fabulous fortune, but also the fact that in just 50 years these Jewish emigrants managed to reach unreal heights, taking control of world states.
The founder of the dynasty, Amschel Mayer Rothschild, at the age of 16 had already worked for 4 years at Oppenheimer's bank, mastering finance, saving money and opening his own antique shop. This very shop later grew into the first Rothschild bank. When Amschel's 5 sons grew up, he sent them to world capitals to expand the family business. The Rothschild Bank was distinguished by the fact that only family members could become managers in it. Later, this closed financial institution issued loans not only to individuals, but also to states.
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Everyone knows that history is made by the most influential people of their era, and often by entire families.
Each generation, brought up in the best traditions of such clans, increases the family fortune and increases their influence not only on a separate sector of the economy, but also on entire states. They have power over the legal, political and financial systems, which gives them the opportunity to determine the development of nations and all of humanity for decades to come.
For thousands of years, royal dynasties have fulfilled this role, taking advantage of their privileges. With the beginning of the scientific and technological revolution, people from the people who previously did not have such a chance were able to break into the “powers of this world”. They developed their projects, passing them on by inheritance, thereby forming entire families of entrepreneurs.
Let's take a closer look at 5 of them.
5th place - Walton family - fortune 100 billion dollars
The descendants of one of the most successful US entrepreneurs of the 20th century: Stefan, Jim, Christy and Alice Walton form another clan of rich people, ranked 5th in our ranking. Their total wealth is estimated at almost $100 billion.
Relatives own the largest supermarket chain Wal-Mart with an annual turnover of more than $400 billion (2010).
The founder of Wal-Mart (Walton's Market) - Sam Walton was born in 1918 into a simple farming family. According to experts, his entrepreneurial talent was influenced by the Great American Depression, which he witnessed. It was the general decline of the population that pushed Sam to look for ways to develop. Starting at the age of 7, the boy took an active part in his father’s business, helping to sell dairy products. Having saved some money, he began to raise birds and rabbits for sale himself. “He knows how to make money out of thin air,” his school friends said about him.
It took Sam Walton 34 years to make his first billion. Before that, he organized a number of projects that did not bring him such fame, but gave him the opportunity to accumulate invaluable experience in entrepreneurship. Having bequeathed the Wal-Mart corporation to his 4 children after his death, he made no mistake in choosing his heirs. They enthusiastically continued their father's work, taking it to a new level.
By the way, the heiress to her husband Walton’s billions is currently the richest woman in the world with a fortune of twenty-eight billion, and owns part of his network.
4th place - Oppenheimer family - $200 billion
The family controls the lion's share of the diamond market worldwide.
Ernest Oppenheimer(b. 1880), a native of Germany, became the head of the De Beers diamond mining corporation in South Africa in 1920. There, under his leadership, Anglo American, the largest gold mining company at that time, was born. Oppenheimer did not stop there and decided to subjugate not only the extraction of precious metals and diamonds, but also control their sales. The world soon saw the Central Selling Organization (CSO), better known as the "Syndicate", capturing more than 90% of all diamond sales in the world.
Thus, De Beers extracted raw materials and transported them to different countries of the world, where CSO got to work, sorted and released finished products to the market.
After his father's death, his son Harry Frederick Oppenheimer inherited his syndicate and the presidency of De Beers.
It was only in 2011 that the family exited the diamond business, selling its stake in De Beers for more than $5 billion. Now they are more interested in the field of high technology and innovation. Most recently, the Oppenheimers bought a 10% stake in Yandex. The future plans of the clan representatives are not reported.
3rd place - Rockefeller family - annual income - $1 trillion
For more than a century, people around the world have associated the name Rockefeller with dazzling wealth and luxury. The history of this family goes back to the distant forties of the 19th century, when he was born John Rockefeller. From childhood, his distinctive feature was the ability to calculate his actions several steps ahead at once.
Having got a job as an assistant in an accounting office at the age of 16, he very quickly absorbed business skills, tenacity and the ability to quickly respond to market demands. And when an oil field was discovered in his city, the future tycoon invested all his savings in black gold, adding to them a substantial loan.
He, unlike other businessmen of that time, was confident that the future lay in long-term projects. If a business is not profitable now, this does not mean at all that it will not enrich the owner in the future. When he first began his journey into the world of petroleum products with the Standard Oil company, many were giddy when they learned about his idea. But the future billionaire (and the first in the world) clearly saw the success of the enterprise in the near future. Very soon (in 1879), the Rockefeller company controlled 90 percent of the oil market in America, dictating the rules of behavior in this sector of the economy.
And thanks to the preservation of family traditions, Rockefeller’s descendants were able to multiply the family’s fortune many times over, reliably securing it in the ranking of the richest in the world.
Today the clan owns more than 40 American companies with a total annual income of about 1 trillion dollars (almost 10% of US GDP).
2nd place - Morgan family - annual income - $1.5 trillion
One of the largest financial dynasties in the United States controls about 20% of US GDP, producing a total of more than $1.5 trillion in goods and services. They own about a hundred American companies, including General Electric and General Motors, the world's largest electrical and automotive concerns. Moreover, the latter’s activities are not limited to the production of cars and engines for them alone; nuclear reactors, rocket engines and tanks are distributed from its factories around the world.
The ancestor of the richest family in the world was John Pierpont Morgan, a talented American businessman who built the first financial empire in the United States.
He founded a number of industrial giants, including:
"Western Union"
American Telephone and Telegraph
"General Electric"
United States Steel Corporation, etc.
It was not for nothing that his contemporaries nicknamed John Morgan Jupiter - in honor of the greatest of the great rulers of the heavens. He worked with incredible dedication, and managed to pass it on to his heirs, who continued the work of one of the most outstanding entrepreneurs in history.
1st place - Rothschild clan - fortune from 350 billion to 2.5 trillion dollars
The Rothschild family is considered the richest in the world. According to official sources, the dynasty's total wealth exceeds US$350 billion. According to other sources, it exceeds 2.5 trillion.
But it is not only the fabulous fortune of the Rothschilds that makes us pay attention to them. It also excites the imagination that in just some fifty years they, Jewish emigrants, turned into the most influential lords and barons, in whose power the entire planet was. The founder of the dynasty was Amschel Mayer Rothschild, born in 1744. At the age of 16, having worked for 4 years at Oppenheimer's bank, he mastered the intricacies of finance, saved up money and opened his own antique shop. In it it was possible to exchange coins of some principalities of Germany for others. Later the shop grew into the first Rothschild bank.
Years passed, and when Amschel's 5 sons grew up, he sent them to the largest capitals of the world to continue and expand the family enterprise. This allowed the family's influence to spread not only beyond Germany, but also across Europe. The Rothschild Bank was distinguished by the fact that only family members could obtain a leadership position in it. Soon this closed institution was able to issue loans not only to individuals, but also to entire states.
So, in 1818, Prussia received a loan of 5 million pounds from the Rothschilds, and a little later, a branch of the bank in London allocated a round sum to the National Bank of England. And in the New World, the influence of the Rothschilds is difficult to overestimate. They were one of the initiators of the creation of the US Federal Reserve System, and, after its creation, they were able to control the volume of dollars issued. The incredible dexterity and resourcefulness with which representatives of this family were able to accumulate wealth and gain unlimited influence in different countries amaze experts and ordinary people to this day.
Although the total wealth of the clan is estimated at $350 billion (according to other sources, it reaches 2.5 trillion), none of the Rothschilds has a capital of more than $1 billion.
This is what the list of the real, truly rich people of the planet looks like, who, without exaggeration, control the world economy and the governments of many countries around the world. It is at their “call of the heart” that most wars on earth begin and end. They control hundreds of millions of lives on our earth...