Generating $27.4 trillion in 2023 alone, the U.S. has had the world’s largest economy for decades. By several measures, the United States has also created more individual wealth than any other country. According to the 2023 Global Wealth Report from the Zurich-based investment bank UBS, and the latest estimates from Forbes, the U.S. is home to over 22.7 million millionaires and 813 billionaires — or about 38% of all millionaires and 29% of all billionaires worldwide. Meanwhile, the United States accounts for only 4% of the global population. (Here is a look at how the U.S. compares to the countries with the most millionaires.)
With only a handful exceptions, each of the 50 U.S. states are now home to at least one billionaire. These individuals and families have made their fortunes as entrepreneurs, financiers, and executives of major corporations.
Using data compiled by Forbes, 24/7 Wall St. identified the richest person in every state. States are listed alphabetically, and for each, we named the person or persons with the highest estimated net-worth as of March 8, 2024. All supplemental data is also from Forbes.
Depending on the state, the wealthiest person or family is worth anywhere from $400 million, to nearly $200 billion. Notably, this list does not include many of the richest Americans. For example, with a net-worth of $161 billion according to Bloomberg, Google co-founder Larry Page is the fifth richest person in the world. Page’s wealth, however, is eclipsed by that of Facebook founder, Meta CEO, and fellow Californian, Mark Zuckerberg. Not only the richest California resident, Zuckerberg is also the third richest American and fourth richest person in the world. (Here is a look at how much it takes to be considered rich in every state.)
Many individuals on this list, including Zuckerberg, are entrepreneurs in the technology sector. In recent decades, computers have become ubiquitous in homes and workplaces around the world — and the computer’s proliferation has created lucrative opportunities for entrepreneurial software developers. Companies in the tech sector that have become household names — like Amazon, eBay, and Microsoft — are the primary source of wealth for many billionaires on this list.
Not all millionaires and billionaires on this list are themselves entrepreneurs, however. Some have served as executives of major companies during periods of rapid expansion. Many more have inherited vast family fortunes from the successful business ventures of a parent, grandparent, or spouse. For example, the wealthiest residents of two states are descendents of Walmart founder Sam Walton. The wealthiest residents of two other states are heirs to the fortune of the founder of Mars Inc., the company behind multiple well-known candy brands, including M&M’s, Snickers, and Twix.
Why It Matters
Not only the wealthiest country in the world by gross domestic product, the United States is also home to many of the world’s richest individuals and families. The financial assets of the richest people in each of the 50 states are worth a combined $1.6 trillion — closely in line with the GDP of countries like Australia, Mexico, or Spain.
Alabama
- Richest person(s): Jimmy Rane
- Est. wealth in 2024: $1.5 billion
- Source of wealth: Founder and CEO of Great Southern Wood Preserving, a lumber company
- Primary residence: Abbeville, AL
- Age(s): 77 years old
Alaska
- Richest person(s): Jonathan Rubini and Leonard Hyde
- Est. wealth in 2024: $400 million
- Source of wealth: President, CEO, and chairman of JL Properties, a commercial real estate development company
- Primary residence: Anchorage, AK
- Age(s): 69 and 67 years old
Arizona
- Richest person(s): Ernest Garcia II
- Est. wealth in 2024: $8 billion
- Source of wealth: Largest shareholder of Carvana, a used car sale platform
- Primary residence: Tempe, AZ
- Age(s): 66 years old
Arkansas
- Richest person(s): Jim Walton & family
- Est. wealth in 2024: $78.4 billion
- Source of wealth: Son of Walmart founder
- Primary residence: Bentonville, AR
- Age(s): 75 years old
California
- Richest person(s): Mark Zuckerberg
- Est. wealth in 2024: $177 billion
- Source of wealth: Founder and CEO of Meta (Facebook)
- Primary residence: Palo Alto, CA
- Age(s): 39 years old
Colorado
- Richest person(s): Philip Anschutz
- Est. wealth in 2024: $15.3 billion
- Source of wealth: Energy, sports, and entertainment
- Primary residence: Denver, CO
- Age(s): 84 years old
Connecticut
- Richest person(s): Steve Cohen
- Est. wealth in 2024: $19.8 billion
- Source of wealth: Hedge fund manager
- Primary residence: Greenwich, CT
- Age(s): 67 years old
Delaware
- Richest person(s): Elizabeth Snyder
- Est. wealth in 2024: $800 million
- Source of wealth: Family member of Gore-Tex inventors
- Primary residence: Wilmington, DE
- Age(s): 76 years old
Florida
- Richest person(s): Jeff Bezos
- Est. wealth in 2024: $194 billion
- Source of wealth: Founder and chairman of e-commerce giant, Amazon
- Primary residence: Miami, FL
- Age(s): 60 years old
Georgia
- Richest person(s): Dan Cathy, Bubba Cathy & Trudy Cathy White
- Est. wealth in 2024: $11.2 billion
- Source of wealth: Chick-fil-A chairman and son of the restaurant’s founder
- Primary residence: Atlanta, GA
- Age(s): 70, 69, and 67 years old
Hawaii
- Richest person(s): Pierre Omidyar
- Est. wealth in 2024: $6.3 billion
- Source of wealth: Founder of eBay
- Primary residence: Honolulu, HI
- Age(s): 56 years old
Idaho
- Richest person(s): Frank VanderSloot
- Est. wealth in 2024: $3.3 billion
- Source of wealth: Founder of Melaleuca, a nutrition and wellness product company
- Primary residence: Idaho Falls, ID
- Age(s): 75 years old
Illinois
- Richest person(s): Lukas Walton
- Est. wealth in 2024: $28 billion
- Source of wealth: Grandson of Walmart founder
- Primary residence: Chicago, IL
- Age(s): 37 years old
Indiana
- Richest person(s): Carl Cook
- Est. wealth in 2024: $10.6 billion
- Source of wealth: CEO of Cook Group, a medical device manufacturer
- Primary residence: Bloomington, IN
- Age(s): 61 years old
Iowa
- Richest person(s): Harry Stine
- Est. wealth in 2024: $9.7 billion
- Source of wealth: Owner of Stine Seed, an agricultural seed genetics licensing company
- Primary residence: Adel, IA
- Age(s): 82 years old
Kansas
- Richest person(s): Charles Koch & family
- Est. wealth in 2024: $58.5 billion
- Source of wealth: Chairman of Koch Industries, a multinational conglomerate founded by his father
- Primary residence: Wichita, KS
- Age(s): 88 years old
Kentucky
- Richest person(s): Tamara Gustavson
- Est. wealth in 2024: $7.8 billion
- Source of wealth: Largest shareholder of Public Storage, a self storage company founded by her father
- Primary residence: Lexington, KY
- Age(s): 62 years old
Louisiana
- Richest person(s): Todd Graves
- Est. wealth in 2024: $9.1 billion
- Source of wealth: Founder and CEO of fast-food chicken restaurant Raising Cane’s
- Primary residence: Baton Rouge, LA
- Age(s): 52 years old
Maine
- Richest person(s): Susan Alfond
- Est. wealth in 2024: $3.1 billion
- Source of wealth: Daughter of Dexter Shoe Company founder, Harold Alfond
- Primary residence: Scarborough, ME
- Age(s): 78 years old
Maryland
- Richest person(s): Annette Lerner & family
- Est. wealth in 2024: $6.4 billion
- Source of wealth: Widow of Ted Lerner, the founder of real estate company Lerner Enterprises
- Primary residence: Chevy Chase, MD
- Age(s): 94 years old
Massachusetts
- Richest person(s): Abigail Johnson
- Est. wealth in 2024: $29 billion
- Source of wealth: CEO of Fidelity Investments and granddaughter of the company’s founder
- Primary residence: Milton, MA
- Age(s): 62 years old
Michigan
- Richest person(s): Daniel Gilbert
- Est. wealth in 2024: $26.2 billion
- Source of wealth: Co-founder of Quicken Loans, a mortgage lending company
- Primary residence: Franklin, MI
- Age(s): 62 years old
Minnesota
- Richest person(s): Glen Taylor
- Est. wealth in 2024: $2.9 billion
- Source of wealth: Chairman and former CEO of Taylor Corp., a printing company
- Primary residence: Mankato, MN
- Age(s): 82 years old
Mississippi
- Richest person(s): Thomas Duff & James Duff
- Est. wealth in 2024: $3 billion
- Source of wealth: Sons of the founder of Southern Tire Mart who, together, founded and own Duff Capital Investors, a holding company
- Primary residence: Hattiesburg, MS
- Age(s): 66 and 62 years old
Missouri
- Richest person(s): John Morris
- Est. wealth in 2024: $9.5 billion
- Source of wealth: Founder and CEO of sporting goods retailer Bass Pro Shops
- Primary residence: Springfield, MO
- Age(s): 76 years old
Montana
- Richest person(s): Dennis Washington
- Est. wealth in 2024: $7 billion
- Source of wealth: Founder of Washington Companies, a resource extraction, transportation, and heavy equipment company
- Primary residence: Missoula, MT
- Age(s): 89 years old
Nebraska
- Richest person(s): Warren Buffett
- Est. wealth in 2024: $133 billion
- Source of wealth: Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, a multinational conglomerate holding company
- Primary residence: Omaha, NE
- Age(s): 93 years old
Nevada
- Richest person(s): Miriam Adelson & family
- Est. wealth in 2024: $32 billion
- Source of wealth: Widow of the former CEO and chairman of Las Vegas Sands, a casino company
- Primary residence: Las Vegas, NV
- Age(s): 78 years old
New Hampshire
- Richest person(s): Rick Cohen & family
- Est. wealth in 2024: $19.6 billion
- Source of wealth: Chairman and owner of C&S Wholesale Grocers; founder of warehouse automation company Symbotic
- Primary residence: Keene, NH
- Age(s): 71 years old
New Jersey
- Richest person(s): Rocco Commisso
- Est. wealth in 2024: $8 billion
- Source of wealth: Founder and CEO of Mediacom, a cable company
- Primary residence: Saddle River, NJ
- Age(s): 74 years old
New Mexico
- Richest person(s): Ron Corio
- Est. wealth in 2024: $1.7 billion
- Source of wealth: Founder and former CEO of Array Technologies, a manufacturer of solar tracking systems
- Primary residence: Albuquerque, NM
- Age(s): 62 years old
New York
- Richest person(s): Michael Bloomberg
- Est. wealth in 2024: $106 billion
- Source of wealth: Co-founder of Bloomberg LP, a financial information and media company
- Primary residence: New York, NY
- Age(s): 82 years old
North Carolina
- Richest person(s): James Goodnight
- Est. wealth in 2024: $10.1 billion
- Source of wealth: Co-founder and CEO of analytics software company SAS
- Primary residence: Cary, NC
- Age(s): 81 years old
North Dakota
- Richest person(s): Gary Tharaldson
- Est. wealth in 2024: $1.2 billion
- Source of wealth: Builder, owner, and operator of hundreds of hotels
- Primary residence: Fargo, ND
- Age(s): 78 years old
Ohio
- Richest person(s): Les Wexner & family
- Est. wealth in 2024: $6 billion
- Source of wealth: Founder of L Brands, a company whose retail brands have included Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works
- Primary residence: New Albany, OH
- Age(s): 86 years old
Oklahoma
- Richest person(s): Harold Hamm & family
- Est. wealth in 2024: $18.5 billion
- Source of wealth: Founder and chairman of the resource extraction company Continental Resources
- Primary residence: Oklahoma City, OK
- Age(s): 78 years old
Oregon
- Richest person(s): Phil Knight & family
- Est. wealth in 2024: $40.9 billion
- Source of wealth: Co-founder of Nike
- Primary residence: Hillsboro, OR
- Age(s): 86 years old
Pennsylvania
- Richest person(s): Jeff Yass
- Est. wealth in 2024: $27.6 billion
- Source of wealth: Co-founder of Susquehanna International Group, a Wall Street trading firm
- Primary residence: Haverford, PA
- Age(s): 65 years old
Rhode Island
- Richest person(s): Jonathan Nelson
- Est. wealth in 2024: $3.4 billion
- Source of wealth: Founder and chairman of Providence Equity Partners, a private equity firm
- Primary residence: Providence, RI
- Age(s): 67 years old
South Carolina
- Richest person(s): Robert Faith
- Est. wealth in 2024: $5.8 billion
- Source of wealth: Founder, chairman, and CEO of Greystar, a global real estate company
- Primary residence: Charleston, SC
- Age(s): 60 years old
South Dakota
- Richest person(s): T. Denny Sanford
- Est. wealth in 2024: $2.1 billion
- Source of wealth: Founder and owner of First Premier Bank
- Primary residence: Sioux Falls, SD
- Age(s): 88 years old
Tennessee
- Richest person(s): Thomas Frist Jr & family
- Est. wealth in 2024: $26.2 billion
- Source of wealth: Founder of Hospital Corp., a company that owns and operates more than 180 hospitals
- Primary residence: Nashville, TN
- Age(s): 85 years old
Texas
- Richest person(s): Elon Musk
- Est. wealth in 2024: $195 billion
- Source of wealth: Cofounder of multiple companies, including Tesla and SpaceX
- Primary residence: Austin, TX
- Age(s): 52 years old
Utah
- Richest person(s): Gail Miller
- Est. wealth in 2024: $3.9 billion
- Source of wealth: Sold a major auto dealership company in 2021; owns Larry H. Miller Group, a company with business interests across multiple industries, including real estate, healthcare, finance and entertainment.
- Primary residence: Salt Lake City, UT
- Age(s): 80 years old
Vermont
- Richest person(s): John Abele
- Est. wealth in 2024: $1.9 billion
- Source of wealth: Co-founded Boston Scientific, a medical device manufacturing company
- Primary residence: Shelburne, VT
- Age(s): 87 years old
Virginia
- Richest person(s): Jacqueline Mars
- Est. wealth in 2024: $38.5 billion
- Source of wealth: Part owner of Mars Inc., a candy and pet food company founded by her grandfather
- Primary residence: The Plains, VA
- Age(s): 84 years old
Washington
- Richest person(s): Bill Gates
- Est. wealth in 2024: $128 billion
- Source of wealth: Co-founder of computer software giant Microsoft
- Primary residence: Medina, WA
- Age(s): 68 years old
West Virginia
- Richest person(s): Brad Smith
- Est. wealth in 2024: $900 million
- Source of wealth: Former CEO and chairman of Intuit, a business and financial software company
- Primary residence: Huntington, WV
- Age(s): 60 years old
Wisconsin
- Richest person(s): John Menard Jr
- Est. wealth in 2024: $25.2 billion
- Source of wealth: Founder of home improvement retailer Menards
- Primary residence: Eau Claire, WI
- Age(s): 84 years old
Wyoming
- Richest person(s): John Mars
- Est. wealth in 2024: $38.5 billion
- Source of wealth: Part owner of Mars Inc., a candy and pet food company founded by his grandfather
- Primary residence: Jackson, WY
- Age(s): 88 years old
Is Your Money Earning the Best Possible Rate? (Sponsor)
Let’s face it: If your money is just sitting in a checking account, you’re losing value every single day. With most checking accounts offering little to no interest, the cash you worked so hard to save is gradually being eroded by inflation.
However, by moving that money into a high-yield savings account, you can put your cash to work, growing steadily with little to no effort on your part. In just a few clicks, you can set up a high-yield savings account and start earning interest immediately.
There are plenty of reputable banks and online platforms that offer competitive rates, and many of them come with zero fees and no minimum balance requirements. Click here to see if you’re earning the best possible rate on your money!
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.