25 Richest Families In The World Are Worth More Than $1 Trillion
Ned and daughter Abigail (no relation to J&J or S.C. Johnson) own Fidelity Investments, one of the U.S.’s largest mutual fund companies. With more than $16 billion, she’s the richest person in Massachusetts. Maria-Elisabeth and her son Georg are the owners of Schaeffler Group, one of the world’s largest producers of ball bearings. Giovanni , the third-generation scion of Ferrero, the third-largest confectionary company in the world, is chairman. His mother Maria Franca Fissolo is Italy’s richest person, with $25.2 billion, beating her son by $1.6 billion. Last year St. Louis billionaire Jack Taylor died at 94, leaving behind his Enterprise rental car company in a year that saw a record $20.9 billion in revenue.
The Boehringer/Von Baumbach family runs pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim, while the Albrecht family is famous for their discount store Aldi. The media moguls of the Thomson family, founders of Thomson Reuters, round off the top 10 in rank 9. Successful business enterprises are they key to the wealth of the world’s richest families.
It didn't take into account first-generation fortunes, fortunes controlled by a single heir, or fortunes derived primarily from the state. For the purposes of this list, families whose wealth stems from a joint company or enterprise are being considered as a single entry. Industrial is the second largest sector, with 4 of the 25 families involved. It’s also one of the most lucrative sectors—out of the top five wealthiest families on the list, three are in industrials. The Koch family is the wealthiest family in this category, followed by the Al Saud family and the Ambani family, respectively. It’s important to note that many of these families have diversified their investments across a variety of industries.
According to a ranking by Bloomberg, three American families top the ranking of the world’s wealthiest. The top 2 – The Waltons and the Mars family – deal in consumer goods, while the Kochs in rank 3 are more of an industrialist clan. The Walton family’s assets come to $238 billion, while the Mars family made a fortune of $142 billion from their empire of brands such as Milky Way, Snickers, M&M's, Twix and Wrigley chewing gum. The Waltons are the richest family on the list by far, with a net worth of $215 billion—that’s $95 billion more than the second wealthiest family. Following her husband John’s death, Christy Walton assumed his place in the rankings. Bud and Sam Walton, the co-founders of Walmart, are responsible for the majority of the family’s wealth.
Dan serves as chairman and CEO, while Bubba is executive vice president. Gary Rollins, Wayne’s son, presides over the family business as CEO and chairman. The family now owns about 53% of Rollins Inc., along with stakes in oil-and-gas company RPC Inc. and boat dealer Marine Products Corp. They have ties with Saudi Aramco, which is the world’s most profitable company and is the biggest oil company in the oil industry.
A newcomer to Bloomberg’s list this year is the Al Saud royal family of Saudi Arabia. Since last year's wealthiest families report — published in June — the Waltons of Walmart have increased their fortune $39 billion to reach a total of $191 billion, as they are still the richest family in the world. According to Bloomberg's most recent financial report, the Waltons rake in an insane $70,000 per minute, $4 million per hour, and $100 million per day.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman alone has assets estimated to be worth more than $1 billion, and has been known to drop millions on mansions and yachts. They own vineyards in France and Napa Valley and breed and race thoroughbreds, Business Insider previously reported. The collective net worth of the Belgian beer-making families behind Anheuser-Busch InBev dropped $16 billion in the past year alone. With 123% projected GDP growth, Libya’s economy is estimated to have the sharpest rise. Generally speaking, when GDP is increasing in a country, it is a sign of greater economic activity that benefits workers and businesses . As the infographic above shows, corporate finance branches out far and wide, handles trillions of dollars, and plays a key part in making modern markets and economies possible.
The Koch family is one of the most political, American families engaged in business, and they control the Koch Industries. The Koch Industries is the second-largest privately owned company in the United States. The family business was started by Fred C. Koch, and he founded the oil refinery firm back then, which later became Koch Industries. Later after his death in 1967, Fred’s four sons litigated against each other in the 1980s and 1990s.
Today,the fortuneis split among 13 family members, 11 of whom are billionaires. They reportedly spent much of the 2000s arguing over trusts, ultimately dividing up the fortune at the end. GDP accounts for roughly 25% of the global economy, a share that has actually changed significantly over the last 60 years. The finance, insurance, and real estate ($4.7 trillion) industries add the most to the country’s economy, followed by professional and business services ($2.7 trillion) and government ($2.6 trillion). Despite a global recession, most of the world’s wealthiest families seem to be doing just fine—however, not everyone on the list has been thriving this top 10 year.
According to Bloomberg, the world's 25 richest families control $1.4 trillion of wealth. The granddaughter of L'Oréal founder Eugéne Schueller, Bettencourt Meyers, who is pictured here with her sons Nicolas and Jean-Victor, devotes her time to writing Bible commentaries and improving Jewish-Christian relations. Founded in 1885 in Germany by Albert Boehringer, Boehringer Ingelheim initially produced tartaric acid for the food industry before branching out into pharmaceuticals. Today, the drugmaker is among the 20 biggest pharma companies in the world. Boehringer's descendants control the family firm, with scion Hubertus von Baumbach serving as company chairman.