How Many Billionaires Do You Have in Your State?
Billion Dollar Babies
The U.S. has more billionaires than any other country in the world with a record 813 throughout the 50 states and Washington D.C. While some states don't have any billionaires at all — Alaska, Delaware, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Vermont, and West Virginia — some have upward of 100. Find out how many billionaires there are in your state.
Arizona
Number of billionaires: 11
According to Redditors, Paradise Valley is to Arizona what Beverly Hills is to California, and there's a lot of concentrated wealth there. Perhaps that's part of why the state is home to 11 different billionaires ... or maybe it's the lower taxes.
Arkansas
Number of billionaires: 6
Why in tarnation would billionaires be in Arkansas, you ask? It's not so confusing when you remember it's where the Walton family lives (you know, the folks who founded Walmart). Jim Walton (Walmart founder Sam Walton's youngest son) is the richest man in the state.
California
Number of billionaires: 186
This is the surprise that came to no one, right? California has — by far — the most billionaires of any state. It's the home of a progressive tax system ... and subsequently the ultra-rich.
Colorado
Number of billionaires: 12
If you combine all 12 of Colorado's billionaires' net worths, the sum comes out to about $50 billion and climbing, since 75% of the state's billionaires are worth more now than they were last year.
Connecticut
Number of billionaires: 13
Fifteen Colorado residents made Forbes' list of the 400 wealthiest Americans, which is saying even more when you consider the state is home to 13 billionaires. The richest of them all is hedge fund manager Steve Cohen, who famously purchased the New York Mets in 2020.
Florida
Number of billionaires: 78
Sure, the weather in Florida is nice and there's quite the attractive lifestyle available in the Sunshine State, but we're pretty sure the absence of capital gains tax, estate tax, and income tax might have something to do with the surplus of billionaires. The richest of Florida's billionaires needs no introduction either unless you've somehow never heard of Jeff Bezos.
Georgia
Number of billionaires: 18
The Cathy family rules the roost of the rich in Georgia. If you don't know the billionaire bursting family by name, you've at least heard of what they founded that made them so rich: Chick-fil-A.
Hawaii
Number of billionaires: 2
We're downright baffled that more billionaires don't call Hawaii home because if we suddenly fell into a pile of money, we'd be pretty tempted to buy an island home. Dissecting further, the fact that higher earners pay some of the most colossal marginal income tax rates in the country is practically billionaire deterrent.
Idaho
Number of billionaires: 1
Idaho's only billionaire, Frank Vandersloot, made his fortune as a businessman (he's the executive chairman of online wellness company Melaleuca), but he's also made headlines for breaking a world record. On his 75th birthday, Vandersloot broke the world record for indoor rowing using a Concept 2 machine.
Illinois
Number of billionaires: 23
Illinois has almost two dozen billionaires and 2 of them top Forbes' list of the richest people in the world: Lukas Walton and Patrick Ryan. Walton is Walmart founder Sam Walton's grandson while Ryan founder and CEO of a wholesale brokerage and specialty insurance firm in Chicago.
Indiana
Number of billionaires: 3
Among Indiana's three billionaires is James Isray, who owns the Indianapolis Colts and lives in Carmel, Indiana — one of the wealthiest areas in the U.S. and the most popular suburb in Indiana.
Iowa
Number of billionaires: 1
How fitting that Iowa's only billionaire has farming roots. Harry Stine, owner of Stine Seed, is the reason Iowa can say it has a billionaire.
Kansas
Number of billionaires: 2
If we were a billionaire living in Kansas, we'd be pretty tempted to make our mansion look like Oz, just saying.
Kentucky
Number of billionaires: 1
Tamara Gustavson is the richest person in Kentucky — the state where it feels the most appropriate to have a billionaire tied to horses (unless you haven't heard of the Kentucky Derby). The horse breeder has a net worth of $7.9 billion.
Louisiana
Number of billionaires: 1
It pays to be the founder of a fast food joint — literally. Raising Cane's founder and CEO, Todd Graves, is the richest person in Louisiana as the Bayou State's only billionaire.
Maine
Number of billionaires: 1
Maine has a reputation as an expensive place to live, and billionaires clearly aren't lining up to live there. Besides, lobster dinners are a dime a dozen when you're filthy rich.
Maryland
Number of billionaires: 11
Maryland's top billionaire is the 93-year-old heir of Lerner Enterprises, — one of the biggest real estate owners in the D.C. area — Annette Lerner. Lerner's husband (who passed away in 2023) reportedly borrowed $250 from her back in 1952 to start the company that is now responsible for her billionaire status.
Massachusetts
Number of billionaires: 22
The Boston Billionaires Club includes bigwigs like Fidelity Investments' CEO Abigail Johnson and the CEO of the New England Patriots, Robert Kraft.
Michigan
Number of billionaires: 11
The billionaires in Michigan include the folks who have founded huge companies like Meijer, Quicken Loans, and Little Caesars.
Minnesota
Number of billionaires: 4
Minnesota's tax system is one of the most equitable in the U.S., but that's not enough to draw billionaires in troves.
Mississippi
Number of billionaires: 2
Despite consistently having the highest poverty rates in the U.S., Mississippi managed to squeak in two billionaires. Thomas Duff, known as the richest man in the poorest state, may even run for governor.
Missouri
Number of billionaires: 7
Some of Missouri's most noteworthy billionaires include Johnny Morris (founder of Bass Pro Shops) and Jack Dorsey (co-founder of Twitter). Dorsey's friend and co-founder of Square, Jim McKelvey, also makes the list.
Montana
Number of billionaires: 4
There might only currently be four billionaires living in Montana, but with a consistent "Yellowstone" boom, we wouldn't be surprised to see that number grow in the coming years.
Nebraska
Number of billionaires: 3
You might have heard of Nebraska's biggest billionaire. Warren Buffett, the richest man in Nebraska has a net worth of nearly $138 billion. The Oracle of Omaha is the seventh-wealthiest in the world.
Nevada
Number of billionaires: 17
There's an air of wealth in Las Vegas that's palpable, and the lack of income tax in the Silver State undoubtedly attracts the billionaires who live there.
New Jersey
Number of billionaires: 5
Plenty of wealthy people live in New Jersey and commute to New York for work. For billionaires, this makes sense especially since taxd laws are generally more on their side in New Jersey.
New York
Number of billionaires: 135
One in every 24 New York City residents is a millionaire, so it's not all that surprising that the state has the second-highest amount of billionaires in the nation. Michael Bloomberg is the Big Apple billionaire at the top with a net worth of $104.7 billion.
North Carolina
Number of billionaires: 6
The industries responsible for the richest people in North Carolina include tech, gaming, and banking. Among the state's billionaires is Epic Games co-founder and CEO Tim Sweeney. Epic Games is the name behind the world famous video game Fortnite, explaining the fortune.
Ohio
Number of billionaires: 7
The most notorious billionaire in Ohio is Les Wexner who founded L Brands, which is the company that created Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works.
Oklahoma
Number of billionaires: 8
If you're picturing billionaire cowboys living in Oklahoma, we're here to burst your bubble. The billion-dollar Okie club is exclusive to businessman big wigs like David Green, the founder and CEO of Hobby Lobby.
Oregon
Number of billionaires: 3
Oregon might not have a lot of billionaires, but the ones they do have are household names like Nike's Phil Knight and Columbia Sportswear's Timothy Boyle.
Pennsylvania
Number of billionaires: 18
Sports merchandising and team ownership is behind quite a few of the Pennsylvania billionaires' fortunes, and the famous Mars family (the folks behind big-name candies like M&Ms and Skittles and pet foods like Pedigree) also dwells in PA.
Rhode Island
Number of billionaires: 1
There's one lone billionaire in the smallest state: founder of Providence Equity Partners, Jonathan Milton Nelson.
South Carolina
Number of billionaires: 1
Businessman Robert Faith is South Carolina's only billionaire, and he's got a net worth of $5.8 billion.
South Dakota
Number of billionaires: 1
The founder of First Premier Bank is South Dakota's sole billionaire. Thomas Denny Sanford has a net worth of $2.1 billion.
Tennessee
Number of billionaires: 11
The founding family of Hospital Corp. of America, the owner of the Tennessee Titans, and Frederick W. Smith, the founder of FedEx, are some of Tennessee's most prominent billionaires.
Texas
Number of billionaires: 73
Everything is bigger than Texas — including billionaires. The Lonestar State doesn't have an income tax, which makes it an attractive destination for the rich, and Houston, Dallas, and Austin all make the top 10 for the U.S. cities with the most millionaires. The richest in Texas is none other than Elon Musk, who is incidentally the richest person in the entire nation.
Utah
Number of billionaires: 6
The richest billionaire of Utah's six is Larry H. Miller's widow, Gail Miller. Miller formerly owned the Utah Jazz with her husband, and they accumulated most of their fortune through their movie theaters and car dealerships.
Virginia
Number of billionaires: 7
SC Johnson, Mars, and AOL are some of the big-time companies behind Virginia's billionaires' fortunes.
Washington, D.C.
Number of billionaires: 11
D.C. reports its own billionaire figures, separate from nearby Virginia and Maryland. Despite what you might assume, none of D.C.'s billionaires are politicians, but instead have endeavors like owning the Washington Commanders.
Washington
Number of billionaires: 13
Jeff Bezos' move to Florida made room for Bill Gates to become the richest billionaire in Washington, with his $131.7 billion net worth.
Wisconsin
Number of billionaires: 7
We adore how Midwestern this is: Wisconsin's richest person is John Menard Jr., who is the founder and owner of the home improvement chain Menards.
Wyoming
Number of billionaires: 6
Wyoming's billionaire residents aren't brand new information to this list — the chairman of Mars Inc., John Mars, and another Walton, Christy.
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This article was originally published on Cheapism
