It was a big year for Texas’ wealthy.
The 43 who claimed spots on this year’s Forbes ranking of the 400 wealthiest Americans now represent more than a tenth of the nation’s richest people, as the group grew by six from last year.
One of Texas’ most high-profile transplants not only is the state’s richest man but also is the nation’s and the world’s. Elon Musk, who made Texas his official home when he began investing heavily in the state, sits atop the ranking with a net worth estimated to be $251 billion.
In Dallas, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones continues to widen his lead over every other billionaire in town, with a fortune that Forbes now places at $16 billion. He got a boost from the rising valuation of the Cowboys, already deemed the most valuable NFL franchise, and benefited from his majority stockholder stake in Frisco-based oil and gas company Comstock Resources. The team’s worth rose 10% from last year’s valuation.
Musk’s fortune jumped more than $100 billion over last year as SpaceX soars in value with new funding and a dissolved deal to take over Twitter is heading to court.
The Tesla CEO also bumped Amazon founder Jeff Bezos from Forbes’ No.1 spot, which Bezos held for four consecutive years.
Both business magnates have cemented Texas as a key state in their plans to privatize space. Musk’s SpaceX uses a launch site along the Gulf Coast at the Texas-Mexico border, and Bezos sends Blue Origin rockets into the air from a remote West Texas location.
Behind Musk in Texas is Walmart heir Alice Walton, whose net worth fell more than $12 billion from last year. That drop ousted her from a seven-year run as the richest woman in America. The Fort Worth resident is now second to Julia Koch and her family.
New additions to Texas’ most exclusive cabinet include 84-year-old oil tycoon Autry Stephens of Midland, whose company has the rights to drill on more than 500,000 acres in the U.S., most of which are in Texas; Airbnb founder Joe Gebbia of Austin, who stepped down this summer from his full-time role to parent; Texas-based grocery chain H-E-B board members Charles Butt and Eleanor Butt Crook and fintech executive Hayes Barnard of Austin.
Credited as the father of the airplane leasing industry, Steven Udvar-Hazy joins other Lone Star State billionaires as he lists Westlake as his place of residence.
Austin’s John Paul DeJoria, who founded Paul Mitchell Systems hair care products and co-founded Patrón Tequila, and Fort Worth oiler and investor Sid Bass rejoined the ranking after falling short last year.
As a group, the country’s richest are worth $4 trillion — $500 billion less than last year, Forbes said. The base net worth to make the elite list dropped for the first time since the Great Recession, now requiring $2.7 billion to score a spot.
