The Richest Person in Every State
Fun fact: An abnormally high percentage of the richest people in the U.S. own professional sports teams.Some of them – Bezos, Zuckerberg, Koch – are household names. Others are unassuming people fixated on keeping a low profile. An abnormally high percentage of them own professional sports teams.
The one thing they all have in common: They have a net worth, according to Forbes, that makes them the richest resident in their state. Here they are, in alphabetical order by state.
Note: State median household income figures are from 2016 and come from the U.S. Census Bureau. Per capita real gross domestic product figures are from 2017 (in chained 2009 dollars) and come from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Alabama: Jimmy Rane
Jimmy Rane testifies during Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard's trial 2016, in Opelika, Ala.Estimated net worth: $950 million
Industry: Lumber
State population: 4.9 million
State median household income: $46,257
State’s per capita real GDP: $37,508
Rane grew Great Southern Wood Preserving into one of the biggest suppliers of decks, fences, and other treated lumber products by appearing in his company’s commercials as “The Yella Fella,” a cowboy alter ego. When Rane took over the family business it had $22,000 in annual sales; today, it has $1 billion in annual sales.
Alaska: Leonard Hyde, Jonathan Rubini and families
Alaska real estate developers Leonard Hyde (left) and Jonathan Rubini are worth $310 million each.Estimated net worth: $310 million each
Industry: Real estate
State population: 739,795
State median income: $76,440
State’s per capita real GDP: $63,610
Hyde and his partner Rubini are real estate developers who control much of Anchorage’s skyline, including Alaska’s tallest building, the 21-story ConocoPhillips Tower.
Arizona: Mark Shoen
Mark Shoen, whose net worth is estimated to be $3 billion, made his money via the company U-Haul.Estimated net worth: $3 billion
Industry: Moving and storage (U-Haul)
State population: 7 million
State median household income: $53,558
State’s per capita real GDP: $39,583
Shoen’s father Leonard founded U-Haul. Mark Shoen is the largest shareholder in U-Haul's parent company, Amerco.
Arkansas: Jim Walton
Jim Walton (left) and Alice Walton (right), children of the late Walmart founder Sam Walton, speak during the Walmart shareholders' meeting in Fayetteville, Ark., in 2012.Estimated net worth: $40.3 billion
Industry: Retail (Walmart)
State population: 3 million
State median household income: $44,334
State’s per capita real GDP: $36,714
The youngest son of Walmart founder Sam Walton, Jim Walton and his family run Arvest Bank, which has $16 billion in assets. He and Sam Walton's other heirs own about half of Walmart's stock.
California: Mark Zuckerberg
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg smiles during a "fireside chat" at a conference organized by TechCrunch in San Francisco, in 2012.Estimated net worth: $74 billion
Industry: Social media (Facebook)
State population: 39.5 million
State median household income: $67,739
State’s per capita real GDP: $60,359
Zuckerberg still owns 17 percent of Facebook’s stock. He and his wife Priscilla Chan plan to give away 99 percent of their Facebook holdings over the course of their lifetimes.
Colorado: Philip Anschutz
Philip Anschutz, billionaire owner of the NHL's Los Angeles Kings and Staples Center, watches an NBA basketball game at Staples Center in Los Angeles, in 2013.Estimated net worth: $12.7 billion
Industry: Multiple
State population: 5.6 million
State median household income: $65,685
State’s per capita real GDP: $54,026
Sports fans know him as owner of the Los Angeles Kings, a partial owner of the Los Angeles Lakers, and owner of the building both teams play in. But Anschutz made his fortune the old-fashioned way, in oil, railroads, telecom, real estate and entertainment.
Connecticut: Ray Dalio
Ray Dalio, founder and co-chief investment officer of Bridgewater Associates, speaks at the World Economic Forum, in Davos, Switzerland, in 2012.Estimated net worth: $17.4 billion
Industry: Finance
State population: 3.6 million
State median household income: $73,433
State’s per capita real GDP: $62,633
Dalio started Bridgewater Associates in his two-bedroom New York apartment. Today it is one of the world's biggest hedge funds. And his Connecticut home is presumably much bigger than the apartment where he got his start.
Delaware: Robert Gore and Elizabeth Snyder
Robert Gore discovered the material now known as Gore-Tex. He shares the family fortune with his sister Elizabeth.Estimated net worth: $750 million each
Industry: Fabric (Gore-Tex)
State population: 961,939
State median household income: $61,757
State’s per capita real GDP: $63,955
Yes, Gore inherited his family’s company. But he’s also responsible for much of its success. It was Gore who discovered the waterproof and windproof material now known as Gore-Tex. He shares the family fortune with his sister Elizabeth.
Florida: Thomas Peterffy
Thomas Peterffy made his fortune as the entrepreneur behind Interactive Brokers, a specialized trading platform.Estimated net worth: $25.7 billion
Industry: Finance/Investing
State population: 21 million
State median household income: $50,860
State’s per capita real GDP: $39,842
Peterffy came to America in 1965, when he was just 21. The Hungarian immigrant's family had lost its entire fortune to the Soviet regime. He started over and built Interactive Brokers, a specialized trading platform.
Georgia: Jim Kennedy
Cox Enterprises chairman Jim Kennedy is the grandson of its founder, James M. Cox.Estimated net worth: $9 billion
Industry: Media
State population: 10.4 million
State median household income: $53,559
State’s per capita real GDP: $45,925
The chairman of Cox Enterprises is the grandson of its founder, James M. Cox. Kennedy, however, started at the bottom of the company, working in a variety of positions, including reporter and ad salesman, in Cox's newspaper division after he graduated from the University of Denver in 1970.
Hawaii: Pierre Omidyar
Pierre Omidyar made his fortune as the founder of eBay.Estimated net worth: $10.6 billion
Industry: Internet (eBay)
State population: 1.4 million
State median household income: $74,511
State’s per capita real GDP: $52,869
Omidyar said he never expected to make a dime off of eBay. He had started the site so his girlfriend could trade Pez dispensers. But five months after he cobbled together the code that became the online auction site, the company was valued at $3 billion.
Idaho: Frank VanderSloot
Frank VanderSloot, who owns Melaleuca, Inc., a healthcare products company, is seen in Idaho Falls, Idaho, in 2008.Estimated net worth: $3.4 billion
Industry: Nutrition/Wellness
State population: 1.7 million
State median household income: $51,807
State’s per capita real GDP: $36,441
VanderSloot is the founder and chief executive officer of Melaleuca, Inc., a wellness company. But his business background extends into radio and ranching as well. He was a national finance co-chair for Mitt Romney's presidential campaigns in 2008 and 2012, and is the 92nd biggest property owner in the U.S.
Illinois: Ken Griffin
Ken Griffin is the CEO and founder of the investment firm Citadel.Estimated net worth: $9 billion
Industry: Finance
State population: 12.8 million
State median household income: $60,960
State’s per capita real GDP: $55,102
Griffin founded the investment firm Citadel in 1990 and still serves as its CEO. Griffin is also a philanthropist who has donated $500 million, including a $150 million gift to the financial aid program at Harvard in 2014.
Indiana: Carl Cook
Estimated net worth: $8.2 billion
Industry: Medical devices
State population: 6.7 million
State median household income: $52,314
State’s per capita real GDP: $46,427
Cook took over the Cook Group, a medical device maker, from his parents when his father died in 2011. Cook's parents started the company in their Indiana apartment in 1963. Cook met his wife, Marcy, when she was working in the company’s auditing department.
Iowa: Harry Stine
Harry Stine made his fortune by licensing corn and soybean geneticsEstimated net worth: $3.2 billion
Industry: Agriculture
State population: 3.1 million
State median household income: $56,247
State’s per capita real GDP: $52,284
Stine became fascinated with seeds growing up on a farm, which led him to become what Forbes called a “seed genetics savant.” He made his fortune by licensing corn and soybean genetics to Monsanto, Syngenta and other multinationals.
Kansas: Charles Koch
Charles Koch and his brother David each own 42 percent of Koch IndustriesEstimated net worth: $51.5 billion
Industry: Multiple
State population: 2.9 million
State median household income: $54,935
State’s per capita real GDP: $47,435
Koch and his brother David each own 42 percent of Koch Industries, but they are best known as the billionaire backers of conservative political causes. Among the familiar brands under the control of their companies are Stainmaster carpet, Lycra spandex, Quilted Northern toilet paper and Dixie Cup.
Kentucky: B. Wayne Hughes
B. Wayne Hughes (left) is congratulated by horse trainer Tim Ritchey after he made the winning bid in a fundraising auction at Churchill Downs, in Louisville, Kentucky, in 2005.Estimated net worth: $2.7 billion
Industry: Self storage
State population: 4.5 million
State median household income: $46,659
State’s per capita real GDP: $39,277
Since founding Public Storage in 1972, Hughes has seen the company grow to include 2,300 locations in the U.S. More recently, he founded American Homes 4 Rent, a real estate investment trust that rents out 50,000 single family houses in 22 states. His son and his daughter are billionaires as well.
Louisiana: Gayle Benson
New Orleans Saints owner Gayle Benson walks on the field before an NFL preseason football game against the Los Angeles Rams in New Orleans, in 2018.Estimated net worth: $2.7 billion
Industry: Professional sports
State population: 4.7 million
State median household income: $45,146
State’s per capita real GDP: $44,372
Benson became the principal owner of the New Orleans Saints and New Orleans Pelicans after the death of her husband, Tom, in 2015. That made her the first woman to be a majority owner of franchises in both the NFL and NBA. Gayle Benson met Tom, her third husband, when she tried to solicit a donation for her church.
Maine: Susan Alfond
Susan Alfond and her three siblings inherited their wealth from their father.Estimated net worth: $1.6 billion
Industry: Shoes
State population: 1.3 million
State median household income: $53,079
State’s per capita real GDP: $39,521
Alfond and her three siblings inherited their wealth from their father, who founded Dexter Shoe Co. and sold it to Berkshire Hathaway in 1993.
Maryland: Ted Lerner and family
Washington Nationals owner Ted Lerner (left) and his son Mark Lerner attend a reception at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery in Washington, in 2009.Estimated net worth: $5.1 billion
Industry: Real estate
State population: 6.1 million
State median household income: $78,945
State’s per capita real GDP: $56,375
Lerner is the managing principal owner of the Washington Nationals and the largest private landowner in the D.C. metropolitan area. He started his company with a $250 loan from his wife in 1952.
Massachusetts: Abigail Johnson
Abigail Johnson isn't just the wealthiest resident of Massachusetts. She is one of the richest women in the world.Estimated net worth: $16.9 billion
Industry: Finance
State population: 6.9 million
State median household income: $75,297
State’s per capita real GDP: $66,500
Johnson is the third generation and the first woman to lead Fidelity Investments, which her grandfather founded in 1946. In addition to being the wealthiest resident of Massachusetts, she is one of the richest women in the world.
Michigan: Dan Gilbert
Dan Gilbert, Cleveland Cavaliers owner and Quicken Loans founder, answers questions during a news conference at the Cav's training facility in 2012, in Independence, Ohio.Estimated net worth: $6.3 billion
Industry: Finance
State population: 10 million
State median household income: $52,492
State’s per capita real GDP: $44,201
In addition to founding Quicken Loans and operating the Cleveland Arena that bears the company's name, Gilbert is co-owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers and the owner of several minor league sports franchises. He also founded Rock Ventures and chairs JACK Entertainment, which opened its first casino in downtown Cleveland in 2012.
Minnesota: Glen Taylor
Minnesota Timberwolves team owner Glen Taylor speaks in Minneapolis in 2014.Estimated net worth: $2.8 billion
Industry: Printing
State population: 5.6 million
State median household income: $65,599
State’s per capita real GDP: $54,805
Taylor, a former member of the Minnesota Senate, owns the Star-Tribune newspaper. He is also the majority owner of the Minnesota Timberwolves and the owned of the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx.
Taylor purchased Carlson Wedding Service, a print shop specializing in invitations that he worked for while he was in college. That company went on to become a multinational corporation with holdings in printing and electronics industries under Taylor’s ownership.
Mississippi: James and Thomas Duff
Estimated net worth: $1.2 billion each
Industry: Tires
State population: 3 million
State median household income: $41,754
State’s per capita real GDP: $32,447
The Duff brothers purchased a struggling tire company and turned it into the biggest truck tire dealer in the U.S. Southern Tire Mart now serves UPS, Penske and Ryder, and sells about 2 million tires per year.
Missouri: Pauline MacMillan Keinath
The food company Cargill was founded by Pauline MacMillan Keinath's great grandfather in 1865. Her family still holds about 90 percent of Cargill’s shares.Estimated net worth: $7.2 billion
Industry: Food
State population: 6.1 million
State median household income: $51,746
State’s per capita real GDP: $43,036
Keinath’s 12 percent stake in Cargill is believed to be the largest stake in the world’s biggest food company. Cargill was founded by her great grandfather in 1865. Her family still holds about 90 percent of Cargill’s shares.
Montana: Dennis Washington
Dennis Washington, who made his money in construction and mining, has an estimated net worth of $5.9 billion.Estimated net worth: $5.9 billion
Industry: Construction and mining
State population: 1.1 million
State median household income: $50,027
State’s per capita real GDP: $39,833
After working construction jobs throughout his 20s, Cargill took a $30,000 loan and a single bulldozer when he was 30 in 1964 to start building his construction empire. In the 1970s, he expanded into mining and dam construction.
Nebraska: Warren Buffett
Warren Buffett is interviewed in the White House Briefing Room in Washington, following a meeting with President Barack Obama, in 2011.Estimated net worth: $85 billion
Industry: Investment (Berkshire Hathaway)
State population: 1.9 million
State median household income: $56,927
State’s per capita real GDP: $54,654
The "Oracle of Omaha" is arguably the most successful, and certainly best known, investors of all time. His Berkshire Hathaway owns more than 60 companies, including Geico, Duracell and Dairy Queen. Buffett bought his first stock when he was 11.
Nevada: Sheldon Adelson
Sheldon Adelson arrives at the Champions of Jewish Values International Gala in New York, in 2014.Estimated net worth: $42.8 billion
Industry: Casinos
State population: 3 million
State median household income: $55,180
State’s per capita real GDP: $44,812
No surprise here: the richest person in Nevada made his fortune in gaming and casinos. But Adelson has also branched out into publishing, purchasing the Las Vegas Review-Journal. He also holds the record for biggest single donation to a U.S. presidential inauguration, giving $5 million to the Trump Inaugural Committee in 2017.
New Hampshire: Andrea Reimann-Ciardelli
Andrea Reimann-Ciardelli, whose estimated worth is $1.1 billion, earned her money from her family's consumer goods business.Estimated net worth: $1.1 billion
Industry: Consumer goods
State population: 1.3 million
State median household income: $70,936
State’s per capita real GDP: $52,509
Reimann-Ciardelli sold her 11.1 percent stake in JAB Holding Co. for $1 billion in 2003. She is the German-born descendent of the company's founder. Today she lives in Hanover and runs the private Emily Landecker Foundation.
New Jersey: John Overdeck
John Overdeck co-founded and co-chairs Two Sigma Investments, a hedge fund based in New York City.Estimated net worth: $5.5 billion
Industry: Finance
State population: 9 million
State median household income: $76,126
State’s per capita real GDP: $56,776
Overdeck co-founded and co-chairs Two Sigma Investments, a hedge fund based in New York City. The fund uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to develop trading strategies. In 2011 he started the Overdeck Family Foundation, which funds education research and STEM initiatives.
New Mexico: Mack C. Chase
Mack C. Chase, who made his fortune in the oil industry, is worth approximately $700 million.Estimated net worth: $700 million
Industry: Oil
State population: 2.1 million
State median household income: $46,748
State’s per capita real GDP: $41,619
New Mexico's richest resident is an old-fashioned oil tycoon who worked the Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico. Today he continues to work in the business and owns Chase Farms and Deerhorn Aviation. Chase was married for 63 years when his wife died in 2016.
New York: David Koch
David Koch and his brother Charles each own 42 percent of Koch Industries.Estimated net worth: $51.5 billion
Industry: Multiple
State population: 19.9 million
State median household income: $62,909
State’s per capita real GDP: $65,220
The other half of the Koch brothers – see Kansas, where you’ll find David’s brother, Charles. The brothers each own 42 percent of the company that bears their name but are best known for their funding of conservative political causes.
North Carolina: James Goodnight
Jim Goodnight (center), CEO of SAS, speaks during a session at the Forbes CEO conference in 2008 in Singapore.Estimated net worth: $9.9 billion
Industry: Software
State population: 10.3 million
State median household income: $50,584
State’s per capita real GDP: $44,706
The professor-turned-billionaire made his fortune when he and other computer science faculty members left North Carolina State University in 1976 to co-found SAS Institute, an analytics software maker. The company stemmed from research in software analyzing agricultural data. Goodnight has been CEO of SAS since its founding.
North Dakota: Gary Tharaldson
Gary Tharaldson's company is one of the biggest developers of new hotels.Estimated net worth: $900 million
Industry: Hotels
State population: 755,393
State median household income: $60,656
State’s per capita real GDP: $64,911
His Tharaldson Companies started in 1982 with the purchase of a Super 8 motel in Valley City, North Dakota. Today the company is one of the biggest developers of new hotels.
Ohio: Les Wexner and family
Retail mogul Les Wexner (left) and his wife Abigail tour the "Transfigurations" exhibit at the Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus, Ohio, in 2014.Estimated net worth: $5.4 billion
Industry: Retail
State population: 11.7 million
State median household income: $52,334
State’s per capita real GDP: $48,188
Wexner started The Limited in 1963 with a $5,000 loan from his aunt after working in his family's clothing store. The store takes its name from Wexner's business model, which was to offer a limited line of merchandize with higher profit margins.
Oklahoma: Harold Hamm and family
Billionaire oilman Harold Hamm, chairman of Oklahoma City-based Continental Resources Inc., delivers a speech during the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference in Bismarck, N.D. in 2014.Estimated net worth: $19.5 billion
Industry: Oil and gas
State population: 3.9 million
State median household income: $49,176
State’s per capita real GDP: $44,535
Hamm is best known for his role in the shale oil-exploration company Continental Resources. He started his career pumping gas and repairing cars but soon left to work on an oil patch. He founded his own company, Continental Resources, when he was just 21.
Oregon: Phil Knight and family
Phil Knight, co-founder of Nike, speaks during the enshrinement ceremony for the 2012 class of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame at Symphony Hall in Springfield, Mass. in 2012.Estimated net worth: $30.7 billion
Industry: Sporting goods (Nike)
State population: 4.1 million
State median household income: $57,532
State’s per capita real GDP: $51,312
Knight was a middle distance runner at the University of Oregon, which may explain why he went on to found one of the biggest makers of athletic footwear. He was inspired to found Nike while taking classes at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
The company's modest beginnings include Knight selling shoes out of the trunk of his green Plymouth Valiant at track meets.
Pennsylvania: Victoria Mars
Victoria Mars (center) appears with Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback and Debra Sandler at the Mars Chocolate North America Topeka Plant near Topeka, Kan., in 2014.Estimated net worth: $6 billion
Industry: Multiple
State population: 12.8 million
State median household income: $56,907
State’s per capita real GDP: $51,841
The former chairman of Mars Inc. she is a fourth generation of the Mars family. She started her career in the family business as the assistant brand manager for Milky Way.
Rhode Island: Jonathan Nelson
Jonathan Nelson has kept a low profile despite his high net worth of approximately $1.8 billion.Estimated net worth: $1.8 billion
Industry: Finance
State population: 1.1 million
State median household income: $60,596
State’s per capita real GDP: $48,314
He founded Providence Equity Partners, a global private equity firm, in 1989. Nelson has kept a low profile despite his high net worth, prompting The New York Times to call him the "stealth mogul." His firm primarily invests in media and communications industries.
South Carolina: Anita Zucker
Anita Zucker is CEO and chair of the private, family-owned chemical maker InterTech Group.Estimated net worth: $2.5 billion
Industry: Chemicals
State population: 5 million
State median household income: $49,501
State’s per capita real GDP: $37,637
Zucker is CEO and chair of the private, family-owned chemical maker InterTech Group. The company was founded by her husband, Jerry, in 1982. Jerry Zucker died of a brain tumor in 2008 and left control of the company to his wife.
South Dakota: T. Denny Sanford
T. Denny Sanford speaks with reporters in Sioux Falls. South Dakota in 2007.Estimated net worth: $2.5 billion
Industry: Finance
State population: 869,666
State median household income: $54,467
State’s per capita real GDP: $48,004
Sanford owns First PREMIER Bank and First PREMIER Bankcard, two of the biggest issuers of credit cards in the U.S. The company issues low-limit credit cards with higher fees and interest rates to people with bad credit. "We provide a lifeline for credit-impaired people," Sanford told Forbes magazine.
Tennessee: Thomas Frist Jr. and family
Dr. Thomas Frist Jr. became chairman and CEO of Hospital Corporation of America in July 25, 1997. His estimated net worth is $9.7 billion.Estimated net worth: $9.7 billion
Industry: Hospitals
State population: 6.7 million
State median household income: $48,547
State’s per capita real GDP: $44,348
Frist is a physician who co-founded Hospital Corporation of America. The leveraged buyout of the company in 2006 for $21 billion stands as one of the biggest leveraged buyouts and private-equity led initial public offerings of all time.
Texas: Alice Walton
Alice Walton, daughter of Walmart founder Sam Walton, attends the Walmart shareholder meeting in Fayetteville, Ark., in 2015.Estimated net worth: $40 billion
Industry: Retail (Walmart)
State population: 28.3 million
State median household income: $56,565
State’s per capita real GDP: $53,737
Walton is the daughter of Walmart founder Sam Walton and is routinely ranked first or second on the Forbes list of richest women in the world, often flip-flopping with Francoise Bettencourt Meyers. In his 1992 autobiography, Sam Walton said Alice was "the most like me — a maverick — but even more volatile than I am."
Utah: Gail Miller
Gail Miller, owner of the the Larry H. Miller Group of Companies, transferred ownership of the Utah Jazz to a Legacy Trust in order to keep the franchise in Utah for generations.Estimated net worth: $1.4 billion
Industry: Car dealerships
State population: 3.1 million
State median household income: $65,977
State’s per capita real GDP: $45,493
The widow of Larry H. Miller now controls his businesses, including the Utah Jazz and the Larry H. Miller Group. The Miller Group includes 54 car dealerships, a chain of movie theaters, and the NBA’s Utah Jazz. Larry H. Miller died in 2009.
Vermont: John Abele
John Abele is the co-founder and a director of Boston Scientific, a medical device company.Estimated net worth: $630 million
Industry: Health care
State population: 623,657
State median household income: $57,677
State’s per capita real GDP: $44,831
The co-founder and a director of Boston Scientific, a medical device company, started his career at a light fixture company in the midwest. After working for a small medical company in greater Boston, he left to co-found Boston Scientific with Peter Nicholas.
Virginia: Jacqueline Mars
Jacqueline Mars's grandfather founded the candy company that bears her family name.Estimated net worth: $23.8 billion
Industry: Multiple
State population: 8.5 million
State median household income: $68,114
State’s per capita real GDP: $52,124
Mars is the granddaughter of the founder of the candy company that bears her family name. She retired from the company in 2001 after having served as Food Product Group president since she started her career in 1982. She currently owns a working organic farm and is a trustee of the U.S. Equestrian Team.
Washington: Jeff Bezos
Amazon founder and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos talks about the history and character of the Post during a dedication ceremony for its new headquarters in Washington in 2018.Estimated net worth: $132 billion
Industry: Internet (Amazon)
State population: 7.4 million
State median household income: $67,106
State’s per capita real GDP: $59,333
We're guessing you've heard of him. Bezos left the hedge fund he worked for in New York and wrote the business plan for Amazon on a cross-country drive to Seattle, where the company is headquartered and Bezos lives.
West Virginia: Jim Justice II
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, whose approximate net worth is $1.9 billion, waves to the crowd as he delivers his inauguration speech, Monday, Jan. 16, 2017, in Charleston, W. Va.Estimated net worth: $1.9 billion
Industry: Coal/Agriculture
State population: 1.8 million
State median household income: $43,385
State’s per capita real GDP: $37,353
Justice is not only the richest person living in West Virginia. He's also the state's governor. Justice made his fortune in coal and agriculture and famously switched parties to run as a Democrat against the Republican nominee. Seven months after he took office he switched parties again with an announcement at a rally for President Trump.
Wisconsin: John Menard Jr.
John Menard (left) rides out of the pit area at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with Vitor Meira in 2003.Estimated net worth: $10.5 billion
Industry: Home improvement
State population: 5.8 million
State median household income: $56,811
State’s per capita real GDP: $48,666
The father of NASCAR driver Paul Menard made his fortune as the owner of Menards, a chain of home improvement stores in the midwest. The chain has grown from the original store he opened in 1972 to 287 today.
Wyoming: John Mars
John Mars and his sister Jaqueline each own a third of the Mars candy companyEstimated net worth: $23.8 billion
Industry: Multiple
State population: 579,315
State median household income: $59,882
State’s per capita real GDP: $61,091
Mars and his sister Jaqueline each own a third of the Mars candy company, putting them in a tie for 32nd richest people in the world. He moved to Wyoming from Virginia in 2010.
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