America’s first billionaire, oil baron John D. Rockefeller, appeared on Forbes’ inaugural rich list, compiled by B.C. Forbes himself in 1918. At the time, he was worth $1.2 billion, the equivalent of about $25 billion today. By the time of his death in 1937, Rockefeller had given away roughly $11 billion in current dollars, and left the rest to his heirs. More than 200 of them, who carry on the tradition of giving through the $5.3 billion (net assets) Rockefeller Foundation, share an estimated $10.3 billion fortune today.
That’s enough to rank them at no. 42 on Forbes’ first ever list of Decabillionaire Dynasties. At a time when markets and asset values are soaring, and the number of billionaires seems to multiply by the day, Forbes decided to up the ante and rank only those families worth $10 billion or more. Forty-five multigenerational families made the cut. Altogether they are worth a combined $1.3 trillion. By comparison, just 36 families were worth $10 billion or more in 2020, the last time Forbes counted up the fortunes of America’s richest families.
These extended families live all across the country in at least 23 states and are based out of hometowns ranging from Louisville, Kentucky to Wichita, Kansas to Racine, Wisconsin. But there are certain places where more of them can be found. New York City, home to the descendants of makeup mogul Estée Lauder (d. 2004) and publishing legend William Randolph Hearst (d. 1951) as well as the Rockefellers, has the most with seven. Chicago (four families) and Atlanta (three families) round out the top three.
Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattdurot/article/americas-richest-families-10-billion-waltons-mars-kochs-rockefeller-decabillionaire-dynasties/?sh=47fef444ec1c
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