10 richest business families in the world (2024)
The global economic skyline is shaped by the towering presence of the richest business families with their legacies and entrepreneurial journey leaving an indelible mark on the world’s financial system. From amassing vast fortunes from diversified business ventures to charting the course of global e-commerce, these families are examples of tireless innovation and continued excellence.
From the Walton family being majority owners of Walmart, the chocolate empire held by the Mars family to the Ambani family owning Reliance Industries, these business families have an enormous net worth that is a testament to the fortunes and empires they have built. Their descendants are also inducted into the companies and contribute immensely towards the growth of the businesses and family wealth. In fact, on 8 December 2023, Bloomberg released a list of the wealthiest families in the world and stated the wealthiest families in the world have added a staggering USD 1.5 trillion collectively.
While these families wield economic power through their companies and business houses, others with astounding fortunes are a mix of inheritance and entrepreneurial practices. Bloomberg’s list of the wealthiest families features the royal family of the UAE, the Al Nahyans, followed by the royal Al Thani family of Qatar and the royal Al Saud family of Saudi Arabia.
Here are the wealthiest families in the world with expansive business empires and jaw-dropping wealth
The Walton family
Estimated wealth: USD 259.7 billion
Company: Walmart
The family at the helm of American retail giant Walmart, the Walton family is the richest business family in the world and the second wealthiest family after the Al Nahyans. The company’s founding blocks were laid by Sam Walton in 1962, and today, Walmart is the largest retailer by revenue — USD 611.3 billion in the last fiscal year, collected from over 10,500 stores across the world — states Bloomberg.
Today, the family owns about 46 per cent of Walmart stakes and Sam Walton’s three children, Jim, Rob and Alice Walton, are billionaires with USD 78.1 billion, 77.1 billion and USD 72 billion net worths, respectively, as of 8 April 2024, according to the Forbes Billionaires List.
Walmart is known for its huge big-box stores and dirt-cheap prices of commodities. It operates about 5,215 stores in the US, as of 24 December 2023. The previous year, Rob Walton, former chairman of Walmart, purchased NFL’s Denver Broncos for a record USD 4.7 billion.
Hermès Family
Estimated wealth: USD 150.9 billion
Company: Hermès
French luxury fashion company Hermès is known to be one of the choicest accessory brands styling A-listed celebrities right from the beginning. Makers of the iconic Kelly and Birkin handbags, signature scarves, neckties and perfumes, Hermès is a multigenerational business with every family member in leadership roles.
The sixth generation of the elite fashion family pwns about two-thirds of the luxury apparel brand that has a history of nearly 200 years. The company was founded in 1802 when Thierry Hermès started out by making riding gears for English noblemen. Today Axel Dumas serves as its executive chairman with Pierre-Alexis Dumas as the artistic director, both descendants of the founder’s son-in-law’s family. In 2014, the founding family inked negotiations with LVMH chief Bernard Arnault to end his attempts to takeover the company.
The Mars family
Estimated wealth: USD 141.9 billion
Company: Mars Inc.
Revolutionising the candy and confectionaries industry like no other, the Mars family is behind the eponymous Mars bars and the more popular M&Ms. They probably have the most delicious and sweetest business with treats like Milky Way and Snickers Bar making a wholesome catalogue.
Coming in at the third position on the list of wealthiest business families, the Mars family company was founded by Frank Mars who started by selling molasses candies at the age of 19 in 1902. Frank’s grandchildren John and Jacqueline Mars inherited the business and individually have net worths of USD 38.5 billion.
In 2017, Mars acquired VCA, a pet care venture for USD 9.1 billion and is the world’s biggest provider of pet care products and veterinary services. According to Bloomberg, pet care products comprise more than half of the company’s USD 47 billion annual revenue.
In a bid to expand, in 2023, Mars offered USD 667 million to acquire the UK’s luxury chocolate brand Hotel Chocolat.
The Koch family
Estimated wealth: 127.3 billion
Company: Koch Industries
It started in the 1940s when Fred Koch founded the Wood River Oil and Refining Co. Later his sons Frederick, Charles, David and William Koch took over the oil firm and became one of the richest families owning the industrial conglomerate of Koch Industries.
While a family feud led Frederick and William to quit the business in the 1980s, the other two brothers grew with the company’s assets and took Koch Industries to new heights. Bloomberg states that the company generates an annual revenue of USD 125 billion.
David Koch’s widow, Julia Koch, stands at no. 22 on Forbes’ billionaires list with a net worth of USD 66.3 billion, as of 8 April 2024.
Ambani family
Estimated wealth: USD 89.9 billion
Company: Reliance Industries
One of the wealthiest families in the world, the Ambanis are the owners of Reliance Industries and have either invested or forayed into every other sector of business imaginable.
The Reliance empire, which has branched off into clean energy, fashion, electronics, telecommunications, oil and gas, petrochemicals and much more, was founded by Dhirubhai Ambani in the 1950s and was inherited by his sons Mukesh and Anil. In 2004, Reliance became India’s first non-state company to rank on the global Fortune 500 list.
Mukesh Ambani, who stands at no. 11 on the Forbes Billionaires List as of 8 April 2024 with a net worth of USD 1117 billion, heads the Mumbai-based conglomerate as its chairman and managing director. According to Forbes, the corporate house generates a revenue of around USD 110 billion.
With a succession plan in place, Mukesh’s children Akash heads the broadband service Jio, daughter Isha helms the retail and finances service, and son Anant oversees the energy business.
Wertheimer family
Estimated wealth: USD 89.6 billion
Company: Chanel
When their grandfather Pierre Wertheimer joined hands with Gabriel Coco Chanel to fund the latter’s eponymous fashion maison in 1920 Paris, it led brothers Alain and Gerard Wertheimer to reap its fruits.
The French high-fashion brand, known for ushering in the ‘little black dress’ and ‘No. 5 perfume is closely held by the Wertheimer family. It generated a revenue of USD 17.2 billion in 2022. In fact, in the same year, Chanel paid USD 1.7 billion in dividends to the family’s holding company. The amount was marginally short of two-thirds it paid out in 2021.
In 2022, Alain Wertheimer was succeeded by Leena Nair as Chanel’s CEO. As of 8 April 2024, both Gerard and Alain Wertheimer hold 39 rank on the Forbes Billionaires list with a net worth of USD 37.2 billion.
Thomson family
Estimated wealth: 71.1 billion
Company: Thomson Reuters
That’s the family behind Thomson Reuters, the revered media and news agency. The history goes back to the 1930s when founder Roy Thomson started a radio station in Ontario and later made his way into the print business.
Bloomberg states that the family owns around 69 per cent stake in Thomson Reuters via investment firm Woodbridge. In 2022, it collected a revenue of USD 6.6 billion. The third-generation family runs the business and Roy Thomson’s grandson David Thomson holds the 23rd position on Forbes’ Billionaires’ List with a net worth of USD 66.3 billion as of 8 April 2024.
Thomson Reuters’ commitment to delivering timely news and accurate updates makes them a pioneer in the media industry.
Cargill and Macmillan families
Estimated wealth: USD 63.3 billion
Company: Cargill
Cargill is perhaps the most unrefuted name in the agriculture market. It was 1865 when William W. Cargill entered the commodities business and bought a grain storage warehouse in Iowa. The company disrupted the agricultural sector and in the fiscal year, ending in May 2023, it netted a revenue of USD 176.7 billion.
Cargill is managed by the family members of both the founder and his son-in-law John H. MacMillan, leading to the merging of both the names of the families. According to Bloomberg, Cargill is the biggest privately-held US company in terms of revenue.
The company sells and markets food, trades commodities and provides financial risk management. According to a report by The Guardian in 2022, rising food prices have boosted the Cargill-MacMillan family members to becoming billionaires. “The extended family controls about 87% of the company and is ranked as the 11th richest family in the world, with a collective fortune of about $50bn,” the report states.
Johnson family
Estimated wealth: USD 55.7 billion
Company: Fidelity Investments
One of the wealthiest business families in the world is behind the Boston mutual-fund company, Fidelity Investments. It was founded in 1946 by Edward C Johnson II and is currently run by the founder’s granddaughter Abigail Johnson. She stands as the 58th richest person in the world with a net worth of USD 27.8 billion at the time of writing this article. She took over the reins as CEO in 2014 and became the chairman in 2016.
According to Forbes, she owns around 28.5 per cent stake in the company that had discretionary assets amounting to nearly USD 4.5 billion as of September 2023. Her brother Edward Johnson IV runs a family-owned real estate company while her sister Elizabeth is not involved in Fidelity.
In 2022, Fidelity Investments recorded a revenue of USD 25.2 billion. Bloomberg mentions, “The closely held firm has responded to the shift away from actively managed funds in favour of low-cost index funds by launching zero-expense ratio funds and building a digital asset arm.”
Boehringer family
Estimated wealth: USD 51.3 billion
Company: Boehringer Ingelheim
In 1885, German entrepreneur Albert Boehringer established the pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim in Nieder-Ingelheim, present-day Ingelheim am Rhein. Over a century and three decades later, the Boehringer family, which also includes the von Baumbach family, controls the closely knit
Besides being a leading drug maker, the family has diversified the company into several segments such as Human Pharma, Animal Health and Biopharmaceutical Contract Manufacturing.
Interestingly, in 2015, Hubertus von Baumbach became the first family member to become the CEO of the business, in 25 years.
(Hero image credit: Rick T. Wilking / Stringer/ Getty Images; Feature image credit: Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons )
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
-Which is No 1 richest family in the world?
The royal family of UAE, the Al Nahyan family is the richest in the world with an estimated wealth of USD 305 billion.
-Did the richest families add $1.5 trillion in wealth?
According to Bloomberg, the richest families have added around USD 1.5 trillion in wealth collectively since 2022.
-Who are the top 10 richest in the world?
As of 8 April, the top 10 richest people in the world are Bernard Arnault & Family, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Ellison, Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Larry Page, Steve Ballmer and Sergey Brin.
-Which is the richest Arab family in the world in 2023?
The Al Nahyan family of UAE is the richest Arab family with an estimated wealth of USD 305 billion.
-Are the Rockefellers still a wealthy family?
Once a reigning name in the billionaires’ club, the Rockefeller no longer ranks among the wealthiest families in the world. The family head David Rockefeller Sr, passed away in 2017.
-How powerful is the Rothschild family?
One of the oldest aristocratic families from Germany, they have noble rankings and mainly deal in wealth management and finance.
The information in this article is accurate as of the date of publication.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7sb7ErKuin5Wku621zZ5lnKedZLq6e8uinZ6rpK65pnvWnpilrJhiuqK6wKCcpp2eqXyztcKhnKysXZfCtLXNnqqsZZaWuqq4yJ6qZqGeYsGpsYywpquklGQ%3D