Top 10 Richest Family In The World 2023

The Waltons have an estimated net worth of $224.5 billion which puts them at the top of the list. Seven members own a 50% stake in Walmart. 

The patriarch Sam Walton established the first Walmart store on July 2, 1962, in Rogers, Arkansas, back then it was known as the Wal-Mart Discount City store. The establishment of the first Walmart store with his brother Bud Walton effectively sowed the seed for the household’s whopping net worth. 

The retail brand is the largest of its kind in the world with over 10,586 stores around the world and employs 2.3 million people worldwide. The business saw $611.3 billion in revenue for the fiscal year 2023 and a net profit of $11.29 billion for the same period.

The household-owned 50% of the company stake is divided into the seven heirs of the company. Three of Sam’s children Jim, Alice, and S. Robson own 3/4 of the stocks and the remainder of 1/4 is owned by Sam’s late son John’s widow and their children.

The Waltons’ fortune is broken down as: 

• Jim Walton- $66.9 billion
• Alice Walton- $66 billion
• S. Robson Walton- $65.7 billion
• Lukas Walton- $16.7 billion
• Ann Walton Kroenke- $9.1 billion
• Nancy Walton Laurie- $8.2 billion
• Christy Walton- $8 billion

Waltons sustain their wealth with a capital gain in Walmart stocks publicly traded on New York Stock Exchange. They also receive a large portion of the income from the dividend and profit split among the shareholders from Walmart.

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The Mars have a net worth of $160 billion in 2023. The members hold full ownership of Mars, INC. 

If you have ever tried a Mars bar then you have made a contribution to the Mars household’s fortune. Mars Incorporated is entirely owned by the Mars members and the company posted revenue of $45 billion last year. 

The seeds of their vast fortune were sown five generations ago in 1920 by Franklin Clarence Mars when he started Mar-O-Bar Co. in Minneapolis and a year later founded Mars Incorporated. Five generations of successful business later, the household is now the second richest dynasty in the world.

Although the Mars company is known for its renowned products including Bounty, M&Ms, Milkyway, Hubba Bubba, and Galaxy, among others, it is also known for expanding into pet care. Mars’s pet care products include Pedigree, Aquarium Pharmaceuticals, Sheba, and many others.

Now, the company is split evenly between the three great-grandchildren and their offspring of Franklin Clarence Mars, according to Forbes. The fortune is broken down as: 

• Jacqueline Mars- $38.3 Billion
• John Mars- $38.3 Billion
• Victoria Mars- $9.6 Billion
• Valerie Mars- $9.6 Billion
• Pamela Mars- $9.6 Billion
• Marijke Mars- $9.6 Billion

The Mars also has a similar revenue model as the Waltons. They also sustain their fortune from the capital grown and profit split from the company and sales. 

The Kochs have a net worth of $128.8 billion. The Kochs own and operate the privately held eponym multinational conglomerate. 

Koch Industry deals with all kinds of chemical and energy productions including petroleum, energy, fiber, intermediates, polymers, fertilizer, pulp and paper, and chemical technology equipment. It also expands to cloud computing, investment, and raw material trading through its subsidiaries.

The company was first established in 1968 after its predecessor company Wood River Oil and Refining Company was renamed by Fred C. Koch. He developed a new technique for distillation that was viable for smaller industries and thus succeeded. However, he was engulfed with over 44 lawsuits after the technology was developed and deployed. 

The Koch household’s net worth was divided into four equal parts among the founder of the industry Fred C. and his wife Mary Robinson Koch’s four sons.

However, after a boardroom legal battle lasting over two decades, the stocks held by two brothers Frederick R. Koch and Bill Koch were bought for $1.1 billion making the remaining two brothers Charles Koch and David Koch majority stockholders with 42% each. 

Now, the structure of the company and its holdings among the remaining members look as given below, according to Forbes. 

• Charles Koch- $59 Billion
• Julia Koch & family – $59 Billion (widow and children of David Koch)
• William “Bill” Koch- $1.6 Billion

The rest of the fortune is owned and controlled by other members including Charles and William’s children. According to Financial Times, the members are determined to keep the stakes and do not want to take Koch Industries public.

Richest Royal family Al Saud has a net worth of $105 billion. Al Saud extended houshold control over $1.4 trillion in wealth. 

The royal dynasty is headed by King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud who is said to have a fortune of $20 billion alone. However, the Al Sauds have over 15,000 extended members with an estimated net worth of over $1.4 trillion. 

Richest family Saudi Arabia is Al Saud, the ruling monarchy and they have control over $105 billion of wealth according to Bloomberg.  While all of the 15,000 members may be associated with the ruling monarchy, this list only includes the fortune of the core members.

The majority of wealth comes from control of some of the world’s largest oil fields and refineries. Furthermore, the Al Sauds also have investments and stakes in several funds and investment companies operating out of Saudi Arabia. 

Moreover, members of the Al Saud monarchy are also entitled to monthly stipends, according to Bloomberg. Although the exact figures of the allowance paid are never released by the Saudi government, a report from US Embassy Cable Leak suggests they can get as high as $270,000 to as low as $800 per person depending upon the relationship with the monarch. 

A complete breakdown of the net worth of the Al Saud monarchy is not available yet. 

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The Hermes have a fortune of $94.6 billion. Hermes clan owns over 65.1% stake in Hermès International S.A. through direct ownership and holding companies.

The company started as a harness manufacturer by Thierry Hermès in 1837 after he established his first shop in Paris. The company made outstanding products targeted at the European businessman, sowing the seeds for a multi-billion-dollar empire for the household. 

Soon the company expanded to producing bags, initially designed to carry harnesses. Charles-Émile took the management from Thierry Hermès and later gave it to his sons Adolphe and Émile-Maurice. 

Adolphe and Émile-Maurice renamed the company Hermès Frères and expanded their business by making saddles for Russian Tsar and later leather jackets with Zippers for  Edward, Prince of Wales. They also became the first to bring zippers to France and expanded the operations to other parts of the world.

Robert Dumas-Hermès took over the leadership in 1951 succeeding Émile-Maurice. Robert’s son Jean-Louis Dumas took the management of the company in 1978 and started focusing on silk, leather, and ready-to-wear products. The company went public in June 1993.

Patrick Thomas became the first person to head Hermès from outside the household. Although the Hermès still hold a huge chunk of the stake in the business, the actual distribution of holdings is unavailable as it is through indirect ownership with holding companies.

Top 10 richest families in the world also include Indian billionaire Ambanis with a net worth of $84.4 billion. Mukesh Ambani is the wealthiest Indian businessman.

Mukesh is a second-generation businessman working with the Reliance Group of Industries which was founded by his father Dhirubhai Ambani. The company started as a yarn-trading enterprise in 1958. 

Reliance Group of Industries saw its rise in production of polyester yarn until 1980 and it expanded its business in petroleum and petrochemicals between the 1980s and the end of the 1900s.

The booming company witnessed a feud after Mukesh and Anil, two sons of Dhirubhai took the leadership roles and had differences between them. Dhirubhai’s widow Kokilaben had to interfere and brokerage the deal splitting the company into two halves. 

The elder son of founder Ambani owns 49.11% of Reliance Industries, his half of the company, and the younger son Anil Ambani owns 55.54% of Reliance Group, his half of the company. We cover only the Mukesh Ambani household in this article as Anil has been dropped off the billionaire’s list, reports Economic Times. 

The elder Ambani has three children, sons Akash and Anat, and a daughter Isha. All three of his children have leadership roles in Reliance Industries. The Ambanis along with Mukesh’s wife Nita reside in their 27-storied billion-dollar skyscraper home Antilia in Mumbai. The house was the most expensive private residence at the time of building. 

The Ambanis’ extensive wealth comes from the capital gains on their 49.11% of Reliance Industries stake and the dividends paid by the conglomerate. 

The Cargill-MacMillans fortune is $65.2 billion as of 2023. Pauline MacMillan Keinath is the largest stakeholder with a 13% stake in Cargill.

The business was started six generations ago as grain storage by William Wallace Cargill in 1965. The company later was incorporated as Cargill and is now one of the largest privately held firms in the United States of America with hundreds of billions in revenue. 

The firm was joined by William’s brothers and later by John H. MacMillan Sr., who also became his son-in-law after marrying his eldest daughter Edna Clara Cargill, making him a member of the household. 

After William passed away in 1909 and his wife followed in 1910, the entire Cargill company was divided equally among his children. The company was headed by John H. MacMillan Sr. who passed away in 1944 leaving his sons John H. MacMillan Jr. and Cargill MacMillan Sr. with one-third of the company each.

Similarly, the company was broken down generation after generation but all the members have not sold their shares and it has also not gone private, making it one of the largest privately held companies. It would rank in the top 20 Fortune 500 companies in the USA if it was to go public.

As of 2023, 12 members of the Cargill-MacMillan kin hold ownership and stake in the company and Pauline MacMillan Keinath, granddaughter of John Sr. has the highest stake of 13% ownership. 

As of 2016, seven members of the Cargill-MacMillan clan sat on the 17-member board of directors. Cragil is an agricultural trading company that buys, sells, and distributes in top of producing agricultural products around the world. 

The Wertheimers hold $63.2 billion in net worth split between two siblings. Gerard and Alain co-own the fashion company, Chanel.

Gerard and Alain are grandsons of Chanel co-founder Pierre Wertheimer with Coco Chanel. Pierre agreed to provide a full-financing deal for the production, marketing, and distribution of Chanel’s Chanel No. 5, through their partnership venture Parfums Chanel in exchange for a 70% stake in the firm.

The 70% deal proved to be very successful for the Wertheimers, as his direct descendants remain as the chairperson with a controlling stake in the fashion company. The company posted $15 billion in revenue and $4 billion in profit in 2021. 

In addition to their privately held fashion company, the Wertheimer brothers also have a variety of other ventures including wineries and racehorses. They own vineyards both in France and Napa Valley, United States of America. 

Some of their well-known wine production establishments include Château Rauzan-Ségla, Château Canon, and others in Napa Valley. The two brothers are also enthusiastic equestrians and have invested in thoroughbred horseracing and breeding company called La Presle Farm. 

According to Forbes, Alain Wertheimer is worth $31.6 billion as of April 2023, and his brother Gerard Wertheimer is also worth $31.6 billion as of April 2023. 

The household generates wealth from the sales of the wide range of products offered by Chanel including Fragrances, Makeup and skincare, Fine Jewellery, Watches, and Wine. The watch division is headed by Gerard Wertheimer as the president of the category.

Thomson clan is headed by David has a fortune of $58.7 billion as of April 2023. David serves as the chairman of Thomson Reuters Corporation.

Thomsons are one of the wealthiest families in Canada. They started accumulating wealth after Roy Thomson established a radio station called CFCH while trying to give more to the people to whom he was also selling radio receivers. 

He gradually shifted his focus to procuring his radio station and later purchased Timmins Daily Press, his first newspaper company. Roy expanded his business with the purchase of diverse businesses including hairstyle businesses and ice-cream cone manufacturers. 

Some of his renowned newspaper and media companies include  The Scotsman,  Scottish Television, The Sunday Times, and  The Times among others. Roy was succeeded in business by his son Ken Thomson in 1976. The Thomson Corporation was worth about half a billion dollars at the time of the takeover. 

Thomson Corporation had grown to post a profit of $8.7 billion in 2005 according to New York Times at the time of Ken Thomson’s demise. The responsibilities and wealth of the business landed on David’s shoulders as planned decades ahead by founder Roy Thomson.

Ken was the ninth wealthiest person with a net fortune of  $19.6 billion at the time of his death in 2006. All the 70% stake owned by the Thomsons were passed down to the heirs and most of it was inherited by David gradually over four year period.

Apart from the seat of Chairman at Thomson Reuters Corporation, David also has an extensive collection of art. He made several headlines after shattering the records for the most expensive purchase while building his collection, he paid $76.7 to acquire “Massacre of the Innocents” in 2002. 

David’s immediate family includes his partner Severine Nackers with whom he has been in a relationship since 2014, and his children Thyra Nicole, Tessa Lys, Benjamin, Ottilie, Elodie, and an unnamed daughter.

The final spot for the top 10 richest family in the world is taken by the Oeri Hoffman household with a fortune of $45.5 billion. The Hoffmans own Roche. 

The Swiss household notoriously avoids the spotlight but has taken the pharmaceutical industry by storm. According to Bloomberg, the members keep a fair distance from the wealthy display of lavish parties and superyachts but have maintained a stronghold of the company within the kin. 

However, most of the members have forgone their last name Roche making it hard to track the number of members controlling the fate of the pharmaceutical giant. Currently, the fifth generation is serving on the boards of the company, Joerg Duschmale was the latest member of 5th generation to ascend the seat at the board.

The company was established by Fritz Hoffmann-La Roche in 1894 named Hoffmann, Traub & Co., producing a limited type of drugs. Two years later, the company was renamed F. Hoffmann-La Roche & Co.

Emanuel Hoffmann took the helm of the company after Fritz passed away in 1919, Emanuel left behind the business to his two children Luc Hoffmann and Vera Hoffmann. The third generation passed the business to the fourth and then to the fifth. 

As of 2023, the only known member of the Oeri-Hoffman Family to be listed as a billionaire in the Forbes list is Maja Oeri with a fortune of $3.3 billion. 

Although most of the part owners of the company live a secretive life, Roche is actually making a big name for itself by posting $15.068 billion, $14.935, and 13.53 billion in net revenue in 2020, 2021, and 2022, respectively. The pandemic helped the company to make a financial leap.