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Top 20 Richest Families in the World

The top 20 richest families in the world control a staggering amount of wealth. Collectively, they are worth over $2 trillion. This wealth has been amassed through a variety of industries, including retail, manufacturing, technology, and finance. These wealthy individuals have a significant impact on the global economy. They control some of the largest and most successful businesses in the world, and they employ millions of people. They also make significant investments in new businesses and technologies, which helps to drive economic growth.

With such a great sense of wealth comes a duty for each of these families to make the world a better place. While the wealth of these families can be seen as a sign of their success, it is important to note that it also comes with a great deal of responsibility.  In this article, we will take a closer look at the top 20 richest families in the world. We highlight their sources of wealth, their impact on the global economy, and how some of these rich families use their wealth for good.

1. Walton family

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The Walton family is an American family whose collective fortune derived from Walmart makes them the richest family in the United States of America. Walton’s family is estimated to be worth $224.5 billion. The majority of the family’s wealth derives from the heritage of Bud and Sam Walton, who were the co-founders of Walmart. Walmart is the world’s largest retailer, one of  United States largest business enterprises in terms of annual revenue, and, with just over 2.2 million employees, the world’s largest private employer.

In 1987, Sam Walton endowed a charitable foundation. The Walton Family Foundation primarily focused on charter schools, but it later extended its program to include environmental issues, particularly water-related. In 2016, Alice and Jim Walton put a $250 million grant towards building charter school facilities. The Walton Family Foundation created the Building Equity Initiative to provide charter schools with access to capital to create and expand their facilities.

2. Mars family 

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(Note the three necessary links to author, licence and image file in the attribution.)

The Mars family is an American family that owns the confectionery company Mars Inc. In 1988, the family was ranked as the richest family in the United States of America by Fortune magazine. It has since been surpassed by the Walton family. The Mars family is estimated to be worth $160 billion.

Upon the July 1999 death of Forrest Mars Sr., he and his two sons were ranked No. 29, 30, and 31 by Forbes magazine’s list of richest Americans, and they each had a worth of approximately $4 billion. In March 2010 the three children of Forrest Mars were tied for 52nd place amongst the world’s richest people, according to Forbes, with a net worth of US$11 billion each. One of these sons, Forrest Mars Jr., died in 2016, and his four daughters inherited his wealth, with three of them working for the company as of 2019. A 2006 report quantified how the Mars family was among 18 billionaire families, starting in the 1990s, who continuously lobbied Congress to eliminate the estate tax.

3. Koch Family

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The Koch family is estimated to be worth $128.8 billion. This family is an American family engaged in business, best known for their political activities and their control of Koch Industries, the second largest privately owned company in the United States. The family business was started by Fred C. Koch, who developed a new cracking method for the refinement of heavy crude oil into gasoline. Fred’s four sons litigated against each other over their interests in the business during the 1980s and 1990s.

By 2019, Charles Koch and David Koch, commonly referred to as the Koch brothers, were the only ones of Fred Koch’s four sons still with Koch Industries. Charles and David Koch built a political network of libertarian and conservative donors, and the brothers funneled financial revenue into television and multi-media advertising. The Koch family foundations are a related group of non-profit organizations that began with the establishment of the Fred and Mary Koch Foundation in 1953, and now includes the Charles Koch Foundation, the David H. Koch Charitable Foundation and the Koch Cultural Trust. The organizations collectively have a stated goal of advancing liberty and freedom through the support of various causes which further social progress and sustainable growth in prosperity.

4. Slim Family

The Slim family is a Mexican family of Lebanese descent whose members reside in Europe, Lebanon, the United States and Mexico. The family is currently one of the wealthiest in the world. The Slim family is estimated to be worth  $100.8 billion. From 2010 to 2013, Slim was ranked as the richest person in the world by Forbes business magazine. He derived his fortune from his extensive holdings in a considerable number of Mexican companies through his conglomerate, Grupo Carso.

Slim’s corporate conglomerate spans numerous industries across the Mexican economy, including education, health care, industrial manufacturing, transportation, real estate, mass media, energy, hospitality, entertainment, technology, retail, sports and financial services. He accounts for 40% of the listings on the Mexican Stock Exchange, while his net worth is equivalent to about 6% of Mexico’s gross domestic product.  As of 2016, he is the largest single shareholder of The New York Times Company.

5. Mulliez Family

The Association Familiale Mulliez (AFM) is the holding company of the Mulliez family. The entrepreneur family originates from around the Lille area of France and is one of the wealthiest families in the country. The Mulliez family is estimated to be worth $33 billion.

AFM was founded in 1955 by Gérard Mulliez and has been led by Barthélemy Guislain since 2014. Mulliez is the founder of the Auchan chain of department stores. His holding Association Familiale Mulliez (AFM) controls Auchan as well as a diverse mix of other retail chains such as Leroy Merlin, Decathlon, Saint Maclou, Kiloutou, Kiabi, Flunch, etc. It is co-owned by a thousand family members. Six hundred of his cousins are millionaires as a result.

 6. Hermès Family

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Hermès International S.A. is a French luxury design house established in 1837. It specializes in leather goods, lifestyle accessories, home furnishings, perfumery, jewellery, watches and ready-to-wear. The Hermès family is estimated to be worth $94.6 billion. 

Axel Dumas is a French billionaire heir and business executive. He is the chief executive officer of Hermès and a sixth-generation member of the Hermès-Dumas family. Pierre-Alexis Dumas is the artistic director of Hermès. Under his direction, the firm has seen its biggest growth as one of the largest clothing brand in decades, with sales of 4 billion euros in 2014. With his family, Dumas is an heir to a 30 billion € fortune, making them France’s third richest family as of 2017.

7. Ambani Family

Dhirajlal Hirachand Ambani was an Indian businessman who founded Reliance Industries in 1958. Ambani took Reliance public in 1977. In 2016, he was honoured posthumously with the Padma Vibhushan, India’s second-highest civilian honour for his contributions to trade and industry. The Ambani family is estimated to be worth $84.6 billion. 

After the death of Dhirubhai Ambani, his sons took over and the group was split into Reliance Industries Limited headed by Mukesh, and Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group headed by Anil. So finally Mukesh Ambani was elected as the CEO and Anil Ambani was elected as the chairperson. As of 2017, the company had more than 250,000 employees. In 2012, Reliance Industries was one of the two Indian companies to be ranked among the top 100 in the Fortune 500 list of the world’s largest companies by revenue

8. Ortega Family

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The Ortega family is a Spanish dynastic family that is the eighth wealthiest family in the world. The majority of the family’s wealth comes from the clothing company Inditex and its flagship store Zara. The Ortega family is estimated to be worth $72 billion. 

The head of the family, billionaire Amancio Ortega, is one of the richest persons in the world.  He is the founder and former chairman of Inditex fashion group, best known for its chain of Zara and Bershka clothing and accessories shops. 

9. Wertheimer Family

The Wertheimer family is estimated to be worth $79 billion. Chanel is a French luxury fashion house founded in 1910 by Coco Chanel in Paris. It is privately owned by the Wertheimer family. 

Alain Ernest Wertheimer is a French billionaire businessman, based in New York City. He is the chairman and a controlling shareholder in Chanel, with his brother Gérard who chairs its watch division. Gérard Paul Philippe Wertheimer is a French billionaire businessman based in New York City and Geneva, who owns Chanel in partnership with his brother, Alain.

10. Cargill – MacMillan Family

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The Cargill family, also known as the Cargill-MacMillan family, refers to the multi-generational descendants of the American business executive William Wallace Cargill and his son-in-law John H. MacMillan Sr. The Cargill – MacMillan family is estimated to be worth $65.2 billion. William Cargill founded the Cargill company as an Iowa grain storage business in 1865, during the post–Civil War period, and was its CEO for almost 40 years. Following the death of William Cargill in 1909, his son-in-law John MacMillan steered the company out of a debt crisis and into stability. 

The two branches of the family, the MacMillans and the Cargills continue to be represented on the board of directors of Cargill Incorporated. The most recent family members appointed to the board are the fifth generation. With fourteen billionaires in the family in 2019,  the Cargill family has more individual billionaires among its members than any other family anywhere in the world, making them the family with the most wealthy members in history.

11. Thomson Family

Baron Thomson of Fleet, of Northbridge in the City of Edinburgh, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1964 for Roy Thomson, a Canadian-born newspaper magnate. He was succeeded in 1976 by his son, the second baron. The Thomson family is estimated to be worth $53.9 billion.

The Woodbridge Company Limited is a Canadian private holding company based in Toronto, Ontario. It is the primary investment vehicle for members of the family of the late Roy Thomson, 1st Baron Thomson of Fleet. Thomson Reuters was created by the Thomson Corporation’s purchase of the British company Reuters Group in April 2008. It is majority-owned by The Woodbridge Company, a holding company for the Thomson family of Canada.

12. Arnault Family

Jérémy Barande / 

The Arnault family is estimated to be worth $174.5 billion. It is headed by Bernard  Arnault. He is the founder, chairman, and CEO of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the world’s largest luxury goods company. Arnault has an estimated net worth of US$187.6 billion as of October 2023, according to Forbes, making him one of the wealthiest people in the world.

All his five children, Delphine, Antoine, Alexandre, Frédéric, and Jean have official roles in brands controlled by Arnault, along with his niece Stephanie Watine Arnault. Arnault and his family had an estimated peak net worth of US$240.7 billion in April 2023, according to Forbes. This made him the richest person in the world at the time, surpassing Elon Musk. Musk would surpass Arnaut in June 2023 in net worth with $240 billion, as Arnault’s wealth dropped to $190 billion.

13. Bettencourt Family

Bettencourt is a surname and noble family of Norman French origin. The head of the family in the 14th century, Jean de Béthencourt, organized an expedition to conquer the Canary Islands, resulting in his being made King of the Canary Islands. Though the royal title would be short-lived, it allowed the family to firmly establish itself afterwards in the Azores and Madeira islands.

The family is one of the most expansive and established families of the Portuguese nobility, as well as the Spanish nobility. The family are the owners of L’Oréal,  the world’s largest cosmetics company and has developed activities in the field, concentrating on hair colour, skincare, sun protection, make-up, perfume, and hair care. The Bettencourt family is estimated to be worth $43.9 billion

14. Porsche Family

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The Porsche family is a prominent Austrian–German family of industrialists descending from the Austrian–German automotive pioneer Ferdinand Porsche. Its members control Porsche SE and have a majority voting right over Volkswagen AG, the largest automaker in the world.

The Porsche family headquarters are in the Austrian town of Zell.  The family is the 7th richest family in Germany with an estimated net worth of 22,5 billion Euros which translates to about $52.8 billion

15. Lee Byung-chul family

Lee Byung-chul was a South Korean businessman. He was the founder of the Samsung Group, South Korea’s largest chaebol, and is considered one of South Korea’s most successful businessmen. The Lee Byung-chul family is estimated to be worth $43.9 billion.

The first step of the Federation of Korean Industries was established in August 1961. The association was founded by Samsung Group chairman Lee Byung-chul. Later in life, Byung-chul served as chairman of the Federation of Korean Industries and was known as the richest man in Korea.

16. Reimann family

JAB Holding Company is a German conglomerate, headquartered in Luxembourg, that includes investments in companies operating in the areas of consumer goods, forestry, coffee, luxury fashion, animal health, and fast food, among others.

Owned by Germany’s Reimann family, 90% of JAB belongs to four of the nine adopted children of the late Albert Reimann Jr. The Reimann family is estimated to be worth $38.8 billion.

17. Lauder family

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The Lauder family is an American billionaire family. It owes its initial fame to Estée Lauder, who with her husband Joseph H. Lauder, made a fortune via her eponymous cosmetics business, The Estée Lauder Companies, during the 20th century. The Lauder family is estimated to be worth $38.4 billion. 

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. is an American multinational cosmetics company, a manufacturer and marketer of makeup, skincare, perfume, and hair care products, based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is the second largest cosmetics company in the world after L’Oréal. The company owns a diverse portfolio of brands, including La Mer, Jo Malone London, Clinique and Tom Ford Beauty, among many more, distributed internationally through both digital commerce and retail channels.

18. Chearavanont family

The Chearavanont family is a Sino-Thai business family based in Bangkok, Thailand with ancestral roots in Shantou, China. The family is noted for its success in business, making them one of the richest ethnic Chinese families in the world. The family owns the Charoen Pokphand conglomerate and was ranked by Forbes Asia in 2017 as Asia’s fourth-wealthiest family with a net worth of  $37.9 billion. 

The family is currently headed by Dhanin Chearavanont. Dhanin’s father, Ekchor Saechia, and uncle, Seowhui Saechia, left China for Bangkok in the 1920s to begin selling seeds and agricultural chemicals. Their business diversified geographically across Asia, and vertically via a number of technology ventures and contract farming initiatives. In the 1980s, as China opened up to foreign firms, the Charoen Pokphand Group became the preferred partner for international brands such as Honda, Walmart, and Tesco. 

19. Pritzker family

The Pritzker family is an American family engaged in entrepreneurship and philanthropy, and one of the wealthiest families in the United States. Its fortune arose in the 20th century, particularly through the founding and expansion of the Hyatt hotel corporation.

Family members still largely own Hyatt and, prior to its sale to Berkshire Hathaway, the Marmon Group, a conglomerate of manufacturing and industrial service companies. Their holdings also have included the Superior Bank of Chicago, the TransUnion credit bureau, Braniff Airlines, McCall’s magazine, and the Royal Caribbean cruise line. The Pritzker family is estimated to be worth $36.9 billion

20. Quandt family

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The Quandt family is estimated to be worth $35 billion. Their founder is Günther Quandt who was a German industrialist who founded a German company which turned into an industrial empire that today includes BMW and Altana, a car and chemical company, respectively.  His descendants were ranked as the wealthiest Germans.

No matter their background or industry, the families on this list have all achieved incredible success. They have built businesses that have transformed the world, and their wealth has given them a platform to make a difference in the world. Some of these families also have a significant impact on society. They donate billions of dollars to charity each year, and they often fund research and development in important areas such as medicine and education.