The US has the most billionaires per capita, with nearly 2 out of every 1 million people claiming membership in the three-comma club. But not all billionaires are created equal, and we are counting down the 1% of the 1%. Some of these people have incredible stories, with many being a living embodiment of the American Dream - coming from poverty and now being some of the richest people on the planet. Continue reading to see who is the wealthiest person in the US and how their lives have been anything but ordinary. Scroll to the end to see who gets the #1 spot - the answer may shock you!
40. Thomas Duff & James Duff — $1.4 Billion Each
In 2007 brothers Thomas and James Duff founded Duff Capital Investors, a holding company, which currently has a total revenue of more than $2.6 billion. Their father started Southern Tire Mart in 1973 and sold it in 1998, but the brothers repurchased it 5 years later.
Over the years, the Duff brothers have acquired other businesses to add to their conglomerate. While running a business, Tom Duff was appointed by the Mississippi Governor to represent the Second Supreme Court District in 2015.
39. Glen Taylor — $2.9 Billion
During and after college, Glen Taylor worked at Carlson Wedding Service, a print shop specializing in formal invitations. He later purchased the business for $2 million in 1975 and turned it into Taylor Corp., a printing firm.
He worked in the wedding industry throughout his career and eventually stepped down as CEO of Taylor Corp. in 2015. With his fortune, Taylor owns stakes in the Timberwolves, the United FC soccer team, and a WNBA team, as well as the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
38. Gayle Benson — $3.4 Billion
Some people discount powerful women, but Gayle Benson has proved she is a boss lady. Starting in the '70s, Benson worked as an interior designer and founded thoroughbred horse racing company GMB Racing in 2014. She is also the widow of Tom Benson, former owner of NFL New Orleans Saints and NBA New Orleans Pelicans.
After her husband passed away, Tom's daughter and grandchildren disputed the control of the family assets because Benson was Tom's third wife. However, they settled privately, and she maintained control of the two sports teams.
37. Frank VanderSloot — $3.4 Billion
Frank VanderSloot might have one of the lower net-worths on this list, but he is still a billionaire. The multilevel marketing tycoon came from humble beginnings - his parents were farmers and struggled financially. He always wanted more for his life so he found Melaleuca, the largest online wellness shop.
As a teenager, VanderSloot ran his family farm while his father worked a railroad job. He then lived in a laundromat to pay his way through school. VanderSloot is 100 percent self-made, and it is something he is extremely proud of.
36. Harry Stine — $5.4 Billion
Harry Stine is a farm boy turned seed-genetic savant who made his fortune licensing corn and soybean genetics to multinational corporations. As a child, he became obsessed with tinkering with seeds on the farm and turned it into a business.
From a young age, Stine found out he is dyslexic and mildly autistic; however, he has always been a math and data wiz and a formidable negotiator. With his fortunes, he has donated money to multiple institutions in his home state of Iowa.
35. Tamara Gustavson — $5.6 Billion
While it seems like the list of billionaires is dominated by men, Tamara Gustavson is here to give us some girl power. As the daughter of self-storage and horse racing tycoon B. Wayne Hughs, Gustavson took over the family business with an 11 percent stake in the company.
Gustavson joined the firm in 1983 and rose to become vice president before deciding to leave in 2003 to spend more time with her children. Four years later, she returned as a board member. Gustavson uses her fortunes to donate to the HollyRod Foundation, which researches autism, Parkinson's, and other diseases.
34. Les Wexner & Family — $6.1 Billion
Les Wexner used to be known as the "Merlin of the mall" for his success with Victoria's Secret, The Limited, and Bath & Body Works. However, Wexner came under fire for his ties to Jeffrey Epstein even though he claims he did not know about Epstein's crimes.
Despite claiming his innocence, Wexner effectively stepped down as CEO of L Brands and will not stand for reelection for the board in May 2021. All of his hard work for over five decades went down the drain because of the people he chose to associate with.
33. Pauline MacMillan Keinath — $6.4 Billion
Pauline MacMillian Keinath is supposedly the largest shareholder of Cargill, the world's biggest food company. Her grandfather started the company in 1865 with a single grain mill and grew it to be a massive company.
Keinath's brother was the last member of the family to see as the CEO, but the family still owns 90 percent of the business. The company did $114.6 billion in sales last year across food, agriculture, financial, and industrial divisions.
32. Dennis Washington — $6.4 Billion
Dennis Washington might be successful now, but he didn't grow up in a wealthy family. His parent's divorce motivated him to provide a stable environment for his wife and children, and he does that with the Washington Companies.
With a love for machinery, Washington turned his passion into a business. Today he owns a copper mine, a regional railroad, and stakes in two diamond mines. After working for his uncle, he took out a loan to start his company.
31. James Goodnight — $6.5 Billion
Born and raised in North Carolina, James Goodnight got his humble beginnings working in his dad's hardware store and worked his way through high school. After college and grad school, Goodnight co-founded the analytics software firm SAS in 1976 with John Sall, who he met at North Carolina State University.
Besides their business, Goodnight and Sall also founded a private school and co-own a country club and hotel. They must have an amazing working relationship to be able to work together like that.
30. Mitchell Rales — $6.7 Billion
Mitchell Rales grew up in Bethesda, Maryland, where he was an outstanding high school athlete. However, when he went to college, he decided to focus more on his business administration studies to become as successful as his father.
Rales and his brother acquired a real estate investment firm in 1983 and merged it with Danaher. Currently, he sits on the board of Fortive Corp, a Danaher spinoff overseeing industrial technologies, measurement, and petroleum.
29. Rocco Commisso — $7.2 Billion
Rocco Commisso is the founder and CEO of cable company Mediacom. He was previously working as the CFO for Cablevision Industries, which Time Warner acquired in 1995, and that same year he founded Mediacom.
Interestingly, Commisso immigrated to America from Italy when he was 12 and had to learn English. His first job was playing accordion during movie theater intermissions. This drive led him to be the successful businessman he is today.
28. Jim Kennedy — $9.4 Billion
Jim Kennedy comes from a family of hard workers, which is where he learned his business values. His father was an airline executive, and his grandfather was the governor of Ohio. He also inherited part of Cox Enterprises, which helped him get to billionaire status.
Kennedy began working in various media roles before climbing his way up the ladder at Cox Enterprises. With his fortunes, he gives back to the community by funding college scholarships. Kennedy is also an advocate for prostate cancer research after he was diagnosed in 2014.
27. Philip Anschutz — $10.1 Billion
Philip Anschutz is best known for his success in the oil, railroad, telecom, real estate, and entertainment business, but he grew up modestly. The Los Angeles King's owner also owns major stakes in the LA Lakers, and he is a big sports enthusiast.
However, Anschutz got his start selling Kool-Aid when he was just six years old. It seems he always had the business side inside of him, and he worked hard throughout his life to become such a success. If only our lemonade stands took us that far in life.
26. Carl Cook — $10.5 Billion
Carl Cook grew up with the mindset that he would do big things because he was the son of Bill Cook, who founded the Cook Group. When his father passed away in 2011, Carl took over the business as the CEO of the medical device manufacturer.
Cook's parents started the company from their Indiana apartment in 1963, and it grew tremendously. Specifically, Cook runs the life sciences division called Cook MyoSite, which develops a cell therapy to treat urinary incontinence.
25. Tom & Judy Love — $10.8 Billion
Starting with one gas station in Oklahoma, Judy and Tom Love grew their convenience store chain to 490 locations in 41 states. The couple has four children who also work for the company, and it has been quite the success story.
As Oklahoma natives, the couple gave $5 million to the University of Oklahoma's business college. They care about furthering education so people can pursue whatever dreams they have like them.
24. David Duffield — $13.7 Billion
After he turned 40, David Duffield founded not one but two successful enterprises. He started PeopleSoft at 47 and sold it to Oracle for $10.7 billion in 2005. He also founded a human resources and finance software company when he was 64.
Duffield proves that it is never too late to achieve your dreams. However, his most impactful job was as a systems engineer at IBM when he graduated from college. He is truly an inspiration for anyone who thought they couldn't do something because of their age.
23. John Menard Jr. —$14.2 Billion
John Menard Jr. opened his first hardware store in 1964, a little over a decade before the first Home Depot opened. Today, Menard's has over 300 stores and competes with the other big-name hardware stores. However, his stores are mostly concentrated in the middle of the US.
Menard is known for keeping a tight grip on his business, requiring even top executives to punch a time clock every morning. He has an old-school style of business, but it clearly works for him because his stores generate an estimated $10.7 billion in revenue.
22. Ernest Garcia II — $15.9 Billion
Ernest Garcia II might have earned his billions as the largest shareholder in online used-car and auto-loan platform Carvana, but there is more than meets the eye with this wealthy man. His son founded their company and they took it public in 2017, but he wasn't always a wealthy man.
In the early '90s, Garcia was a real estate developer, and he pleaded guilty to a felony bank fraud charge for taking out a $30-million line of credit. Garcia spent three years on probation, and his firm filed for bankruptcy. We guess money can't get you out of everything.
21. Laurene Powell Jobs — $16 Billion
After her husband, Steve Jobs passed away, Laurene Powell Jobs inherited billions of dollars of stock in Apple and Disney. With her fortune, Jobs purchased a minority stake in the Washington Wizards and Washington Capitals. She also purchased stakes in several media outlets.
Because of her husband, Jobs is the wealthiest woman in the technology industry, but she has the brains to back it up. She studied political science and economics at UPenn and went to Standford for grad school, where she met Steve Jobs when she snuck into the lecture he was giving for the business school and happened to sit next to him.
20. Ken Griffin — $16 Billion
Although his personal net worth is $16 billion, Ken Griffin founded a hedge fund that manages $34 billion in assets. Since his days at Harvard, Griffin was already trading from his dorm room, and he put a satellite dish on the roof to get real-time stock quotes.
In recent years, Griffin shelled out $800 million for homes in London, New York, Palm Beach, and Chicago, which is more money than most people will make in their lifetimes. Although he spends a lot, he has also donated $1 billion to nonprofits, mainly in Chicago.
19. Ray Dalio — $20.3 Billion
As someone who has served as the co-chief investment officer for the largest hedge fund in the world, Ray Dalio knows a thing or two about handling large amounts of money. After graduating with his MBA from Harvard, Dalio launched Bridgewater Associates from his apartment in 1975.
Surprisingly, he was a mediocre student and found school repetitive. Dalio didn't think the skills he was learning were important, and because of this, he had a hard time finding a college to apply to. Eventually, he pulled it together in college before applying to grad school at Harvard.
18. Abigail Johnson — $20.9 Billion
After graduated from Harvard Business School, Abigail Johnson joined Fidelity Investments, which her grandfather founded in 1946. The firm has managed $3.8 trillion in assets, and Johnson took over as CEO in 2014, but she had to work her way up through the ranks.
In the ever-changing world of technology, Johnson embraced cryptocurrencies and helped Fidelity launch a platform that allows institutional investors to trade bitcoin and ether. As a boss lady, she is the first and only woman to serve on the board of the Financial Services Forum.
17. Pierre Omidyar — $23.4 Billion
In 1995, Pierre Omidyar founded online auction firm eBay, and the company bought PayPal in 2002. The tech entrepreneur was born in Paris before moving to the US as a child, so his father could practice medicine in the States.
Through his Omidyar Network, he has put $1.5 billion into impact investments and nonprofits to tackle global problems. Today he spends his days in Hawaii, but he owns states in resort property developments in California and Mexico.
16. Thomas Peterffy — $25 Billion
Thomas Peterffy is a digital trading pioneer and a descendent of Hungarian aristocrats. He arrived in the US as a penniless immigrant in 1965 at 21. He was actually born in the basement of a hospital during a Russian air-raid. When his father could no longer accommodate him, he had to take drastic measures.
Peterffy's father gave him $100 and told him to make something of himself. He then began his journey to become a billionaire by moving to New York, learning English, and worked his way up in an engineering firm. He is a prime example of the "American Dream."
15. Jacqueline Mars — $31.3 Billion
From M&Ms to Snickers and most candies in between, Jaqueline Mars owns one-third of Mars, the world's largest candy maker founded by her grandfather. Jaqueline worked for the company for nearly 20 years and served on the board until 2016.
Besides her work in the candy industry, Jaqueline is also a well-known philanthropic and has served on six boards, including the Smithsonian and the National Archives. Mars still remains in the family and is owned by different members, including her brother and four nieces.
14. John Mars — $31.3 Billion
Like his sister Jaqueline, John Mars also owns one-third of Mars Inc. They inherited the stakes after their father passed away in 1999, and he has been an integral part of the company since he graduated from Yale University.
In March 2015, Mars was awarded an honorary knighthood at Windsor Castle by Queen Elizabeth II. Today he enjoys his days in Jackson, Wyoming, as he is retired now. At 85-years-old, with a billionaire status, he doesn't have to do much.
13. Miriam Adelson — $37.4 Billion
Miriam Adelson doesn't look like the typical corporate woman because she is so much more than that. As the widow of Sheldon Adelson, former CEO and chairman of casino company Las Vegas Sands, Miriam now owns more than half of the $48 billion gambling empire.
Miriam was born in Israel and became a medical doctor focusing on addiction before moving to the US. She and her husband founded the Sheldon G. Adelson Research Clinic in Las Vegas, which treats people with opioid use disorder.
12. Daniel Gilbert — $45.5 Billion
You might have heard of a company called Quicken Loans, the largest mortgage lender in the US, and it was founded by Daniel Gilbert when he was just 22-years-old. While he was in law school, Gilbert worked part-time at his parents' real estate agency, which furthered his interest in mortgages.
One of Gilbert's biggest projects has been investing $5.6 billion to purchase and rehab buildings in downtown Detroit, with a plan to create 24,000 jobs. He also owns the Cleveland Cavaliers and wants to bring a major soccer league to downtown Detroit.
11. Charles Koch — $46.4 Billion
From pipelines and chemicals to Dixie cups and Lyrca fabric, Charles Koch's family business, Koch Industries, does it all. Koch owns 42% of the company while his brother owns the other half. Each year the company does roughly $155 billion in sales.
Koch and his brother David bought out their other brothers for roughly $800 million to have the majority of shares in the company. Although he grew up in a wealthy family, Koch was always taught that he had to work as if he were the poorest person in the world.
10. Phil Knight — $49.9 Billion
You have probably bought or owned something from a little company called Nike founded by Phil Knight. After running track for the University of Oregon, Knight and his track coach created Nike shoes together because they wanted to find a better footwear solution for runners.
With his grand fortune and uber success, Knight pledge over $500 million in donations to the University of Oregon and Stanford's Graduate School of Business, his alma maters. It was actually called Blue Ribbon Sports before they renamed the company, Nike.
9. Michael Bloomberg — $59 Billion
Michael Bloomberg was mostly known for being the mayor of New York City for 12 years and attempted a run for president, but he actually has done much more than that. Bloomberg cofounded the financial information and media company Bloomberg LP in 1981.
Bloomberg got his start on Wall Street in 1966 with an entry-level job at an investment firm and was fired 15 years later. He has also donated more than $5 billion to gun control, climate change, and other social causes he is passionate about.
8. Jim Walton — $60.2 Billion
You might know a little story called Walmart, and Jim Walton is the youngest son of the company founder Sam Walton. He sat on the company's board for more than a decade before giving the seat to his son in 2016. Since a young age, Walton has always tried to reach new levels.
As a child, Walton was class president for the junior class, played football at an all-state level, and learned to fly a plane. As part of the family business, Walton quickly moved through the ranks to take over the company and passed on his legacy to his children.
7. Mark Zuckerberg — $97 Billion
If you haven't heard of Mark Zuckerberg, you might be living under a rock. The Facebook co-founder attended Harvard University, where he helped create the social networking platform from his dorm room in 2004. He was the world's youngest self-made billionaire, and his wealth has continued to grow.
Besides his life in the tech world, Zuckerberg is a doting father to two children. However, he and his wife Priscilla Chan went through a lot to have children. His wife suffered three miscarriages before they were able to have their first daughter in 2015.
6. Larry Page — $98.8 Billion
Larry Page is best known as one of the co-founders of Google, along with Sergey Brin. The two invented the algorithm for Google's PageRank, which powers the search engine. Like other billionaires on the list, he is also a founding investor in a space exploration program.
Page was CEO of Google until he stepped down in 2001 as he decided to take the CEO position for Google's parent company Alphabet. However, he still remains a board member and a controlling shareholder of Google.
5. Larry Ellison — $102.2 Billion
Larry Ellison, the co-founder of Oracle Corp., is so wealthy that he is the owner of one of the Hawaiian islands. Although he has been successful in adulthood, his childhood was a bit rough. At just nine months old, he contracted pneumonia and his biological mother gave him to his aunt and uncle.
Ellison didn't see his birth mother again till he was 48, and we have to wonder if she came back into his life because he was so successful. After serving as the CTO for Oracle for almost four decades, he stepped down in 2014. Ellison now serves on the board of Tesla and enjoys his days on his Hawaiian island.
4. Warren Buffett — $103.1 Billion
Known as the "Oracle of Omaha," Warren Buffet is one of the most successful investors of all time. Buffet bought his first stock when he was just 11 and first filed taxes when he was 13. Today he runs Berkshire Hathaway, which owns more than 60 companies, including Dairy Queen, Geico, and Duracell.
While his net worth continues to grow each day, Buffet has promised to donate 99 percent of his wealth. So far, he has given more than $41 billion, mostly to the Gates Foundation. He and Bill Gates launched the Giving Pledge, asking billionaires to donate half their wealth to charitable causes.
3. Bill Gates — $131.1 Billion
After dropping out of college, Bill Gates and Paul Allen started Microsoft. Since its beginnings, Gates' net worth has grown exponentially over time, and he made his first billion by the time he was 31. However, he has now turned his focus to new ventures.
Gates and his wife Melinda run their foundation, and it is the world's largest private charitable foundation. In May 2020, the Gates Foundation said it would spend $300 million to find the coronavirus pandemic, and Gates continues to improve global health and create equal opportunity.
2. Elon Musk — $180.6 Billion
In the past year alone, Elon Musk earned $432 million per day. If that doesn't make you feel some type of way, we don't know what will. The South African native relocated to the States, first in California and now in Texas, where he doesn't have to pay state income tax.
Musk is reportedly trying to build a Texan town of his own called "Starbase" as part of his vision for space travel to Mars. No one can deny that Musk is a dreamer, and he is trying to revolutionize transportation both on earth and in space.
1. Jeff Bezos — $195.8 Billion
Each second, Jeff Bezos makes about $2,537. The Amazon founder made more money while we were writing this sentence than most people make in a few years. Like other great companies, Bezos founded Amazon in his garage, and now it is an e-commerce titan.
Not only does Bezos own Amazon, but he also owns the Washington Post and a space exploration company. He must have compared notes with Elon Musk. He currently stands as the world's wealthiest person, and each Amazon purchase is more money in his pocket.