What We Know About America’s Billionaires: 1,135 and Counting
Exclusive, up-close look at the richest people in the U.S., from celebrities like Taylor Swift and Elon Musk to a founder of a roofing supplier in Wisconsin
3 min
“Billionaire” evokes tech founders such as Jeff Bezos or Bill Gates , but there is a large and growing group of people worth at least $1 billion in small towns and big cities that rarely make the headlines.
There were 1,135 billionaires in the U.S. as of 2024—up from 927 in 2020, according to data from Altrata, a wealth-intelligence firm. The biggest concentration, 255 of them, is in California. But the super rich are also behind businesses in places such as Ridgeland, Miss., and Waunakee, Wisc.
Collectively, these people are worth about $5.7 trillion, according to Altrata’s estimates. That’s enough wealth to buy…
While many of these individuals own properties in upscale communities such as Palm Beach, Fla., they also congregate in destinations such as Cashiers, N.C.—a town in the Blue Ridge Mountains where four billionaire families have residences. The smallest town where a billionaire owns property? Winifred, Mont., population 172.
The list of billionaires includes some familiar dynasties, such as the Walmart Waltons and Hyatt Pritzkers. There are also lesser known members of this elite club, such as Diane Hendricks , co-founder of roofing-products distributor ABC Supply, and the heirs to the Russell Stover Chocolates fortune.
The billionaire border can be fuzzy. Markets fluctuate, the value of private companies can be uncertain and big donations dent fortunes, meaning dozens of individuals—even stars such as LeBron James and Beyoncé—can move on or off the list.
The 100 richest billionaires account for nearly $3.86 trillion in wealth—more than half the total. Just three men— Elon Musk , Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg —account for almost $1 trillion of it.
Despite those outsize Silicon Valley fortunes , most U.S.-based billionaires didn’t make their wealth in tech. About 300 came from banking and finance, compared with roughly 110 from the tech sector. Another 75 came from real estate.
A third of billionaires inherited much or all of their wealth, Altrata said. There is just one Rockefeller on the list, but 50 billionaire heirs of five companies hold roughly $830 billion total. These individuals account for nearly 15% of all the billionaires’ wealth. undefined
Billionaires have publicly donated or pledged to give about $185 billion since 2015, according to Altrata. Mostly, they support causes such as education and medical research—they gave $90 billion to those two in the past 10 years. That has given them sway in ongoing campus debates over freedom of speech and antisemitism.
While some billionaires such as Gates and Warren Buffett have openly pledged to give away much of their wealth , others have donated little so far. About a quarter of the billionaires in the list have known donations of less than $1 million in the past decade.
Some give more to organizations they’re tied to. Hedge-fund manager Bill Ackman gave about $120 million to multiple causes, but he gave $1.36 billion to a foundation where he and his wife serve as trustees, which supports medical research and other causes.
Among the top recipients of donations tracked by Altrata are global charities such as the Gates Foundation and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.
One of the most popular recipients is the Central Park Conservancy in New York, which received donations from 89 billionaires worth about $100 million.
Johns Hopkins University received $7.5 billion from close to 30 billionaires, but most of it came from Michael Bloomberg , who gave more than $5 billion.
Methodology
The Wall Street Journal analysed data on more than 1,100 individuals provided by Altrata, which estimates net worth by assessing privately and publicly held businesses and investible assets. Altrata’s data on properties includes residences, land parcels and other properties owned in the person’s name. It uses primary business address to determine a billionaire’s location and assigns each billionaire to a primary industry based on their current roles. Altrata adjusts totals to account for shifts in asset values that could push some individuals over or under $1 billion in wealth.
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A record-breaking $11 million sale at The Centennial Collection has set a new benchmark for luxury apartment living in Bondi Junction.
As interest rates, inflation and market sentiment fluctuate, investors are being urged to focus on data, not panic.
The Federal Budget may have softened some of its proposed tax reforms, but it has exposed a bigger issue: too many families are relying on wealth structures that no longer reflect the realities of modern life.
3 min
For many Australians, the 2026 Federal Budget initially felt like a direct challenge to the way wealth is created, held and transferred between generations.
The headlines were immediate: changes to capital gains tax, reforms to discretionary trusts, restrictions on negative gearing and increased scrutiny of investment structures. Unsurprisingly, affluent families, business owners and investors began asking the same question:
Is the way we hold our wealth still fit for purpose?
In recent days, the government has announced several significant amendments following industry consultation and public feedback, including exempting testamentary trusts from the proposed 30 per cent minimum tax and expanding capital gains tax concessions for small businesses.
The backdown is welcome. But it also highlights something much bigger.
This Budget has accelerated a conversation that many Australian families have been postponing for years.
The conversation is not really about tax. It is about wealth stewardship.
For decades, Australians have built wealth through businesses, property, investments and careful long-term planning. Yet many families have not revisited the legal structures surrounding those assets in years, sometimes decades.
We often see clients who have spent years building significant wealth, only to discover their legal arrangements no longer reflect their current circumstances.
Their children are now adults. They may own multiple properties.
They may have sold a business, entered a second marriage, become grandparents or accumulated digital assets that did not exist when their original estate plans were prepared.
The trust that distributes income may need to be reconsidered. The bucket company may no longer be so attractive.
The Budget has simply exposed a reality that already existed: wealth structures cannot remain static while life continues to evolve.
Importantly, trusts themselves are not the issue.
Trusts are legitimate planning tools that provide flexibility, protection and continuity. When used appropriately, they allow families to adapt to changing circumstances over time.
And neither is tax the issue, really. Getting the fundamentals right is more important for long-term, sustainable wealth than a few favourable tax treatments around the edges.
The real issue is complacency.
Too often, families create structures and assume the job is done. It isn’t.
Estate planning is no longer a document you sign once and file away in a drawer. It is an ongoing process that should evolve alongside your life.
We are also seeing a broader shift in how Australians define wealth itself. It is no longer just the family home and an investment portfolio.
Modern wealth includes businesses, digital assets, cryptocurrency, intellectual property, frequent flyer points and increasingly complex family arrangements.
At the same time, Australians are living longer than ever before, meaning wealth may need to support multiple generations simultaneously. This creates new responsibilities and new risks.
How do you help your children enter the property market without exposing family wealth to relationship breakdowns?
How do you structure wealth so that it remains a source of opportunity rather than future conflict?
These are the questions families should be asking now.
The recent debate surrounding testamentary trusts also serves as an important reminder that policy decisions can have unintended consequences for vulnerable Australians. It is encouraging that the government has listened to feedback and clarified its position.
But the lesson remains: the wealth landscape is changing.
Increasingly, governments, regulators and tax authorities are paying closer attention to how wealth is held and transferred. That means families cannot afford to adopt a “set-and-forget” approach to their structures.
The families who will be best placed for the future are not necessarily those with the greatest wealth.
They are the families with the greatest clarity. Clarity around ownership, succession and governance. And clarity around how wealth will transition from one generation to the next.
Ultimately, preserving wealth is not about avoiding change.
It is about preparing for it.
Because the greatest risk is not change itself.
It is losing the ability to respond to it.
Anthony Hunt is Co-Founder of Wealth Lawyers and former COO of Westpac Private Bank. He advises business owners, investors and affluent Australian families on wealth protection, succession planning and intergenerational wealth transfer
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