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See the full story · 1 sourcesRob, Alice, and Jim Walton are part of America's richest family. Rick T. Wilking/Getty Images
The US may not have royals, but it does have influential family empires worth billions.
They've accumulated fortunes in various ways, including publishing, cosmetics, retail, and hotels.
The richest families in the US include the Waltons, the Kochs, the Hearsts, and the Lauders.
Billionaires' wealth and power have grown sharply over the past few years. Although the US doesn't have any royal families , it certainly has family empires with enormous fortunes — and influence.
There are the Hearst and Newhouse families, who built publishing powerhouses; Estée Lauder, the founder of the cosmetics giant that generated the Lauder family fortune; and the families who created their wealth with retail and hotel empires, such as the Waltons with Walmart and the Pritzkers with Hyatt Hotels .
Below are the 40 richest families in the US, ranked by estimated net worth from lowest to highest.
The rankings were determined using the most up-to-date estimated net worths available from Forbes, released on July 29.
40. The (Charles & Rupert) Johnson family
Mike Coppola/Getty Images for the New York Philharmonic
Net worth: $13.4 billion
Source of wealth : Franklin Resources, San Francisco Giants
In 1947, Rupert Johnson founded Franklin Resources, a mutual fund company . A decade later, when Charles B. Johnson, Rupert's son, was 24, he took over as CEO and remained with the company for 56 years. Charles' brother, Rupert Johnson Jr., joined the company in 1965 and still serves as its vice chairman and director today.
Charles' children also serve in the company, with Jennifer Johnson becoming CEO in 2020 and Greg Johnson serving as executive chairman.
Today, the Johnson family owns 42% of the company, which went public in 1971. Forbes estimated in January that the firm had $1.7 trillion in assets under management.
38. (tie) The Tisch family
Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images
Net worth: $13.7 billion
Source of wealth : Loews Corporation, New York Giants
The Tisch family fortune dates back to the acquisition of Loews Theaters by brothers Bob and Larry Tisch in 1959. In the decades that followed, the brothers turned the company into a conglomerate of hotels, energy, and finance.
Today, the descendants of the two Tisch brothers own about a third of the company, which went public in 1959, and include five billionaires in the family's second generation.
Larry's son, James, serves as chairman of Loews, and James's son, Ben, serves as CEO. James' daughter (and Larry's granddaughter) Jessica Tisch is the police commissioner for New York City.
Bob's children, Jonathan, Laurie, and Steve, sit on the board of the New York Giants , which he acquired 50% of in 1991.
38. (tie) The Farmer family
Marcin Golba/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Net worth: $13.7 billion
Source of wealth : Cintas Corporation
Though Cintas is known today as one of the largest uniform, first-aid, and workplace supplies distributors in the US, its history dates back to the Great Depression when Doc and Amelia Farmer began collecting used rags from factories, washing them, and selling them back to businesses.
Their grandson, Dick, served as the company's CEO for nearly 40 years and led as it grew from a service company into an industry giant .
Today, the Farmer family still owns 16% of the company, which went public in 1983, and Dick's son, Scott, serves as chairman of the board.
37. The Hughes family
Randy Shropshire/Getty Images for The Music Center
Net worth: $14.7 billion
Source of wealth : Public Storage Inc.
Like many families on this list, the Hughes family's fortune dates back to one highly successful business venture: Public Storage Inc., founded by B. Wayne Hughes in 1972.
Today, the company is the largest self-storage brand in the US.
Today, Tamara Gustavson, the daughter of B. Wayne Hughes, is the largest single shareholder in the company, owning approximately 10% of the shares and serving on the board.
36. The Jenkins family
Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images
Net worth: $15.2 billion
Source of wealth : Publix Super Markets
In 1930, grocery store clerk and manager George Jenkins decided to open his own grocery store after the new corporate owners of the Piggly Wiggly location where he worked failed to consider his ideas for the business.
His new food store business was founded with a focus on employee participation. Today, Publix is the largest employee-owned company in the US, with current and former employees owning about 80% of the company and the Jenkins family owning the remaining shares.
The family ran the business until 2017, when they brought in Todd Jones, the first outside CEO.
In 2025, the company's retail sales reached $62.7 billion across nearly 1,500 locations in the Southeastern US.
35. The Stryker family
Bennett Raglin/Getty Images
Net worth: $16 billion
Source of wealth : Stryker Corporation
The Stryker family has built wealth through the health technology company Stryker Corporation, which focuses on developing surgical equipment, neurotechnologies, and other medical technologies.
Its history dates back to Michigan orthopedist Homer Stryker's founding of The Orthopedic Frame Company, which developed mobile hospital beds and cast cutters, among other inventions.
In 2023, the company, which went public in 1979, had sales of over $20 billion, per Forbes.
Today, the grandchildren of Homer Stryker own an estimated 8% of the multinational corporation, and one of them, Ronda Stryker, sits on its board of directors and is the largest individual shareholder.
34. The Estes family
Paul Weaver/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Net worth: $16.3 billion
Source of wealth : Estes Express Lines
The Estes family history begins when farmer W. W. Estes bought a used Chevy truck during the height of the Great Depression and began hauling livestock in the town of Chase City, ...
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