Money
The Richest Person in Every U.S. State in 2017
Check out the latest 2023 update of the richest person in every U.S. state.
The Richest Person in Every U.S. State in 2017
Check out the latest 2023 update of the richest person in every U.S. state.
The massive empires of business tycoons like Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and Jeff Bezos are continually topics of discussion throughout the world, but much less attention finds its way towards the largest personal fortunes at the state level.
That’s because while some of the wealthiest people in their respective states are household names, such as Ray Dalio (Connecticut) or Michael Bloomberg (New York), the majority of people on this list fly below the radar at both the national and international levels. Further, the dropoff from the largest to smallest fortunes on the list is also steeper than you might think.
Examining the Top 10 States
Today’s visualization, which shows the richest person in every U.S. state in 2017, comes from cost information site HowMuch.net while using the latest information from Forbes.
Here’s how the list of the top 10 states round out:
Rank | Person | State | Fortune | Source |
---|---|---|---|---|
#1 | Bill Gates | Washington | $88.9B | Self-made |
#2 | Warren Buffett | Nebraska | $76.2B | Self-made |
#3 | Mark Zuckerberg | California | $62.4B | Self-made |
#4 | Michael Bloomberg | New York | $50.7B | Self-made |
#5 | Charles Koch | Kansas | $47.5B | Inherited & Growing |
#6 | Jim Walton | Arkansas | $38.5B | Inherited |
#7 | Alice Walton | Texas | $38.2B | Inherited |
#8 | Sheldon Adelson | Nevada | $35.6B | Self-made |
#9 | John Mars | Wyoming | $27.6B | Inherited |
#10 | Jacqueline Mars | Virginia | $27.6B | Inherited |
While their fortunes don’t quite compare to the richest people in human history, the numbers above are still very impressive.
The list is topped by Bill Gates, who was briefly overtaken as richest person in the world by fellow Seattleite Jeff Bezos for a short period of time in July, but now again sits in the #1 position. Not surprisingly, Mark Zuckerberg (California) and Michael Bloomberg (New York) also sit high, outranking other high net worth individuals from those states like Larry Ellison ($62.2 billion) or George Soros ($25.2 billion).
The list is dominated by those who are self-made or growing their fortunes, but the second half has billionaire siblings that inherited their family fortunes such as Jim and Alice Walton (Walmart), or John and Jacqueline Mars (Mars).
Flying Under the Radar
In some ways, the bottom portion of the rankings for the Richest Person in Every U.S. State is just as interesting. Many of these people are lesser known, and the disparity between these fortunes and those on the Top 10 list show how hard it really is to grow a fortune to the >$20 billion range.
Rank | Person | State | Fortune | Source |
---|---|---|---|---|
#41 | Andrea Reimann-Ciardelli | New Hampshire | $1.1B | Inherited |
#42 | Gary Tharaldson | North Dakota | $900M | Self-made |
#43 | Leslie Lampton | Mississippi | $760M | Self-made |
#44 (t) | Robert Gore | Delaware | $720M | Inherited & Growing |
#44 (t) | Elizabeth Snyder | Delaware | $720M | Inherited & Growing |
#46 (t) | Mack C. Chase | New Mexico | $700M | Self-made |
#46 (t) | Jimmy Rane | Alabama | $700M | Self-made |
#48 | John Abele | Vermont | $625M | Self-made |
#49 (t) | Leonard Hyde | Alaska | $340M | Self-made |
#49 (t) | Jonathan Rubini | Alaska | $340M | Self-made |
Just one person in the Bottom 10 is a billionaire – the rest have fortunes in the hundreds of millions.
The sources of the fortunes near the end of the list are also quite diverse. Robert Gore and Elizabeth Snyder (and their four other siblings) were the heirs to the Gore-Tex empire, each owning 7% of the company. Meanwhile, Mack C. Chase is an oil tycoon, John Abele has made his money from making medical devices, and Leonard Hyde and Jonathan Rubini are partners in a real estate firm that owns much of the Anchorage skyline.
Money
How Debt-to-GDP Ratios Have Changed Since 2000
See how much the debt-to-GDP ratios of advanced economies have grown (or shrank) since the year 2000.
How Debt-to-GDP Ratios Have Changed Since 2000
This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on Apple or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.
Government debt levels have grown in most parts of the world since the 2008 financial crisis, and even more so after the COVID-19 pandemic.
To gain perspective on this long-term trend, we’ve visualized the debt-to-GDP ratios of advanced economies, as of 2000 and 2024 (estimated). All figures were sourced from the IMF’s World Economic Outlook.
Data and Highlights
The data we used to create this graphic is listed in the table below. “Government gross debt” consists of all liabilities that require payment(s) of interest and/or principal in the future.
Country | 2000 (%) | 2024 (%) | Change (pp) |
---|---|---|---|
🇯🇵 Japan | 135.6 | 251.9 | +116.3 |
🇸🇬 Singapore | 82.3 | 168.3 | +86.0 |
🇺🇸 United States | 55.6 | 126.9 | +71.3 |
🇬🇧 United Kingdom | 36.6 | 105.9 | +69.3 |
🇬🇷 Greece | 104.9 | 160.2 | +55.3 |
🇫🇷 France | 58.9 | 110.5 | +51.6 |
🇵🇹 Portugal | 54.2 | 104.0 | +49.8 |
🇪🇸 Spain | 57.8 | 104.7 | +46.9 |
🇸🇮 Slovenia | 25.9 | 66.5 | +40.6 |
🇫🇮 Finland | 42.4 | 76.5 | +34.1 |
🇭🇷 Croatia | 35.4 | 61.8 | +26.4 |
🇨🇦 Canada | 80.4 | 103.3 | +22.9 |
🇨🇾 Cyprus | 56.0 | 70.9 | +14.9 |
🇦🇹 Austria | 65.7 | 74.0 | +8.3 |
🇸🇰 Slovak Republic | 50.5 | 56.5 | +6.0 |
🇩🇪 Germany | 59.3 | 64.0 | +4.7 |
🇧🇪 Belgium | 109.6 | 106.8 | -2.8 |
🇮🇱 Israel | 77.4 | 56.8 | -20.6 |
🇮🇸 Iceland | 75.8 | 54.6 | -21.2 |
The debt-to-GDP ratio indicates how much a country owes compared to the size of its economy, reflecting its ability to manage and repay debts. Percentage point (pp) changes shown above indicate the increase or decrease of these ratios.
Countries with the Biggest Increases
Japan (+116 pp), Singapore (+86 pp), and the U.S. (+71 pp) have grown their debt as a percentage of GDP the most since the year 2000.
All three of these countries have stable, well-developed economies, so it’s unlikely that any of them will default on their growing debts. With that said, higher government debt leads to increased interest payments, which in turn can diminish available funds for future government budgets.
This is a rising issue in the U.S., where annual interest payments on the national debt have surpassed $1 trillion for the first time ever.
Only 3 Countries Saw Declines
Among this list of advanced economies, Belgium (-2.8 pp), Iceland (-21.2 pp), and Israel (-20.6 pp) were the only countries that decreased their debt-to-GDP ratio since the year 2000.
According to Fitch Ratings, Iceland’s debt ratio has decreased due to strong GDP growth and the use of its cash deposits to pay down upcoming maturities.
See More Debt Graphics from Visual Capitalist
Curious to see which countries have the most government debt in dollars? Check out this graphic that breaks down $97 trillion in debt as of 2023.
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