Money
Mapped: The Wealthiest Person in Every U.S. State in 2020
Check out the latest 2023 update of the wealthiest person in every U.S. state.
The Wealthiest Person in Every U.S. State
Check out the latest 2023 update of the wealthiest person in every U.S. state.
There are different degrees of wealth that exist, even among the richest in America.
For example, a heavy-hitting millionaire might have the most impressive fortune in his or her home state — but venture a few miles across the state border, and suddenly they become a small fish in a much bigger pond.
Today’s map comes to us from HowMuch.net, and it shows the incredible variance in the biggest fortunes on a state-by-state basis.
The Rich List, by State
Below is the full list containing the wealthiest person in every U.S. state, based on calculations by Forbes in early March 2020.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos tops the list with a net worth of $117.1 billion in the state of Washington — meanwhile, the smallest fortune on the list is located in Alaska at just $0.3 billion.
Rank | Person | State | Net Worth ($B) |
---|---|---|---|
#1 | Jeff Bezos | Washington | $117.1 |
#2 | Warren Buffett | Nebraska | $89.6 |
#3 | Mark Zuckerberg | California | $81.9 |
#4 | Michael Bloomberg | New York | $58.4 |
#5 | Jim Walton | Arkansas | $51.9 |
#6 | Alice Walton | Texas | $51.7 |
#7 | Charles Koch | Kansas | $42.8 |
#8 | Sheldon Adelson | Nevada | $41.4 |
#9 | Phil Knight and family | Oregon | $40.0 |
#10 | Jacqueline Mars | Virginia | $30.2 |
#11 | John Mars | Wyoming | $30.2 |
#12 | Ray Dalio | Connecticut | $18.7 |
#13 | Thomas Peterffy | Florida | $17.6 |
#14 | Abigail Johnson | Massachusetts | $16.0 |
#15 | Pierre Omidyar | Hawaii | $13.2 |
#16 | Ken Griffin | Illinois | $13.1 |
#17 | Thomas Frist Jr and family | Tennessee | $13.0 |
#18 | John Menard Jr | Wisconsin | $11.7 |
#19 | Philip Anschutz | Colorado | $11.5 |
#20 | Carl Cook | Indiana | $10.4 |
#21 | Jim Kennedy | Georgia | $9.9 |
#22 | Harold Hamm & family | Oklahoma | $9.7 |
#23 | James Goodnight | North Carolina | $8.0 |
#24 | Victoria Mars | Pennsylvania | $7.5 |
#25 | Pauline MacMillan Keinath | Missouri | $6.9 |
#26 | Dennis Washington | Montana | $6.7 |
#27 | Daniel Gilbert | Michigan | $6.5 |
#28 | Ernest Garcia II | Arizona | $6.2 |
#29 | John Overdeck | New Jersey | $6.1 |
#30 | Ted Lerner and family | Maryland | $5.5 |
#31 | Harry Stine | Iowa | $5.4 |
#32 | Tamara Gustavson | Kentucky | $5.0 |
#33 | Les Wexner and family | Ohio | $4.5 |
#34 | Frank VanderSloot | Idaho | $3.7 |
#35 | Gayle Benson | Louisiana | $3.1 |
#36 | Glen Taylor | Minnesota | $2.8 |
#37 | T. Denny Sanford | South Dakota | $2.4 |
#38 | Susan Alfond | Maine | $1.9 |
#39 | Anita Zucker | South Carolina | $1.9 |
#40 | Jonathan Nelson | Rhode Island | $1.8 |
#41 | Gail Miller | Utah | $1.6 |
#42 | Jim Justice II | West Virginia | $1.5 |
#43 | James and Thomas Duff | Mississippi | $1.4 |
#44 | Gary Tharaldson | North Dakota | $1.0 |
#45 | Jimmy Rane | Alabama | $0.9 |
#46 | Elizabeth Snyder and Robert Gore | Delaware | $0.9 |
#47 | Andrea Reimann-Ciardelli | New Hampshire | $0.7 |
#48 | Mack C. Chase | New Mexico | $0.7 |
#49 | John Abele | Vermont | $0.6 |
#50 | Leonard Hyde, Jonathan Rubini and Families | Alaska | $0.3 |
While all of the names above are considered extraordinarily wealthy in their home states, there is still a magnitude of difference involved. The low end of the list ($0.3 billion) would need to multiply their fortune by 390 times to get up to the $117.1 billion Bezos level.
To put this another way, the same degree of difference exists between the median household wealth in the U.S. (~$100,000) and a multi-millionaire with $39 million to their name.
Rising and Falling Fortunes
The above figures were obtained prior to the COVID-19 market crash, which will surely impact the size of some of the fortunes listed here.
Who will be most and least impacted by the recent stock market turmoil?
Even though Jeff Bezos has most of his wealth tied up in Amazon stock, so far it has been relatively unaffected by the volatility. With more people staying home because of social distancing, orders on online platforms such as Amazon have exploded.
Similarly to Amazon, the heirs of the Walmart fortune in the Walton family — including Jim Walton, Alice Walton, and Rob Walton — are also seeing Walmart’s stock price hold relatively steady in the face of volatility. In fact, some analysts consider Walmart to be the ultimate “recession-proof” stock, as consumers flock to discount goods in poor economic times.
Warren Buffett is also an interesting case. Though the stock market has certainly disrupted the real-time value of his fortune, that’s not the game that Warren Buffett plays. In fact, he is known for waiting for times of crisis to deploy his cash, and has a significant stockpile of money ready for just this kind of situation.
Billionaires like Sheldon Adelson in Nevada or Philip Anschutz of Colorado might be singing a different tune than some of the other above magnates. Adelson, for example, owns a good chunk of the Las Vegas Strip, as well as casinos and hotels in Singapore and Macao. Unfortunately, tourism-related businesses are some of the hardest hit in the COVID-19 crash.
Meanwhile, Anschutz owns the Coachella Music Festival and stakes in many professional sports teams (LA Lakers, LA Kings, and multiple MLS teams), which have all been impacted by the cancellation of big events and gatherings throughout the country. Like many others, Anschutz is probably itching for things to get back to normal.
GDP
Visualizing U.S. GDP by Industry in 2023
Services-producing industries account for the majority of U.S. GDP in 2023, followed by other private industries and the government.

Visualizing U.S. GDP by Industry
The U.S. economy is like a giant machine driven by many different industries, each one akin to an essential cog that moves the whole.
Understanding the breakdown of national gross domestic product (GDP) by industry shows where commercial activity is bustling and how diverse the economy truly is.
The above infographic uses data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis to visualize a breakdown of U.S. GDP by industry in 2023. To show this, we use value added by industry, which reflects the difference between gross output and the cost of intermediate inputs.
The Top 10 U.S. Industries by GDP
As of Q1 2023, the annualized GDP of the U.S. sits at $26.5 trillion.
Of this, 88% or $23.5 trillion comes from private industries. The remaining $3 trillion is government spending at the federal, state, and local levels.
Here’s a look at the largest private industries by economic contribution in the United States:
Industry | Annualized Nominal GDP (as of Q1 2023) | % of U.S. GDP |
---|---|---|
Professional and business services | $3.5T | 13% |
Real estate, rental, and leasing | $3.3T | 12% |
Manufacturing | $2.9T | 11% |
Educational services, health care, and social assistance | $2.3T | 9% |
Finance and insurance | $2.0T | 8% |
Wholesale trade | $1.7T | 6% |
Retail trade | $1.5T | 6% |
Information | $1.5T | 6% |
Arts, entertainment, recreation, accommodation, and food services | $1.2T | 4% |
Construction | $1.1T | 4% |
Other private industries | $2.6T | 10% |
Total | $23.5T | 88% |
Like most other developed nations, the U.S. economy is largely based on services.
Service-based industries, including professional and business services, real estate, finance, and health care, make up the bulk (70%) of U.S. GDP. In comparison, goods-producing industries like agriculture, manufacturing, mining, and construction play a smaller role.
Professional and business services is the largest industry with $3.5 trillion in value added. It comprises establishments providing legal, consulting, design, administration, and other services. This is followed by real estate at $3.3 trillion, which has consistently been an integral part of the economy.
Due to outsourcing and other factors, the manufacturing industry’s share of GDP has been declining for decades, but it still remains a significant part of the economy. Manufacturing of durable goods (metals, machines, computers) accounts for $1.6 trillion in value added, alongside nondurable goods (food, petroleum, chemicals) at $1.3 trillion.
The Government’s Contribution to GDP
Just like private industries, the government’s value added to GDP consists of compensation of employees, taxes collected (less subsidies), and gross operating surplus.
Government | Annualized Nominal GDP (as of Q1 2023) | % of U.S. GDP |
---|---|---|
State and Local | $2.1T | 8% |
Federal | $0.9T | 4% |
Total | $3.1T | 12% |
Figures may not add up to the total due to rounding.
State and local government spending, largely focused on the education and public welfare sectors, accounts for the bulk of value added. The Federal contribution to GDP amounts to roughly $948 billion, with 52% of it attributed to national defense.
The Fastest Growing Industries (2022–2032P)
In the next 10 years, services-producing industries are projected to see the fastest growth in output.
The table below shows the five fastest-growing industries in the U.S. from 2022–2032 in terms of total output, based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics:
Industry | Sector | Compound Annual Rate of Output Growth (2022–2032P) |
---|---|---|
Software publishers | Information | 5.2% |
Computing infrastructure providers, data processing, and related services | Information | 3.9% |
Wireless telecommunications carriers (except satellite) | Information | 3.6% |
Home health care services | Health care and social assistance | 3.6% |
Oil and gas extraction | Mining | 3.5% |
Three of the fastest-growing industries are in the information sector, underscoring the growing role of technology and digital infrastructure. Meanwhile, the projected growth of the oil and gas extraction industry highlights the enduring demand for traditional energy sources, despite the energy transition.
Overall, the development of these industries suggests that the U.S. will continue its shift toward a services-oriented economy. But today, it’s also worth noticing how services- and goods-producing industries are increasingly tied together. For example, it’s now common for tech companies to produce devices, and for manufacturers to use software in their operations.
Therefore, the oncoming tide of growth in service-based industries could potentially lift other interconnected sectors of the diverse U.S. economy.
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