No single family "owns" America, but powerful dynasties like the Waltons (Walmart), Kochs (Koch Industries), Mars (Mars, Inc.), Cargill/MacMillan (Cargill), and Pritzker (Hyatt) control vast fortunes and major industries through private holdings, while historical families like the Rockefellers and Vanderbilts laid foundations for American wealth, with families like the Emmersons even owning huge land tracts. These families wield significant economic influence through retail, energy, food, finance, and media.
When it comes to the families that helped build America, there is plenty of lore and mystery around their names. Vanderbilt, Kennedy, Rockefeller, Morgan, Walton, Johnson, and others made billions through real estate, construction, oil, pharmaceuticals, and other industries.
The Walton family, founders of Walmart, are consistently ranked as the world's richest family, with recent estimates placing their wealth well over $500 billion, largely from their stake in the retail giant, while the Al Nahyan family (Abu Dhabi) and Al Saud family (Saudi Arabia) also rank among the top, deriving fortunes from oil and investments.
The Rothschilds were so wealthy, that the wars did not start until they said that they would finance them. In today's dollars, the Rothschild's were worth $360 billion and the Vanderbilts were worth around $215 billion.
As of 2016, the family fortune was estimated at $14.3 billion, spread across more than 3,500 living relatives.
Old money today
The Vanderbilts, Gettys, and Rothschilds are synonymous with extreme wealth, but are these legendary old-money families still as rich and powerful in 2025? Read on as we discover how the fortunes of the descendants of five of the world's most illustrious dynasties have fared in the 21st century.
1.Walton ($130 billion)
One of the richest families in the U.S. and the world, the Walton family enterprise is now in its third generation.
The founding family of Walmart Inc., the Waltons, tops the list again this year with a net worth that exceeds half a trillion dollars for the first time. The minimum needed to make the list is higher than ever: $46.4 billion, $9.7 billion more than last year.
10 Oldest Families in America
Does the du Pont family still own DuPont? The du Pont family is estimated to be worth about $16 billion. It is one of the wealthiest families in the United States.
The wealthiest family in Delaware is widely considered the du Pont family, descendants of the founders of the DuPont chemical company, whose immense fortune originated from gunpowder and diversified into chemicals and other industries, making them one of America's richest families for generations, though their wealth is spread across many family members. While individual Delaware residents like Elizabeth Snyder (W.L. Gore & Associates) are noted for high net worths, the sheer scale of the extended du Pont dynasty's historic and ongoing wealth solidifies their position as the state's richest family.
The Dupont family arrived in England by way of Philip Dupont, a Huguenot minister who fled following the Revocation. After arriving he was ordained into the Anglican faith and in 1686 granted naturalisation. Philip, his grandson, was a carpenter who married Sarah Gainsborough.
The Walton family, founders of Walmart, are consistently ranked as the world's richest family, with recent estimates placing their wealth well over $500 billion, largely from their stake in the retail giant, while the Al Nahyan family (Abu Dhabi) and Al Saud family (Saudi Arabia) also rank among the top, deriving fortunes from oil and investments.
No, Paris Hilton is not a Rothschild by blood, but her younger sister, Nicky Hilton, married into the famous Rothschild banking family, making Paris a Rothschild by marriage through her sister's husband, James Rothschild, a descendant of the British Rothschild dynasty. Paris is an heiress to the Hilton hotel fortune, while Nicky married into the Rothschild banking fortune, creating a significant overlap between the two wealthy families.
The Million-Dollar Reality Check
According to Fed data, just over half of Americans (54.3%) have retirement accounts, and of those, less than one in 20 (4.7%) have reached the $1 million mark. That figure rises to 18% of U.S. households if you include all assets, such as real estate and other savings.