While the majority of the world struggles from paycheck to paycheck or worse, there are people in the world who aren’t just wealthy, but they have more money than we can ever imagine, such as the members of these top 11 wealthiest families in the world.
You’ve probably heard the names of the families on this list, but what you might notice is that their names don’t appear on lists such as Forbes’ even though one of the richest families in the world, Rothschild, has assets worth some 2 trillion dollars! Well, that’s because the wealth is divided among many members of said family, money may be kept privately, or the transactions they make are simply low-key. Truth of the matter is that we may never really, trully, know just how much money these families have, even though some of their members will make it onto Forbes’ yearly list. What we can do, however, is rely on approximations and calculations made by experts.
The list of the richest families in history includes names like Rockefeller, or, if you want to go back in time, Money magazine estimated that Mansa Musa, the king of Tumbuktu, who lived in the late 1200s, was the richest man in history.
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Nowadays, there are rumors that the Rothschild family is worth about $500 trillion, but that’s impossible. Global wealth back in 2015 was of about $250 trillion in total, so there’s no way that number can be accurate for a single family. In fact, estimates indicate the wealth of the family is a lot lower than that.
The richest family in the US, the Walton family, which is behind the Wal-Mart empire, is also on the list, but you’ll also find other names you’re probably quite familiar with, from all over the world. That being said, the list of the richest families in the world in 2017 is pretty much unchanged from the list of the richest families in the world in 2016, although the sums they’ve gathered have probably gone up a bit with the new wealth amassed.
You can also read up on the 10 most powerful families in the world, if you want to get a better sense of who rules the world.
In order to create our list today, we checked a few sources, including Investopedia, and Forbes, to name a few. We ranked the families on the list by the estimated wealth they share between members.
Here is the list of the wealthiest families in the world.
11. Quandt
Estimated wealth: $40 billion
One of the richest families in Germany and one of the wealthiest families in the world are the Quandts. Herbert Quandt was a German industrialist who died in 1982. During his life, he overcame numerous bumps in the road, including the fact that for most of his life he was nearly blind. One of the things he is most famous for is the fact that it managed to save car manufacturer BMW from bankruptcy. He was survived by his wife Johanna and two children, Stefan and Susanne. After Johanna’s death in 2015, her fortune went to her children, who were already representing her on the BMW board ever since her retirement in 1997. It is estimated the family’s wealth is now somewhere around $40 billion. Stefan Quandt’s own wealth for instance is estimated by Forbes at $18.3 billion, making him the 47th wealthiest person on Earth.
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10. Cox
Estimated wealth: $41 billion
The Cox family has been very busy over the past hundred years or so. Dating back to the late 1800s, when James M. Cox purchased the Dayton Evening News, the family fortune grew as they bought more and more companies, including TV and radio stations. In no time, there was a Cox Communications and a Cox Media Group, to top the automotive assets they had. The fortune is spread among five grandchildren, according to Forbes the family fortune racks up to $41 billion nowadays.
9. Bettencourt
Estimated wealth: $42.5 billion
You may not know the Bettencourt name that well, but you’ve certainly heard about L’Oréal, haven’t you? The world’s largest cosmetics and beauty company was founded over 100 years ago by Eugene Schueller who, upon his death, left the company in the hands of his daughter, Liliane, now bearing the last name of Bettencourt after her marriage with a French politician. Liliane died in September 2017, leaving her fortune to daughter Françoise.
While the L’Oreal empire may be a lot larger, Françoise Bettencourt-Meyer’s net worth is estimated at over $42 billion.
8. Cargill-Macmillan
Estimated wealth: $49 billion
Forbes estimates that the Cargill-Macmillan family has more billionaires than any other wealthy family in the world – 14 of them. The family, one of the wealthiest families in the world, has its fingers in many pies, including agriculture, as they sell food, processed crops, energy trading, and other commodities. They also provide financial risk management.
Since the Cargill company, which is 90% owned by the family, is a private business, it’s tough to tell just how wealthy its members are. Experts estimate, however, that the entire family’s net worth adds up to some $49 billion. They are all descendants of William Wallace Cargill, born in 1844, who started a small grain storage business in Iowa. Before long, the Cargill company grew and grew. Nowadays, it is the largest privately held corporation in the US and it employs over 150,000 people in 70 countries.
7. Arnault
Estimated wealth: $64.1 billion
How familiar are you with the Arnault name? Not very, right? But you might be familiar with brands such as Bulgari, Louis Vuitton, Sephora, Dom Perignon, Hennessy, Moët & Chandon, Dior, Celine, Fendi, Kenzo, Marc Jacobs, and more. They’re all brands and subsidiaries under the control of the Arnault family, via LVMH. Bernard Arnaut also invested in Carrefour and Hermes.
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6. Slim
Estimated wealth: $64.9 billion
Just a few years ago, Forbes crowned Carlos Slim as the word’s wealthiest man. Now, he’s dropped a few spots in the chart, down to number six, but he’s still the richest man in Mexico.
Grupo Carso, which he controls, does business in many areas, including media, technology, industrial manufacturing, transportation, healthcare, sports, retail, energy, real estate, and more. Telmex, which is owned in 49.1% proportion by Slim and his family, for instance, controls about 90% of the Mexican landline telephone market.
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5. Mars
Estimated wealth: $78 billion
It’s impossible not to have heard about the Mars family. Ok, maybe not the family itself, but certainly of the delicious candy bars that bear the same name. Once the richest family in America, the Mars’ have lost a few spots in the past few decades.
Mars Inc, is one of the largest candy companies in the world. They make brands such as Mars, Milky Way, Snickers or M&Ms. They also produce the Uncle Ben’s rice, as well as pet food brands Pedigree and Whiskas.
Forbes estimates the family’s wealth sits around $78 billion, which puts it on the fifth spot among the wealthiest families in the world.
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4. Koch
Estimated wealth: $82 billion
The Koch brothers are quite well known in the world, not just for being among the wealthiest families in the world, but also for their active participation in American politics, contributing money to numerous candidates over the years. Regardless of how the company is doing, the Koch brothers are always associated with the political side of their lives, especially since they’ve been actively involved in shaping numerous laws and policies over the years.
Koch Industries is a multinational corporation that deals in manufacturing, trading, and investments. It is the second largest privately held company in the US, after Cargill.
Most recently, the Koch brothers’ names were associated with the purchase of Time Magazine by Meredith corporations.
Their fortune is estimated at $82 billion.
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3. Walton
Estimated wealth: $130 billion
The Walton family is from the United States of America and they’re behind the world’s largest retailer, Walmart. Just a few years ago, the worth of the entire family stood close to $150 billion, but has now decreased just a bit, but it still ranks third among the wealthiest families in the world. The company owns more than half of Walmart, a company that has recently branched into e-commerce as well.
The company has over 11,600 stores and clubs in 28 countries. It’s not named the same in every country, but it’s still present in many, many places around the world.
The richest members of the Walton family, as ranked by Forbes, are S. Robson Walton (15th place, $34.1 billion), Jim Walton (16th place, $34 billion), and Alice Walton (17th place, $33.8 billion). Other members of the family rank lower, but even the last member on the list, Nancy Walton Laurie, ranking 402nd, has over $4.3 billion in her name.
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2. Rothschild
Estimated wealth: $350-400 billion
Back in Germany, we have the Rothschild family, a family whose wealth goes back to the late 1500s. Nowadays, the family’s wealth comes from the numerous banks it controls all over Europe. Back in the 18th century, Mayer Amschel Rothschild established a banking business. His five sons established themselves in London, Paris, Frankfurt, Vienna, and Naples. Nowadays, there are five branches of the Rothschild family, who continue to control private banks all over the world.
Due to the fact that the Rothschild-controlled banks are private, it’s difficult to accurately assess just how wealthy the family is. Estimates start north of $350-400 billion, but there have been voices throwing $2 trillion around, as well. Nevertheless, the Rotschilds are among the wealthiest families in the world and among the most influential as well. There are dozens of conspiracy theories, from assassinations of presidents to control of the world’s money supply, all involving the Rotschild name.
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1. House of Saud
Estimated wealth: $1.4 trillion
Finally, at the top of our list of the wealthiest families in the world we have the House of Saud, the royal family of Saudi Arabia. Descendants of Muhammad bin Saud, founder of the Emirate of Diriyah back in 1744, the House of Saud includes the current King of Saudi Arabia, King Salman.
Estimates indicate the family includes some 15,000 members, but there’s a group of about 2,000 members that possess most of the wealth and power within the family.
Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud, for instance, has an estimated wealth of $18.7 billion, said Forbes, although other members of the family are listed too. Most of the family’s fortune comes from oil trading. In total, the net worth of the entire royal family has been calculated at over $1.4 trillion. Unless the rumors about the Rothschild family and their $2 trillion worth are true, then the House of Saud will rule this list for a long time to come.
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That being said, these have been the 11 wealthiest families in the world.
