Net Worth: $1.4 Billion
Industry: Entertainment
Notable Member(s): Jay-Z and Beyoncé
Claim to Fame: Carter, Lemonade
Rapper Jay-Z and singer Beyoncé are absolute music legends and moguls in the industry and the best part is – they created their empires entirely from scratch. Both of these performers are superstars in their own right and, when they combine everything – they’ve got a net worth of almost $1.5 billion.
Beyoncé, who got her start singing in the girl group, Destiny’s Child, has now sold over 60 million group and 100 million solo albums across the globe. She’s not only gone platinum several times, but she’s also won over 20 Grammy Awards. She’s even been called the “most nominated” woman – ever. If Beyoncé is the queen, Jay-Z is the king, and the king has sold over 100 million albums, himself. He’s won 22 Grammy’s, which is the most that any rapper has won in history, and his company, Roc Nation, continuously puts out chart-topping hits. The stars now have three children together, Blue Ivy and twins Sir and Rumi.
The Spielbergs
Net Worth: $3.7 Billion
Notable Member(s): Steven Spielberg
Industry: Entertainment
Claim to Fame: DreamWorks
Steven Spielberg may have been comfortable growing up, but he by no means came from as much money as he’s introduced future generations of his family too. Spielberg started shooting movies as a kid and he’s now shot some of the highest grossing films of all time, including Jurassic Park and E.T, just to name a few.
Spielberg’s grandchildren are set for life, living it large in the filmmaker’s fortune, worth an estimated $3.7 billion. Not only has grandpa directed some of the biggest movies’s in Tinsel Town’s history, but he also co-founded DreamWorks Studios, which continually produces blockbuster hits. Today, DreamWorks is best known for pumping out successful animated franchises like Shrek and The Transformers. In 2017, it was reported that the studio had earned nearly $15 billion since they launched in 1994. In 2019, they’re set to release the highly anticipated How to Train your Dragon: The Hidden World. The studio also recently signed a large contract with Hulu, which is bound to make Spielberg even more money.
The Greens
Net Worth: $7 Billion
Industry: Retail
Notable Member(s): Barbara Green, David Green
Claim to Fame: Hobby Lobby
Hobby Lobby got its start at the hands of David and Barbara Green in the 1970s. First, they took out a small loan to fix some of their own picture frames, and it wound up with them opening a small hobby store in their home town of Oklahoma City. Little did they know just how massive their empire would become.
Flash forward to today: Hobby Lobby has nearly 900 stores and 38,000 employees in 46 states across the United States. The company is privately owned by the Green’s, which enables them to adhere to their religion through their business practices, something that has been seen as somewhat controversial. The craft store, which has become the largest in the world, operates offices in two separate areas of China, as well. They also frequently donate to religious causes and are advocates of homeschooling, according to the organization’s website. They were recently caught up in a legal case for being caught smuggling artifacts from Israel to use in a Christian museum, for which they had to return the items and pay millions in fines.
The Ellisons
Net Worth: $65 Billion
Industry: Technology and Entertainment
Notable Member(s): Larry Ellison
Claim to Fame: Oracle
Larry Ellison is another wonderful example of someone who nailed the American Dream. Not only is he one of the wealthiest men in the country, but he’s also the 7th richest person in the entire world – and he got to be that way by investing less than $2,000. Ellison co-founded the Oracle Corporation, one of the leading technology firms in the nation.
Oracle is based in California, but they have offices in multiple countries around the world. The company manufactures a variety of products, including both software and hardware programs. They almost had to file for bankruptcy in the ’90s, which resulted in hundreds of layoffs, but they were able to bounce back from the legal turmoil. Ellison’s son, David, and his daughter, Megan, both inherited quite a large amount of money from their father’s fortune. Both of his children used their money to start their own careers in Hollywood. Megan launched Annapurna pictures in 2011 and has produced several blockbuster hits, including American Hustle and Zero Dark Thirty. David started his own company, Skydance Media, which is responsible for several of the Mission Impossible movies, along with Jack Reacher.
The Rineys
Net Worth: $3.5 Billion
Notable Member(s): Rodger O. Riney
Industry: Finance
Claim to Fame: Scottrade
Scottrade founder Rodger Riney always had his heart set on working in the financial industry, even though he would have had it made in engineering. He turned down a job in the latter to work at Edward Jones, after graduating from college. Then, he left to start a firm of his own – a move that would serve him very, very well in the future.
Riney launched his business, with the help of a friend, in 1980 – 5 years later, he’d name it “Scottrade,” and solidify its roots in St. Louis. In 1996, he got in on the internet wave and began online trading, as well. Now, the company has over 500 branches and 3,500 employees in the United States. In 2017, Riney sold the company to TD Ameritrade for almost $2 billion and 28 shares of stock, which reportedly shook the job market in St. Louis. Riney was diagnosed with cancer in 2015 and often donates to research for a cure. He was diagnosed with a rare type that affects the blood and is currently incurable.