Net Worth: $2.5 Billion
Industry: Sports and Entertainment
Notable Member(s): Vince McMahon
Claim to Fame: The WWE
The McMahon family earns their rightful spot on this place for doing something a little different than striking oil or dealing in investments. This particular family is responsible for the creation of what is quite possibly the biggest name in professional wrestling – WWE. The origin of this empire can be traced all the way back to 1915 when Jess McMahon embarked on a journey that would lead him into billionaire’s territory.
WWE is an odd mixture of different aspects of entertainment. The people participating in this sport are both athletes and actors – performing a combination of moves to shock and awe the audience. The McMahon’s can be credited with solidifying professional wrestling as a viable form of entertainment in the United States, pulling together bits and pieces and combining them into one great organization. Aside from their wrestling empire, the McMahon’s also own Alpha Entertainment. The company is a professional football league which is similar to the NFL in many ways – with stricter rules, including that players are not able to take a knee in protest during their games. This seems it would probably detract a lot of potential players from joining up, though…
The Goldmans
Net Worth: $13.6 Billion
Industry: Real Estate
Notable Member(s): Sol Goldman, Jane Goldman
Claim to Fame: Solil Management
The Goldman family is hands down one of the richest in the country, if not the world. Sol Goldman first made the Forbes list of the 400 wealthiest Americans all the way back in the early ’80s and has made it again every year since. Sol grew the empire from the ground up, getting his foot in the door during the Great Depression.
There are very few buildings that are worthwhile in New York that don’t have the Goldman name attached to them. The family owns a 17% stake in the World Trade Center developments, just a part of their commercial properties that total over 20,000 square feet. The company also handles residential real estate and owns over 7,000 apartments in the area. Today, Sol’s youngest daughter, Jane, runs the family empire, overseeing all of the day-to-day operations. His other three children, Allan, Amy and Diane, all own a 25% stake, while the other two women also act as senior advisers to the board. Sol’s children apparently share a net worth of around $3 billion.
The Kordestanis
Net Worth: $1.5 Billion
Industry: Internet
Notable Member(s): Omid Kordestani
Claim to Fame: Twitter
Omid Kordestani worked his way up in the internet industry, getting his start at Netscape in 1991. Afterward, he landed a job with Google as personal advisor to the founders before becoming the Executive Chairman at Twitter in October of 2015. In 2006, Time Magazine called him one of the “100 People that Shape the World.”
Today, Twitter has more than 300 million monthly users, along with being one of the 10 most visited sites on the entirety of the internet. The company has 25 offices all over the world and often finds itself hosting viral content. Kordestani still stays active in the company as the Executive Chairman, a position that he was given back in 2015. He also helped found the PARSA Community Foundation, which is an organization that works to preserve Persian heritage. He was actually named “Persian person of the year,” in 2007, by the Persian Awards.
The Strykers
Net Worth: $35 Billion
Industry: Medical Technology
Notable Member(s): John Brown Stryker
Claim to Fame: Stryker Corporation
If you aren’t familiar with the Stryker name, you’re almost certainly familiar with the technology they’ve invented – such as a little thing known as the hospital bed, among many other things. The Stryker Corporation, which started in the 1940s, is responsible for some of the most important medical technology in the world – hence their family fortune of over $30 billion.
Dr. Homer Stryker founded the original company in 41’, and developed the original moving hospital bed, along with a cast-cutter and walking-heel. In 1999, the company was making over $2 billion every year. They jumped on board with orthopedic replacements and soon reached over $3 billion annually. The Stryker’s were recently responsible for giving the largest donation in history to Spelman College in Atlanta, donating over $30 million. The family often donates to the Democratic party, along with LGBTQ foundations. The Stryker’s also helped found the Arcus and Bohemian foundations.
The Lauders
Net Worth: $24.3
Notable Member(s): Estee Lauder, Leonard Lauder
Industry: Cosmetics
Claim to Fame: Estee Lauder, Clinique, MAC Estee
Lauder was a beautician who launched her very own cosmetics brand, with the help of her husband Joseph, back in 1946. Little did they know that the business would grow to be one of the most successful in the industry in the decades to come. At first, it was a small company that was built around a single product – one that Estee created with the assistance of her uncle, who happened to be a chemist. People absolutely loved the cream that she was selling, however, and over time they created more and more products. In 1953, an anti-aging dew that the company sold really took off.
But by the 1990s, Estee Lauder was a household name, and the family had a store in every major city in America. Then, the business even began to expand on an international basis until it was one of the biggest cosmetics brands in the world. Leonard Lauder took over for his mom and dad as head of the family business and stayed on as C.E.O until 1999. The cosmetics giant ultimately bought out several other big players in the business – including Clinique, MAC, and Bobbi Brown.