Net Worth: $20.5 Billion
Notable Member(s): Rupert Murdoch
Industry: Media
Claim to Fame: Fox News
Rupert Murdoch and his family control an insane amount of the mainstream media, as he owns The Wall Street Journal, HarperCollins and (until recently) The 20th Century Fox Company. Murdoch immigrated to the United States from Australia in the ’70s and started expanding the business he’d created in his home country.
Murdoch’s 20+ billion empires grow more and more every day, as he owns stakes in, well…the majority of TV channels and even some streaming platforms. Yup, he actually holds the claim to 30 percent of Hulu. The media mogul is so huge that he’s been portrayed in numerous shows and films, including an episode of The Simpsons. In 2019, Murdoch sold Fox, which is a large umbrella that includes everything from football games to FX shows and movies. The lucky buyer? The Walt Disney Corporation, who shelled out billions of dollars for (most of) the rights. However, Rupert’s son Lachlan will stay on as chairman of the board and C.E.O.
The Marshalls
Net Worth: $12.5 Billion
Industry: Oil and Finance
Notable Member(s): James Howard Marshall II
Claim to Fame: Koch Industries
The Marshall family saw the beginning of their fortune in the oil business when James Howard II owned a large portion of the Great Northern Oil Company and decided to trade all of his shares for 15% of Koch Industries – an investment that would prove to be more profitable than he could have possibly imagined.
James Howard handed over 4% shares to two of his sons, and year after year of legal battles would ensue. In 1983, the Koch brothers took sole ownership and he bought his shares back from his sons – shares that are worth billions of dollars today. About a year before he passed away, James Howard infamously tied the knot with (then) 26-year old playmate, Anna Nicole Smith – a marriage that would cause serious tensions between his children and other family members. After his death, Anna Nicole obtained a large portion of the estate, a decision which the kids are still trying to have overturned.
The Loves
Net Worth: $7 Billion
Industry: Truck stop and convenience stores
Notable Member(s): Judy and Tom Love
Claim to Fame: Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores
The Love family empire got its start back in 1964 when Judy and Tom and Love dropped their last $5,000 on a little abandoned fill station in a small town just north of Oklahoma City. Now, they’ve got gas stations all across the country, and a fortune of over $7 billion.
Anyone who has driven across America knows about Love’s, and it’s a favorite for truckers who do it on a regular basis. Not only does the chain offer gas-on-the-go, but it also offers a shower station, and often times a restaurant, like Dunkin’ Donuts, Bojangles, Burger King, Taco Bell or Mickey D’s. Not bad for a place that got its start for less than $10,000! Because of its affiliations with huge names in the fast food industry and its all-around convenience, Love’s continues to grow every day, buying out competitors regularly. As of 2017, they were said to have over 420 stores in 41 states. The Love family fortune has grown to a whopping $7 billion!
The Davis’
Net Worth: $5.8 Billion
Industry: Shoes
Notable Member(s): Jim Davis
Claim to Fame: New Balance
New Balance was actually founded all the way back in 1906, but it remained as just a small-time footwear company in Boston until Jim Davis came along and bought it in 1972. Davis turned the company into the conglomerate that it is today and racked up a net worth of nearly $6 billion.
Now, the shoe mogul has multi-million-dollar deals with big name brands all over the world, including a recent $40 million per year deal in Liverpool with Warrior Sports. The company is also known for sponsoring athletes like the Toronto Raptors Small Forward, Kawhi Leonard, in 2018. Unfortunately, New Balance got caught up in political controversies around the 2016 election which prompted a social media frenzy that showed thousands of people tossing their sneakers in the trash and vowing never to buy from them again. However, they seem to be doing just fine, and they recently hosted their 19th annual New Balance Nationals in North Carolina.
The VanderSloots
Net Worth: $4.4
Industry: Health and Wellness
Notable Member(s): Frank L. Vandersloot
Claim to Fame: Melaleuca, Inc.
The VanderSloot’s are another great example of a name that not everyone’s heard of, but that’s attached to multiple things laying around any given house at any second. The VanderSloot’s founded Melaleuca, Inc, a health and wellness company that sells personal care and household items to customers and businesses all over the world.
When Frank L. VanderSloot first founded the company in 1985, they started fairly small, selling things like tea tree oil. Unfortunately, they didn’t quite hit the mark the first time around and he was forced into closing temporarily. He even went so far as to describe the initial failure as a “mess.” But when VanderSloot relaunched his health and wellness company, he was able to grow it into a fortune 500, thanks to his multilevel marketing tactics. They still depend on the same marketing schemes, with their website promising that they can “erase your debt.” But hey, they’ve become an empire, worth over $3 billion…so, anything is possible, apparently even with MLM!