Net Worth: $3.1 Billion
Industry: Finance
Notable Member(s): Clifford Scott Asness
Claim to Fame: AQR Management
Clifford Asness manages a financial firm that’s responsible for over $200 billion across the world. He himself sits on a cushy $3 billion nest egg that he’s built from “applied quantitative research,” and hedge funds. He grew up in New York and went to college in Chicago, where he landed his first real job.
The job, which came while he was still enrolled in his Ph.D. program in Chicago, was a personal assistant position for Eugene Farma. Farma is a famous economist in the United States, best known for his “three-factor-model.” In his dissertation for the program, Asness argued against one of his professor’s theories. After school, he went straight to Wall Street where he landed a job with Goldman Sachs. Asness has become a sort of financial activist, speaking out against predatory capitalism and sky-high hedge fund fees. He sometimes comments in print publications, as well as on CNBC.
The Powell-Jobs’
Net Worth: $10 Billion
Industry: Technology
Notable Member(s): Steve Jobs
Claim to Fame: Apple
Steve Jobs is arguably one of the greatest minds in the history of technology. He grew up in the foster care system in California and devoted his adult life to creating cutting edge products that eventually led him into co-founding Apple in 1976.
Before he made it big, Jobs was working for Atari, creating circuit boards for their games. He used his free time to work on the first Apple computers in his garage. Luckily, the project caught the attention of an investor who dropped $60,000 into it. While he was still working in the garage, however, his girlfriend at the time got pregnant and gave birth to his daughter – Lisa. Jobs was a millionaire before he even turned 23 years old, and in 1985 he founded NeXT, which he spent $7 million on and actually sold back to apple for over $400 million. In 2003, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and in 2011, he passed away. He was always very aloof with his daughter, refusing to help her mother and doing the least possible to seem as though he was really even helping her, though he did leave her a couple of million dollars when he passed.
The Butts
Net Worth: $10.8 Billion
Notable Member(s): Charles Butt
Industry: Retail
Claim to Fame: H.E.B Grocery
Charles Butt took over the family business for grandma and grandpa in 1971 and remains the largest shareholder in the company today. H.E.B Grocery has over 300 stores across the country today, and over 50 in Mexico, as well.
Charles’ grandma, Florence, actually started the original grocery store after her husband was diagnosed with tuberculosis in 1905. Little did she know just how successful the brand would ultimately be. Now, the Butt family is worth nearly $11 billion. In 2015, the “meat market mogul,” was ranked as the 4th richest person in the state of Texas, falling just short of oil tycoon Richard Kinder. Butt placed 44th that year on the list of their “richest people in America.” The company was recently reported to have exceeded $20 billion in sales.
The Buschs
Net Worth: $13.5 Billion
Industry: Alcohol
Notable Member(s): Adolphus Busch
Claim to Fame: Budweiser
Everyone over the age of 21 in America knows about the Busch family. After all, they’re the ones who are responsible for Budweiser – one of America’s most favorite beers. In 1876, Adolphus created a brand that everyone knows and loves. Unfortunately, prohibition was right around the corner.
When prohibition struck, it wreaked havoc upon all of the alcohol companies, and Budweiser was no exception. Fortunately, they pulled through it by selling ice cream and soda and boy did they bounce back. However, they were so happy when Roosevelt repealed it that they sent him a 24-case to show their appreciation. Unfortunately, the company fell victim to a hostile takeover in the early 2000’s, although they still managed to walk away with $52 billion. Today, the family owns and operates the smaller, but still successful, William K. Busch Brewing Company. Who knows, maybe it will grow into big brother’s shoes and reanimate the empire. In any case, the Busch family reigns as one of the richest families in America.
The Pitts
Net Worth: $300 Million
Industry: Entertainment
Notable Member(s): Brad Pitt
Claim to Fame: Fight Club
Brad Pitt is another wonderful example of someone who nailed the American Dream. He grew up in rural Oklahoma with a father who owned a trucking company and his mother, who worked as a school counselor. He majored in journalism in college but moved to L.A just a few weeks before he would have gotten his degree.
When he first got out to Hollywood, he took acting classes and struggled to find a gig like most actor hopefuls. But in 1994, he landed his breakthrough role in Interview with the Vampire, and things took off for him after that. He’s one of the highest paid actors in Hollywood, starring in blockbuster hits like Troy and Ocean’s Twelve. But all of Pitt’s hard-earned money didn’t come through him being in front of the camera. He’s produced a few films including 12 Years a Slave for which he won an Oscar for his off-screen work. The A-lister was divorced from ex-wife Angelina Jolie with whom he shares several children, both biological and adopted.