Net Worth: $5.6 billion Source: Dan L. Duncan We really only need to write two words here without explaining the whole life story of Randa Williams. Texas. Oil. Ok done, can we go home now? Jokes aside, Randa Williams is the daughter of Dan Duncan, who was the co-founder, chairman and main shareholder of Enterprise Products. In 1957, Duncan worked for Wanda Petroleum, and with $10,000 and two propane delivery trucks, he went on his way to found Enterprise Products Co. He took it public in 1998, and at a peak was worth $9.0 billion. Amazing huh?
Enterprise Products Co. has oil and gas pipelines that span the entire nation. They help America go. The business has remained family-owned, with Randa and her siblings receiving the benefits of the company’s success. Williams, however, was successful in her own right and was a practicing lawyer before becoming the CEO of Enterprise! Upon her father’s death in 2010, Williams inherited $3.1 billion. She made headlines with her siblings when they became the first American billionaires to avoid estate tax (and still aren’t paying tax since the estate tax law’s enactment!). Dang. Williams does have a few philanthropic pursuits, as a board member of Houston Zoo, and a trustee of the Houston Natural Science Museum. Nice!
Lloyd Goldman
Net Worth: $3 billion Source: BLDG Mgmt. Son of real estate investor Irving Goldman, it’s actually his uncle, Sol, who was one of the most prominent real estate investors in NYC during the 1980s. His extensive portfolio included over 600 commercial and residential properties. Now that’s one wealthy landlord! Goldman, through his family ties, inherited a portfolio of these fabled real estate holdings but went down a path that saw him work on urban development. In the 90s, Goldman focused on buying properties that were a little dusty at government auctions. Some years prior, he founded BLDG Management which owns over 250 commercial properties across the United States, and the properties he bought up in the 90s now belong to this extensive portfolio. Pretty darn impressive!
Most recently, Goldman built BLDG Management’s first residential building in NYC, which was a change from the usual holdings of major office skyscrapers in the Big Apple! As well as his business pursuits, Goldman serves on a number of boards of charities – philanthropy is important to him! In 2012 for example, Goldman was elected president of American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. He’s also a trustee of the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System.
Donald Newhouse
Net Worth: $12 billion Source: Sam Newhouse Now, this wealth has flowed down from his father, Samuel Irving Newhouse Sr., who was an American broadcasting businessman and magazine and newspaper publisher. He was the founder of Advance Publications in 1922, at 27 years of age. The eldest of eight children born to Jewish immigrants, Sam Meier Neuhaus Americanised his name to Meyer Newhouse! Donald is the heir to the publishing fortune built by his father, which he shares with his brother Samuel Irving Newhouse Jr. He went into the family business, and now owns the controlling stake. It owns famous titles including magazines such as The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, and Vogue. Now that’s an impressive list of holdings.
Aside from magazines, Advance owns papers in American cities, such as The Oregonian, Plain-Dealer, and Star-Ledger. Advance has stakes in Discovery Communications and Bright House Networks, both of which are cable companies. So by diversifying their holdings, Advance has managed to continue with the steady income! According to Forbes, Newhouse has an estimated net worth of $11.8 billion!! Not much is known as to his current situation or what he’s up to, but our guess is that thee 90-year-old is enjoying watching his kids and grandkids grow up!
Daniel Ziff
Net Worth: $4.8 billion Source: William Bernard Ziff, Jr. A third of the Ziff Brothers Investments, we have Daniel Ziff up next. Inheriting his part of the Davis-Ziff fortune, he, like his brothers, invested in their own venture, turning their backs on their father and the family business. Whilst Ziff Brothers Investments was successful to start, the company dissolved.
However, some loose ends continued to prove lucrative, and maintain a steady stream of income for all three brothers! He and his brothers also helped founded Och-Ziff Capital Management with hedge fund mogul Daniel Och. Och’s firm gave them a 10% investment back, which was worth a small fortune. (Read: not small).
Herbert Fisk Johnson III
Net Worth: $4 billion Source: SC Johnson Ah, Fisk. That’s his preferred name we’ll have you know! Heir to the S.C. Johnson & Son fortune, next up is Herbert Fisk Johnson III. The son of the late Samuel Curtis Johnson Jr, he and his three siblings and mother each have a net worth of $3 billion as of May 2015. Wowza. The Wisconsin-born Fisk has quite the brain additional to being filthy rich – he’s got a BA in Chemistry and Physics, a Master of Engineering, an MBA in Marketing and Finance AND a Ph.D. in Physics. All from Cornell University. If anyone can afford all those tuition fees well, it’s gonna be him!
S.C. Johnson is a cleaning goods company that specializes in pretty much anything and everything you would ever imagine you would need to take care of your home. Joining the family business in 1987, he moved up the ranks and was appointed CEO in 2004. As well as his business experience, he’s also done some time in politics (well, policy!). He’s served as a member of the President’s Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiation and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development among others! His work has been to ensure sustainable development and conservation, as well as to increase ethical trade practices for multi-national corporations. Smart guy, smart outlook, deep pockets.