REVEALED: The richest people in every state – with a combined net worth of $1.6 TRILLION
Nearly every state is now home to at least one billionaire, while the collective wealth of America’s richest people has increased to a whopping $1.6 trillion.
Analysis by Forbes has found that 47 states are home to at least one member of the ten-figure club, three of which count more than 100 billionaires among their residents.
The collective fortunes of the nation’s richest have increased by $100 billion since last year.
As in 2023, Alaska, Delaware and West Virginia are the only states where no billionaires live.
But rising stock prices and moves between countries mean there have been some major shakeups in the rankings of the country’s ultra-rich.
Analysis by Forbes found that 47 states have at least one member of the ten-figure club, three of which have more than 100 billionaires among their residents. Scroll down to a list of the richest person in each state
Forbes found that seven states have seen their richest person change in the past year.
Jeff Bezos announced in November 2023 that he was leaving Washington and moving back to Florida to be closer to his parents and to launch rocket launches with his space company Blue Origin.
Leaving his longtime home in Seattle and moving to Miami makes him the state’s richest billionaire — and also came with a big tax break that could save him more than $600 million in taxes over the next year.
Florida has no income tax or capital gains tax, while Washington introduced a 7 percent capital gains tax in 2022 on sales of stocks or bonds over $250,000.
The Amazon founder, who is worth $194 billion, has already purchased two properties on the ultra-exclusive island of Indian Creek, dubbed “billionaire’s bunker.”
His departure also means Bill Gates is now the richest person in Washington, despite the Microsoft co-founder landing ninth in global wealth with a fortune of $128 billion.
Mark Zuckerberg has also overtaken former Alphabet CEO Larry Page as the richest billionaire in California.
The 39-year-old has seen his wealth rise over the past year as Meta shares have almost tripled in value.
Meta entered a self-described “year of efficiency” in 2023, with a strong focus on cost savings and the layoff of thousands of employees.
With his fortune of $177 billion, Zuckerberg is now just behind Elon Musk, who is still the richest person in Texas.
The Amazon founder’s (pictured with fiancée Lauren Sanchez) move from his longtime home in Seattle to Miami makes him the richest billionaire in Florida
Mark Zuckerberg has overtaken former Alphabet CEO Larry Page as the richest billionaire in California
In Louisiana, Forbes said, a new billionaire’s estimated fortune of $9.1 billion catapulted him onto the list.
Todd Graves, founder and CEO of fast-food chain Raising Cane’s, has taken over for businesswoman Gayle Benson – the owner of the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League and the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association.
In Hawaii, eBay founder Pierre Omidyar has climbed to the top spot with an estimated fortune of $6.3 billion.
In Arizona, Ernest Garcia II, owner of used car dealership DriveTime Automotive, has surpassed Arturo Moreno, owner of the Los Angeles Angels, to become the state’s richest billionaire.
Todd Graves, the founder and CEO of fast-food chain Raising Cane’s, is now Louisiana’s richest resident
And in Connecticut, Steve Cohen, founder of hedge fund firm Point72 Asset Management, replaced Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund firm, as the state’s richest resident.
Despite the changes, familiar faces remain in many states.
Veteran investor Warren Buffett, who is worth $133 billion, is still Nebraska’s richest resident.
In New York, meanwhile, Michael Bloomberg is still the richest person in the state thanks to his eponymous media empire, with a fortune of $106 billion.
The Empire State is home to 139 billionaires, and Florida has 107.
However, California comes first with a whopping 197 billionaires.