Texas’ New Billionaire Rankings: A Modest Woman Blows Away Mark Cuban, Tilman Fertitta, Jerry Jones and All the Rest

The new billionaire rankings have been revealed — and in Texas, the lady rules. In fact, the richest woman in Texas possesses a fortune that far surpasses the prodigious net worths of better-known fellow billionaires Rich Kinder ($7.2 billion), Jerry Jones ($5.2 billion), Mark Cuban ($3.4 billion) and Tilman Fertitta ($2.9 billion) combined.

Alice Walton — the Walmart heiress who calls Fort Worth home — carries a whopping $33.8 billion net worth in Forbes magazine’s new billionaire rankings, making her the richest person in Texas, and the 17th richest in the entire world. Not that she’d ever boast about it. Walton was known for living in a relatively modest single-story home in horse country outside of Fort Worth (before a recent “downsizing” move into the city). OK, the house happens to be on the grounds of Walton’s $20 million Rocking W Ranch, a sprawling 1,436-acre spread on the Brazos River.

Still, it’s not something that would ever be featured on a throwback episode of MTV Cribs.

Walton is certainly less showy than the second richest Texan, computer giant Michael Dell, who comes in with a net worth of $20.4 billion. Dallas business tycoon (and Donald Trump advisor) Andrew Beal ranks third with a $10.4 billion net worth, a cool billion higher than his 2016 number.

The ranks of the world’s billionaires swelled from 1,810 to 2,043 in 2017, the largest increase in 31 years.

The highest ranked Houstonian on the billionaire list — Rich Kinder — saw a near $2 billion gain, from $5.4 billion in 2016 to $7.2 billion in 2017.

The most visible, headline-grabbing Texas billionaires tend to be a little further down the rankings. Jones shows that owning the Dallas Cowboys is the gift that never stops giving. The money-making clout of America’s Team puts him far ahead of fellow billionaire sports owners Bob McNair (Texans, $3.5 billion), Mark Cuban (Mavericks, $3.4 billion) and Leslie Alexander (Rockets, $1.9 billion).

Then, there’s Houston TV tycoon Tilman Fertitta, whose $2.9 billion net worth and 693rd world ranking only begin to suggest his real influence. Forget Cuban and his constant political self promoting, Fertitta is your real dark horse potential future presidential candidate some day.

Of course, anyone in the billionaire rankings already has plenty of power.

There are more billionaires than ever before. The ranks of the world’s billionaires swelled from 1,810 to 2,043 in 2017, the largest percentage increase in 31 years according to Forbes’ calculations. Bill Gates continues his stranglehold over the title of the world’s richest human, ranking No. 1 for the fourth straight year — and 18th time in the last 23 years.

Gates’ net worth? A staggering $86 billion. Warren Buffet ($75.6 billion) and Amazon king Jeff Bezos ($72.8 million) are two and three respectively.

In this world, it’s go obscenely rich or go home.