The 20 wealthiest US billionaires and their family offices

The first single family offices – the investment firms of wealthy families – were established in the United States. The Rockefeller family established the first family investment firm. Today, there are hundreds of important single family offices in the United States. On this page, we examine the wealthiest US billionaires and their investment behaviour. Especially when they manage their wealth through a personal family office. Mentioned single family offices are also part of our unique list of the most important US single family offices.

#1: Elon Musk Family Office, $342BN Net Worth

The famous entrepreneur and engineer Elon Musk, the man behind Tesla, SpaceX, and XCorp, whose fortune consists almost entirely of shares in Tesla, runs a secret single family office, although he says he’s not active as an investor. It is called Excession and manages his complex personal and financial affairs.

#2: Walton Family Office, $260BN Net Worth (combined)

The Waltons are the richest non-royal family in the world. Their business, Walmart, has grown rapidly since 1962 and now generates more than $650 billion in revenue. Sam Walton’s children, Jim, Alice, and Ben, manage their wealth through a number of family offices. They invest in a variety of vehicles, primarily in late and early-stage private equity investments in the energy and energy technology sectors. Ben Walton’s family office invests in sustainable solutions to environmental and social problems.

#3: Jeff Bezos Family Office, $215BN Net Worth

Jeff Bezos made his $215 billion fortune through his online retailer and internet company Amazon. Today, Amazon employs nearly 1.5 million people and has annual revenues of $350 billion. He also owns The Washington Post, the Bezos Family Office, and the Blue Origin aerospace company. Bezos Expeditions invests in promising start-ups and philanthropic causes.

#4: Marc Zuckerberg Family Office, $215BN Net Worth

Mark Zuckerberg is, founder of the world’s leading social network, Facebook. The success of Facebook and Meta has made Zuckerberg one of the world’s richest people. In particular, he became the world’s youngest billionaire in 2007. Today, his net worth stands at $216 billion. Zuckerberg acts as a venture capital investor himself and has made several deals with other famous tech entrepreneurs through a multi-family office.

#5: Larry Ellison Family Office, $192BN Net Worth

With Oracle, Larry Ellison created one of the largest database service providers. The company now employs more than 159,000 people and has a turnover of $50 billion. Ellison has a relatively secretive single-family office that manages his investments. He owns a family office in Walnut Creek, which is known to be a venture capital and private equity investor.

#6: Warren Buffett Family Office, $154BN Net Worth

Warren Buffett is probably the world’s most famous investor. His investment company, Berkshire Hathaway, owns a wide range of successful businesses. For example, Berkshire owns Fruit of the Loom, GEICO, and minority stakes in large companies such as Coca-Cola and Bank of America. Berkshire Hathaway also has stakes in non-American companies such as the Chinese car manufacturer BYD and the Japanese Mitsubishi Corporation.

#7: Larry Page Family Office, $144BN Net Worth

Google, the most frequently used search engine on the World Wide Web, generates yearly revenues of $300BN. Co-founder Larry Page likes to invest his profits in rather uncommon areas such as space exploration and flying cars. Page is also active in philanthropy, channeling investments through his Carl Victor Page Memorial Foundation. The foundation supports a range of social causes, including education, healthcare, poverty alleviation, and family welfare.

#8 Koch Family Office, $141BN Net Worth (combined)

The Koch family, one of America’s wealthiest, earned their fortune primarily through Koch Industries, a massive private conglomerate involved in industries like energy, chemicals, and finance. Julia Koch has an estimated net worth of $64.3BN. but no personal family office. Charles Koch, the son of the founder, has a net worth of $53BN. Next to his family office, he also has a philanthropic foundation.

#9: Sergey Brin Family Office, $138BN Net Worth

Google’s second co-founder, Sergey Brin, runs a real estate-related single-family office based in Los Altos but also makes deals in his role as a venture capital investor. He has recently expanded his investment focus to include ESG-compliant investments.

#10: Steve Ballmer Family Office, $120BN Net Worth

Serving as the CEO of Microsoft, Steve Ballmer could generate a fortune of $120BN. Since the sale of his Twitter shares in 2018, he claims not to be interested in investments anymore. Nevertheless, he bought the Los Angeles Clippers basketball team for $2 billion in 2014 and runs philanthropic activities through his “Ballmer Group”.

#11: Mars Family Office, $117BN Net Worth (combined)

The family behind the large confectionery company Mars Inc. The company is also a major player in the pet food industry. Today, the company employs more than 150,000 people worldwide and is expected to generate revenues of $47 billion by 2023. The family operates highly secret regarding their investment activities. They invest most of their profits back into their leading confectionery and pet food firm.

#12: Bill Gates Family Office, $108BN Net Worth

By founding Microsoft, Bill Gates created (together with Paul Allen) one of the most important software companies in the world. With $211BN in revenues and many different business lines, Microsoft is the most important provider of computer operating systems. Bill Gates’ Family Office manages more than $40 billion and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Trust Endowment. It has a strong focus on stock investments.

#13: Michael Bloomberg Family Office, $105BN Net Worth

Michael Bloomberg founded one of the most important financial data and media firms in the world, Bloomberg LP. The company’s annual revenues are estimated to be around $12 billion, forming the foundation of Bloomberg’s wealth. To this day, he retains an 88% ownership stake in the company. The business success allows his single family office to invest in start-ups and many other different asset classes. It also coordinates his philanthropic assets, like his Giving Pledge, which he joined together with Bill Gates and Warren Buffett.

#14: Jensen Huang Family Office, $100BN Net Worth

Jensen Huang co-founded Nvidia in 1993 and has led as CEO for 30 years. Under his leadership, Nvidia’s GPUs became essential in gaming, but Huang’s early focus on AI revolutionized the company’s role in tech. By June 2024, Nvidia’s market cap reached $3 trillion, solidifying its position in both gaming and AI. Huang, who owns about 3% of Nvidia, saw his net worth climb to $118 billion by October 2024.

#15: Michael Dell Family Office, $100BN Net Worth

After first concentrating on selling IBM computers, Michael Dell established a world-class manufacturing company for hardware. With offices in New York, Santa Monica, and West Palm Beach, the family office specializes in leveraged buyouts, growth capital, real estate, and private equity.

#16: Jeffrey Yass Family Office, $59BN Net Worth

#17: Stephen Schwarzman Family Office, $44.4BN. Net Worth

Stephen Schwarzman is the chairman, co-founder, and CEO of Blackstone, an investment firm managing over $950 billion in assets. Alongside Peter Peterson, he co-founded Blackstone in 1985, which has since grown into one of the world’s largest private equity firms. As of February 2024, Schwarzman’s net worth is estimated at $38.8 billion, making him one of the top 50 richest people globally, according to Forbes.

#18: Phil Knight Family Office, $35.4 BN Net Worth

The founder of the world’s leading sports goods producer Nike is involved in a New York-based family office that invests in middle-market companies active in the fields of consumer, retail, distribution, industrial, media and communication. Phil Knight also owns the stop motion film production company Laika.

#19: Len Blavatnik Family Office, $30BN Net Worth

Len Blavatnik’s fortune is built on profitable investments in very small but now very successful companies, including Facebook, Amazon, and Spotify. Today, the firm invests in biotechnology, entertainment, real estate, technology ventures and private equity. Its current portfolio includes media companies such as DAZN, Warner Music Group, and A24.

#20: Mackenzie Scott Family Office, $28BN. Net worth

MacKenzie Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, was married to him for 25 years before their separation in 2019. As part of the divorce settlement, she received a 25% stake in Amazon. Despite her extensive philanthropic efforts, her wealth has since grown to approximately $35.6 billion, making her one of the five richest women in America.

Picture source: Maarten van den Heuvel