FORBES 400
Who’s the Richest in the West?
For billionaire bucks, Wyoming wins.By David Frey, 10-05-09
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If Wyoming’s three richest families decided to boost the economy by giving all their money to fellow Cowboy State residents, each resident of Wyoming would walk away with $44,493.
That gives Wyoming the biggest chunk of billionaire dollars per capita in the country, according to Forbes magazine’s latest list of 400 wealthiest people in America.
It helps that Wyoming’s sparse population makes the state better known for wide-open spaces than urban squalor. It also helps that Wyoming is home to the richest family in the West.
Making Forbes’ list at No. 4 is Christy Walton and family, who have brought their $21.5 billion Wal-Mart fortune to Jackson, making them the wealthiest Westerners.
Two other billionaires call Wyoming home. Squeaking in at the bottom of the Forbes list are Conair’s Leandro Rizzuto, of Sheridan, with $1.2 billion, and TD Ameritrade’s J. Joseph Ricketts, of Little Jackson Hole, with a meager $1 billion. Combined, they add up to $23.7 billion.
Colorado boasts the most billionaires in the West – six of them. Top of the list is Denver’s Phil Anschutz, whose diversified businesses and investments ranked him at No. 37, with $6 billion. That’s despite the untimely death of Michael Jackson, whose comeback Anschutz was banking on.
Nevada’s four billionaires are led by Sands casino mogul Sheldon Adelson. His $9 billion fortune puts him at No. 26.
Three Montanans made the list. Austen S. Cargill, of Livingston, and Marianne Cargill Liebmann, of Bozeman, tied at No. 220, with $1.6 billion each, from the food giant Cargill, Inc. Hotelier Linda Pritzker, of St. Ignatius, ranked 236th with $1.5 billion. (Update: Make that four Montanans. Forbes also lists Missoula construction and mining magnate Dennis Washington. Washington’s $4.2 billion puts him at No. 61.)
Idaho’s only billionaire, Robert Earl Holding, Sun Valley’s oil and ski magnate, ranked 93rd, with 3.3 billion.
Pity poor New Mexico and Utah. They were among nine states no billionaire calls home. But don’t worry. As long as there’s a Santa Fe and a Park City, they’ll still come to visit.
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Comments
I refer to Herbert Allen of Allen & Co, a New York investment banker who also has a big spread in Sun Valley . Thanks to Herbie, we get glimpses of Warren Buffett and Rupert Murdoch in l'il ole Cody on occasion, among others. The other is Barron G. Collier , who's easily worth billions and has the esteemed Valley Ranch holdings, once considered its own village and still appearing on maps as such. His father , Barron Sr. was the legendary Collier county Florida ( Naples) landowner who owned more land in that state than anyone else, in addition to a whole bunch of banks, newspapers, and things like steamship lines and hotel chains. Barron Jr. is secretive , to say the least.
Having said all that , always treat these kinds of Forbes or Fortune 500 "who's who " moneymonger lists with a great deal of skepticism. What folks like this " have" and what they are " worth" are quite often widely different valuations, especially in the nether world of hiding wealth. It's easier to hide wealth in Wyoming than most other places north of the Cayman Islands.
Here's an omission, though, pointed out by Headwaters News.
"Dennis Washington lists Missoula as his address making him the fourth Montanan on the list."
Sure enough. Forbes ranks him, but seemed to forget to put him in the Montana roundup. A construction and mining magnate, Washington's $4.2 billion puts him at No. 61.
(Also worth noting, Washington's the only one I've noticed whose assets haven't dropped since last year. But they haven't risen, either.)
The only people that call it Little Jackson Hole are the rich folks from Jackson Hole that have never been there.