You may know who the richest person in the United States is (Bill Gates, naturally), or even who the wealthiest person in your state is. But do you know who wields the wealth in Iowa or Virginia or Hawaii? This is the third year in a row that we have put together this list and, not surprisingly, it actually doesn't change all that much from year to year. Bill Gates has been the richest person in Washington for over two decades. Same with Phil Knight of Oregon. Warren Buffett has been the richest person in Nebraska for nearly five decades!
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The Richest Person in Every State (2015)
1. Washington: Bill Gates – $86 billion (Microsoft)
2. Nebraska: Warren Buffett – $70.2 billion (Berkshire Hathaway)
3. California: Larry Ellison – $51.8 billion (Founder of Oracle)
4. Kansas: Charles Koch – $50 billion (Chairman of Koch Industries, largest private company in the US)
5. New York: David Koch – $50 billion (EVP of Koch Industries, largest private company in the US)
6. Wyoming: Christy Walton – $41 billion (Walmart)
7. Arkansas: Jim Walton – $40 billion (Walmart)
8. Texas: Alice Walton – $37.1 billion (Walmart)
9. Nevada: Sheldon Adelson – $25.5 billion (Las Vegas Sands casino)
10. Virginia: Jacqueline Mars – $24.4 billion (Mars Candy Company)
11. Oregon: Phil Knight – $23 billion (Nike)
12. Colorado: Charles Ergen – $19.4 billion (Founder of DISH Network)
13. Massachusetts: Abigail Johnson – $17.3 billion (Fidelity Investments)
14. Connecticut: Ray Dalio – $14 billion (Bridgewater Associates, investment management)
15. Oklahoma: Harold Hamm – $13.7 billion (Continental Resources, oil exploration)
16. Georgia: Anne Cox Chambers – $13.5 billion (Cox Enterprises, cable TV, radio, newspapers)
17. Missouri: Jack Taylor – $12.8 billion (Enterprise Rent-A-Car)
18. New Jersey: David Tepper $10.4 billion (hedge fund)
19. Michigan: Hank and Doug Meijer $10.9 billion (grocery stores)
20. Wisconsin: John Menard – $8.9 billion (Menards hardware and home improvement chain)
21. Hawaii: Pierre Omidyar – $7.8 billion (eBay)
22. North Carolina: James Goodnight – $7.7 billion (SAS Software)
23. Tennessee: Thomas Frist – $7.6 billion (Kentucky Fried Chicken, Hospital Corp of America)
24. Ohio: Leslie Wexner – $6.9 billion (Limited Brands, Victoria's Secret, Bath and Body Works)
25. Indiana: Carl Cook – $6.5 billion (Cook Group, medical equipment manufacturer)
26. Illinois: Ken Griffin – $6.5 billion (Citadel LLC hedge fund)
27. Florida: Micky Arison – $6.2 billion (Carnival Cruise Lines, Miami Heat)
28. Montana: Dennis Washington – $6.1 billion (The Washington Companies, mining, construction)
29. Arizona: Bruce Halle – $5.2 billion (Founder of Discount Tires)
30. Maryland: Ted Lerner – $4.6 billion (Lerner Enterprises, real estate, Washington Nationals)
31. Minnesota: Whitney MacMillan $4.3 billion (Cargill grain storage)
32. Vermont: John Abele $3.3 billion (founder Boston Scientific medical devices)
33. Pennsylvania: Mary Alice Dorrance Malone – $3.1 billion (Campbell Soup)
34. Iowa: Harry Stine $2.6 billion (Stine seed group)
35. Mississippi: Leslie Lampton – $2.4 billion (Ergon Inc, oil refinery and distribution)
36. Kentucky: Bradley Hughes – $2.4 billion (Public Storage)
37. South Carolina: Anita Zucker – $2.3 billion (Hudson's Bay Company, retail, Lord & Taylor)
38. Idaho: Scott Simplot $2.3 billion (fertilizer)
39. Rhode Island: Jonathan Nelson – $1.8 billion (Providence Equity Partners, investment management)
40. West Virginia: Jim Justice – $1.68 billion (Bluestone Industries, coal mining)
41. Louisiana: Tom Benson – $1.6 billion (Car dealerships, New Orleans Saints)
42. South Dakota: T. Denny Sanford – $1.3 billion (First Premier Bank, United National Corp)
43. Maine: Bill Alfond $1.2 billion & Susan Alfond $1.2 billion each (shoes)
44. Utah: Jon Huntsman Sr – $1.1 billion (The Huntsman Corporation, chemical industry)
45. New Hampshire: Andrea Reimann-Ciardelli $1 billion (chemicals, Coty cosmetics)
46. Alabama: Gary Drummond $980 million (mining)
47. New Mexico: Mack Chase $910 million (energy)
48. North Dakota: Gary Tharaldson – $900 million (Tharaldson Companies, hotels, real estate)
49. Delaware: Robert Gore – $830 million (Inventor of Gore-Tex)]
50. Alaska: Robert Gillam – $700 million (McKinley Capital, investment banking)
