Forbes magazine’s July 20, 2015 issue has an article titled “Billion-Dollar Bloodlines” that lists America’s 200 richest families. This list differs from the annual Forbes 400, which is based on individual wealth rather than family wealth. At the top of the list of wealthy families are familiar names like six members of the Walton family (#1 at $149 billion), four members of the Koch family (#2 at $86 billion), and three members of the Mars family (#3 at $80 billion).
At least eleven of the families on the Forbes list are involved in some aspect of Thoroughbred horse racing and at least five families on the list have deceased members who were prominent in the sport.
Forbes families with a presence in horse racing today:
Bass (#29, 4 family members, $8.2 billion) Ramona Bass
Brown (#20, 25 members, $12.8 billion) Laura Lee Brown (Hermitage Farm)
Dorrance (#17, 11 members, 13.6 billion) George W. Strawbridge Jr. and Charlotte Weber (Live Oak Stud)
Du Pont (#14, 3,500 members, $14.5 billion) Sarah Farish and son William Stamps Farish IV (Lane’s End Farm)
Hughes (#31, 3 members, $7.9 billion) B. Wayne Hughes (Spendthrift Farm)
Jackson (#116, 7 members, $2.4 billion) Barbara Banke (Stonestreet Farms)
Johnson (#46, 60 members, $6.3 billion) Diana Firestone (Newstead Farm)
Phipps (#44, 300 members, $6.6 billion) Ogden Mills Phipps and Stuart Janney
Rockefeller (#22, 200 members, $11 billion) Roy Jackson (Lael Stables)
Rooney (#193, 15 members, $1.2 billion) Shamrock Farm and Yonkers Raceway
Steinbrenner (#75, 5 members, $3.8 billion) Kinsman Stud Farm
Forbes families with deceased members who were a presence in horse racing:
Annenberg (#126, 15 family members, $2.1 billion) Walter Annenberg, once owner of the Daily Racing Form
Hunt (#15, 33 members, $14.2 billion) Nelson Bunker Hunt
Kluge (#49, 5 members, $6 billion) John Kluge (Morven Stud)
Lindner (#129, 7 members, $2 billion) Carl Lindner Jr.
Mellon (#21, 200 members, $11.5 billion) Paul Mellon (Rokeby Stables)
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