Walton family wealth makes them the richest family in the world: $513.4 billion in Bloomberg’s December 2025 ranking, with Walmart as the source. Abu Dhabi’s Al Nahyan ruling family stands second at $335.9 billion and Saudi Arabia’s Al Saud third at $213.6 billion.
The list mixes two kinds of fortune: stakes in companies that a family can name and sell, and royal estimates tied to state assets. Below, every dynasty gets its founder, founding year, the shares or assets behind the number and the structure that holds it together.
Richest Family in the World by the Numbers: Waltons at $513.4 Billion
The Walton family is the richest family in the world at $513.4 billion, up from $432.4 billion a year earlier, Bloomberg reported in December 2025 using prices from 9 December. It is the first family fortune above half a trillion dollars. The ten below hold about $2.0 trillion of the $2.9 trillion held by all 25 families on the list.
Bloomberg totals wealth across all branches of an extended family and excludes first-generation fortunes, single-heir fortunes and fortunes of unclear origin. Its entry threshold was $46.4 billion. Private companies carry no market price, so each figure is an estimate. This article is general information, not financial advice.
Ten Dynasties Side by Side: Founder, Founding Year, Fortune and Control
| # | Family | Company or state | Founder and year | Net worth (December 2025) | Stake or control |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Walton | Walmart | Sam Walton, 1962 | $513.4 billion | 44.11% of shares via Walton Enterprises |
| 2 | Al Nahyan | Abu Dhabi (ruling family) | In Abu Dhabi since 1793 | $335.9 billion | State assets, estimate |
| 3 | Al Saud | Saudi Arabia (ruling family) | Kingdom named 1932 | $213.6 billion | State holds 81.48% of Aramco |
| 4 | Al Thani | Qatar (ruling family) | State founded 1878 | $199.5 billion | State fund, estimate |
| 5 | Hermès (Dumas) | Hermès | Thierry Hermès, 1837 | $184.5 billion | 66.7% of capital, 76.0% of votes |
| 6 | Koch | Koch Inc. | Fred Koch, 1940 | $150.5 billion | Private company |
| 7 | Mars | Mars, Incorporated | Frank C. Mars, 1911 | $143.4 billion | Private company |
| 8 | Ambani | Reliance Industries | Dhirubhai Ambani, 1957 | $105.6 billion | Promoter group 49.11% |
| 9 | Wertheimer | Chanel | Gabrielle Chanel, 1910 | $85.6 billion | Private company |
| 10 | Thomson | Thomson Reuters | Roy Thomson, 1930s | $82.1 billion | About 70% via Woodbridge |
Rows 2 to 4 are state-linked. The other seven are company stakes that a filing or company report can confirm.
Ten Fortunes Ranked, One Dynasty at a Time
1. Walton: The Stake in 3.5 Billion Shares
Net worth: $513.4 billion | Shares: 3,516,197,849 | Founder: Sam Walton, 1962 | Vehicle: Walton Enterprises, LLC
Walmart went public in 1970 at $16.50 a share and listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1972, its history page records. The April 2026 proxy puts the family at about 44 percent of the company.
The proxy names 11 Walton family trustees across four management trusts, among them Rob, Jim, Alice and Lukas Walton. Walmart earned $22,270 million of net income on $713,163 million of revenue in the year to 31 January 2026.
2. Al Nahyan: A Presidency Handed On in a Day
Net worth: $335.9 billion | Type: ruling family | In Abu Dhabi: since 1793 | Next generation: Crown Prince Khaled
Sheikh Khalifa died on 13 May 2022. The next day the Federal Supreme Council met at Al Mushrif Palace and unanimously elected his brother Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed president under Article 51 of the constitution.
Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed is crown prince of Abu Dhabi. The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, created in 1976 with its mission enshrined in law, came five years after the UAE itself was formed in 1971.
3. Al Saud: Aramco Belongs to the State
Net worth: $213.6 billion | Type: ruling family | Government stake in Aramco: 81.48% | Generations (Bloomberg): 3
The Saudi government held 197,191 million of Aramco’s 242,000 million shares at 31 December 2025, an 81.48 percent direct stake. A June 2024 secondary offering sold about 1.7 billion shares, 0.7 percent of the company.
Aramco’s 2025 free cash flow was $85.4 billion and its adjusted net income $104.7 billion, it reported on 10 March 2026. That income flows through a state-controlled company, so the Al Saud estimate is an inference rather than a share count.
4. Al Thani: One Handover, Eight Generations
Net worth: $199.5 billion | Type: ruling family | State founded: 1878 | Fund: Qatar Investment Authority, 2005
Sheikh Jassim bin Mohammed bin Thani founded the modern State of Qatar in 1878, and Qatar celebrates 18 December for it. Sheikh Tamim became amir on 25 June 2013 after his father announced in an address that power would pass to his heir apparent.
The Qatar Investment Authority came from Amiri Decision No. 22 of 2005, started investing in 2006 and was reorganised by Decision No. 34 of 16 May 2023. Bloomberg counts eight generations, the longest line on the list.
5. Hermès: A Partnership Only Descendants Can Join
Net worth: $184.5 billion | Family group: 66.7% of capital, 76.0% of votes | Founder: Thierry Hermès, 1837 | Active partner: Émile Hermès SAS
Émile Hermès SAS has been the active partner since 1990, and its partners must descend from Émile-Maurice Hermès and his wife Julie Hollande. Each partner has to deposit 2,250 Hermès shares for every share held in the SAS, and transfers need approval.
The family group held 66.7 percent of the capital and 76.0 percent of theoretical votes at 31 December 2025, and holding company H51 has a priority right to buy shares that family members sell. Revenue reached €16 billion in 2025.
6. Koch: From Wood River to Georgia-Pacific
Net worth: $150.5 billion | Founder: Fred Koch, 1940 | Revenue: above $125 billion | Co-CEO: Charles Koch since 2023
Fred Koch developed a refining process in 1927, co-founded Wood River Oil and Refining Company in 1940 and bought Rock Island Oil & Refining in 1946. The Koch Industries name arrived in 1967, the year Charles took over.
Koch’s businesses now include Flint Hills Resources, Georgia-Pacific, Guardian Industries, INVISTA and Molex. Chase Koch started at the company at 15 digging post holes at a cattle feed yard in Syracuse, Kansas, and founded Koch Disruptive Technologies.
7. Mars: The 2001 Handover to Outside Managers
Net worth: $143.4 billion | Founder: Frank C. Mars, 1911 | Chicago plant: 1929 | Management: non-family since 2001
Frank Mars launched the Milky Way bar in 1923 after a conversation with his son Forrest Sr., and the company opened its Chicago plant in 1929. Forrest Sr. died in 1999, and his children Forrest Jr., John and Jacqueline led the next phase.
Mars bought Hotel Chocolat in 2024 and closed its $35.9 billion Kellanova deal, including net debt, on 11 December 2025. It describes itself as a $65 billion-plus family-owned business.
8. Ambani: Entities Behind 49.11 Percent
Net worth: $105.6 billion | Promoter group: 46 holders, 49.11% | Founder: Dhirubhai Ambani, 1957 | Chairman: Mukesh Ambani
Reliance listed 664,54,96,096 shares, 49.11 percent of the company, in the name of 46 promoter-group holders at 31 March 2026. Isha, Akash and Anant Ambani each hold 1,61,04,042 shares directly.
Dhirubhai Ambani began trading yarn in Mumbai in 1957, and Reliance’s 1977 offering sold out seven times over. In the year to March 2026 it earned ₹2,07,911 crore of EBITDA and ₹95,754 crore of net profit, the first Indian company above $10 billion. Read more in our profile of Mukesh Ambani’s net worth.
9. Wertheimer: A Board With an Outside Chair
Net worth: $85.6 billion | Founder: Gabrielle Chanel, 1910 | Free cash flow: $2,646 million | Director: Alain Wertheimer
Chanel Limited’s 2024 governance report describes a privately held group with a single shareholder. Alain Wertheimer sits on the board, a non-executive director chairs it, and Leena Nair is global chief executive.
Gabrielle Chanel bought 31 rue Cambon in 1918, and the perfume company was created in 1924. In 2025 Chanel spent $1,449 million on capital projects, opened more than 40 boutiques and put over $700 million into buying suppliers.
10. Thomson: A Trust Built by Kenneth Thomson
Net worth: $82.1 billion | Thomson Investments: 70.56% | Woodbridge: 67.91% | Founder: Roy Thomson, 1930s
Kenneth Thomson controlled the company through Woodbridge until he died in 2006, and his estate arrangements placed the holding company in a 2003 trust. At 9 April 2026 Thomson Investments Limited owned 312,518,088 shares, 70.56 percent.
Woodbridge alone held 300,790,959 of the 442,934,310 shares outstanding at 31 March 2026. Thomson combined with Reuters, whose first office dates to 1851, in 2008.
The Oldest Fortunes on the List and What Built Them
Ordered by the year each dynasty or business began, the ten run from 1793 to 1962:
- 1793: the Al Nahyan settle in Abu Dhabi.
- 1837: Thierry Hermès opens a horse-tack workshop in Paris.
- 1878: Sheikh Jassim founds the modern State of Qatar.
- 1910: Gabrielle Chanel opens a hat boutique at 21 rue Cambon.
- 1911: Frank Mars sells butter cream candy from a Tacoma kitchen.
- 1932: King Abdulaziz names the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
- 1930s: Roy Thomson buys The Timmins Press in Ontario.
- 1940: Fred Koch co-founds Wood River Oil and Refining.
- 1957: Dhirubhai Ambani starts trading yarn in Mumbai.
- 1962: Sam Walton opens the first Walmart in Rogers, Arkansas.
Only the Al Nahyan predate Hermès. The two oldest company fortunes began with a craftsman and a milliner, while the three youngest, Koch, Reliance and Walmart, began as a refiner, a trader and a single discount store.
Where a Royal Fortune Ends and the State Begins
The Al Nahyan, Al Saud and Al Thani figures measure influence over state wealth as much as ownership. ADIA and QIA are state bodies, and the Saudi government holds 81.48 percent of Aramco. Walmart’s proxy, by contrast, lists the exact shares held by Walton Enterprises. The two kinds of number are not one asset class.
Dividing the Fortune: Per-Head Arithmetic
A fortune split among heirs shrinks fast. Using documented family counts:
- Walton: $513.4 billion across the 11 trustees named in Walmart’s proxy is about $46.7 billion each.
- Hermès: $184.5 billion across 100 partners is $1.8 billion each, and the partnership was reorganised in 2021 to allow more than 100.
- Al Saud: $213.6 billion across about 15,000 extended members is $14.2 million each, though senior royals hold most of it.
Compare national wealth in our ranking of the richest country in the world.
Holding Structures Behind the Fortunes: Walton Enterprises, H51 and Woodbridge
Walton Enterprises, LLC is run by four WELLCO management trusts and held 44.11 percent of Walmart at 10 April 2026. Hermès family holding company H51 held 54.3 percent of Hermès, and Woodbridge held 67.91 percent of Thomson Reuters. Mars, Koch and Chanel have no public shares, so their families hold control directly or through private entities.
The structures share one purpose. They keep shares inside the family and make selling harder than keeping.
Succession Case Studies: Saudi Arabia, Thomson, Mars and Koch
- Saudi Arabia, 21 June 2017: a royal order relieved Mohammed bin Naif as crown prince and selected Mohammed bin Salman, citing the support of a majority of the Allegiance Commission.
- Thomson, 2006: Kenneth Thomson died at 82 and the trust he set up in 2003 kept the family holding company intact, per the Thomson Reuters company history and its annual report.
- Mars, 1999 to 2001: Forrest Mars Sr. died in 1999, and by 2001 the company was run by non-family management, its history page states.
- Koch, 1967: Fred Koch died and Charles Koch became chairman and chief executive, then co-CEO in 2023.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the richest family in the world?
The Walton family of Walmart, worth $513.4 billion in Bloomberg’s December 2025 ranking. Abu Dhabi’s Al Nahyan ruling family is second at $335.9 billion, an estimate that includes state-linked assets.
How many generations does each family span?
Bloomberg counts three generations for the Waltons, six for Hermès, five for Mars and eight for the Al Thani, the longest line. The Ambani family is the youngest at two.
Who is the richest family in India?
The Ambani family, at $105.6 billion, the only Indian family among the 25. Its promoter group owned 49.11 percent of Reliance at 31 March 2026.
