Forbes announced its annual listing of the 400 richest Americans on Tuesday, and it has six billionaires from Virginia among them. U.S. citizens have to have a minimum net worth of $3.3 billion to be included in the Forbes 400 list, which is an increase of $400 million from the 2023 list.
The combined net wealth of this exclusive group is an astounding record of $5.4 trillion, up about $1 trillion from 2023. Eleven people on the list have net worths above $100 billion.
This year’s top-ranked Virginian on the list is heiress Jacqueline Mars, a member of the family that founded the largest privately held firm in Virginia, the candy and pet care conglomerate Mars, based in McLean. Her grandpa, Frank C. Mars, founded the business. Jacqueline Mars, a resident of The Plains in Fauquier County, is placed No. 19 on Forbes’ list with a net worth of $47.6 billion. She owns an estimated third of the family firm, where she worked for nearly two decades and remained on its board until 2016.
With a net worth of $11.9 billion, her Alexandria-based niece Pamela Mars is the 77th richest American. Having joined the family business in 1986, Pamela Mars is presently the family representative for the Mars pet care division.
With a net worth of $4.7 billion, Winifred J. Marquart of Virginia Beach is the third-ranked Virginian on Forbes’ list, coming in at number 283. President of the Johnson Family Foundation, Marquart is the great-great-granddaughter of Samuel Curtis Johnson Sr., the Founder of S.C. Johnson & Son. The foundation provides funding for initiatives that benefit youth, education, and the environment.
Daniel D’Aniello, Co-founder of Carlyle Group, is the fourth wealthiest Virginian according to Forbes, ranked No. 319 with a $4.3 billion net worth. Vienna-based D’Aniello, who resigned as chairman of Carlyle in 2018, is still chairman emeritus of the international private equity firm where Virginia Governor, Glenn Youngkin served as CEO. Before co-founding Carlyle in 1987, Vietnam War veteran D’Aniello held positions with Pepsi, Marriott, and Trans World Airlines.
With a net worth of $3.9 billion, bitcoin billionaire, Michael Saylor, who Forbes identifies as residing in the Fairfax County town of Vienna, has stated in court documents that he resides in Florida. Saylor is rated No. 338 on the list. Saylor is the Founder and Chairman of MicroStrategy, a tech startup with headquarters in Tysons that is rumored to be the biggest corporate Bitcoin holder in the world.
With a net worth of $3.8 billion, McLean resident and Co-founder of the Carlyle Group, William Conway Jr. is the sixth richest Virginian and the 347th richest American, according to Forbes. Conway also held the position of chief financial officer for the now-defunct telecom firm MCI Communications.
With a net worth of $244 billion, Tesla CEO Elon Musk topped the list of the 400 richest Americans in the country for the third consecutive year, BrandSpur digital news platform reports.
Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, came in second with $197 billion. And with a net worth of $4.3 billion, former President Donald Trump, who did not make the cut in 2023, came in at No. 319 this year.
Forbes Senior editor, Chase Peterson-Withorn said in a statement: “The Forbes 400 is richer than ever, and it’s harder than ever to be one of the 400 richest people in America.”
