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(#1) Mars, Incorporated
- Food processing, Confectionery and Nut Stores
Forrest Jr., Jacqueline, and John Mars each inherited 1/3 the fortune amassed from decades of selling M&Ms, Snickers, and Milky Way bars when their father and Mars candy founder, Forest Mars, Sr., passed in 1999.
By the time Mars Sr. passed, the Mars, Incorporated empire extended far beyond confections to other food products and consumer goods
Forrest Jr. passed in 2016 with an estimated worth of about $22.6 billion. Jacqueline narrowly avoided jail time after killing an 86-year-old woman in a 2013 car accident. In 2018, she and her brother are each worth almost $24 billion.
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(#2) Walmart
- Department store, Retail, Variety Stores
America's wealthiest family - the Waltons - are the descendants of Walmart founder, Sam Walton.
Sam had four children and when he passed in 1992, he divided his wealth equally among them. As of 2018, only James, Rob, and Alice are alive (John, the oldest son, passed in 2005), and each were listed among the wealthiest people in the world in 2017.
Their combined wealth was estimated at $163.2 billion in August 2018.
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(#3) Comcast
- Mass media, Telecommunications, Cable television, Cable and Other Pay Television Services
As the son of Comcast co-founder Ralph Roberts, Brian Roberts became CEO of the company in 1990.
Brian worked his way up in the company and earned what is now an apparent life-long appointment. Ralph passed in 2015, leaving his four children as heirs. However, Brian inherited the majority of his father's shares in 1999 and was valued at $1.8 billion in 2015.
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(#4) Firestone Tire and Rubber Company
- Manufacturing
As the daughter of Harvey S. Firestone, Martha Ford is 90 years old in 2018 and worth $1.3 billion.
Based in Ohio and founded by Firestone in 1900, Firestone Tires reached $1 million in profits a decade later. In 1926, his company was producing more than a quarter of all tires in the US. The Firestone Tire and Rubber Company merged with Bridgestone in 1988.
In 2018, Martha Ford - who is both Firestone's daughter and widow of Henry Ford's grandson, William C. Ford - owns the Detroit Lions.
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(#5) L'Oreal - Françoise Bettencourt-Meyers
Up until her death in 2017, Liliane Bettencourt was the wealthiest woman in the world. As the daughter and only living heir of Eugene Schueller - the French chemist who founded L'Oreal in 1909 - Bettencourt inherited the family's wealth after her father passed in 1957.
L'Oreal's originated as a hair dye company, but expanded through the 20th century incorporating innovation into the development of cosmetics and hair products. Bettencourt left her $44.7 billion fortune to her daughter, Françoise Bettencourt-Meyers.
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(#6) Fidelity Investments
- Investment banking, Financial Services
Heir to the Fidelity Investment fortune, Abigail Johnson is worth $13.1 billion in 2018. As the granddaughter of Fidelity's founder, Edward C. Johnson II, Abigail Johnson is the third generation of Johnson to head the company.
Abigail took over as Chief Executive Officer in 2014 and her wealth exceeded $17 billion in 2018. Her siblings, Elizabeth and Edward IV, remain shareholders. Her father, Edward III, who she replaced as CEO, still has a $8.6 billion fortune.
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(#7) Ferrero
Pietro Ferrero started selling chocolate in 1942 in Italy; mass-production began four years later. By 1949, Ferrero's son Michele joined his father's company, called Ferrero SpA, and helped turn it into a global enterprise during the 1950s.
Michele Ferrero is also behind the release of Nutella in 1964, Kinder chocolate in 1968, Tic Tacs in 1969, and Ferrero Rocher in 1982.
Michele Ferrero's two sons, Pietro and Giovanni, became co-CEOs in 1987 and after Pietro died in 2011, Giovanni took over as the head of the company. Michele Ferrero passed in 2015 and Giovanni stepped down as CEO two years later.
Giovanni is still executive chairman of Ferrero SpA and his wealth is estimated at $23.5 billion.
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(#8) IKEA - Peter, Jonas, And Mathias Kamprad
The sons of IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad - Peter, Jonas, and Mathias - now run the company that controls the furniture and meatball powerhouse. Ingvar founded IKEA in 1943 and the company grew into one of the world's largest furniture manufacturers over the subsequent decades.
Ingvar spent much of his life living simply, even though he was often considered one of the world's richest men. After he passed in 2018, his billions went to his three sons, who are now valued at about $1.1 billion each.
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(#9) ALDI
- Supermarket, Supermarket
Theo and Karl Albrecht founded the Aldi supermarket chain in 1948, driven by their modest backgrounds to build a discount option for consumers. Aldi stores - originally called Albrecht Discount but later shortened to its present name - expanded quickly and the brothers amassed a fortune.
The brothers split the Aldi franchises in 1961 after they butted heads about stocking tobacco products, and Theo acquired Trader Joe's in 1979, adding to his portfolio.
When Theo passed in 2010, his son - Theo Albrecht, Jr. - and the children of his deceased son Berthold inherited the elder Albrecht's fortune. Amid family squabbles over spending, Theo Albrecht, Jr. and his family are valued at $17.3 billion as of 2018.
Karl Albrecht's descendants, his son Karl, Jr. and daughter Beate Heister, inherited his fortune after he passed in 2014. In 2018 they are worth $25.2 billion.
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(#10) BMW
- Motor Vehicles and Passenger Car Bodies, Automotive industry
The Quandt Family - once headed by Herbert Quandt, the patriarch who turned BMW into a global powerhouse - owns the majority of BMW's shares. After Herbert Quandt passed in 1982, his ex-wife, Johanna, and their two children, Stephan and Susanne, continued to have a large role in the BMW corporation.
In 2014, the Quandt family fortune was estimated to be around $39 billion. Johanna passed in 2015, but as of 2018 Stephan still serves as executive chairman of the BMW supervisory board.
Currently, Stephan's wealth is estimated at $19.1 billion. Susanne (Quandt) Klatten, who also runs the German chemical company Altana, is Germany's wealthiest woman with $22.1 billion.
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(#11) Cox Enterprises
- Mass media, Television Broadcasting, Telecommunications, Newspaper, Cable television
Anne Cox Chambers - daughter of James M. Cox, who founded Cox Enterprises in 1898 - co-ran the family business with her sister, Barbara, after the death of their brother in 1971.
As Cox Enterprises took control of companies like AutoTrader, the family's wealth grew immensely. Anne was valued at $17 billion before she gave her money to her children in 2015. James Cox Chambers, Katharine Anne Johnson Rayner, and Margaretta Johnson Taylor each got $5.1 billion.
As of 2016, James M. Cox's five grandchildren - Anne's kids along with Barbara Cox's two children, James C. Kennedy and Blair Parry-Okeden - control the family's $41 billion empire.
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(#12) Hearst Corporation
- Mass media, Newspaper, Periodical Publishing, Periodicals: Publishing, or Publishing and Printing
William Randolph Hearst built his media empire through sensational exaggeration, dominating newspapers, radio, and television throughout the early 20th century.
His son, William Randolph Hearst Jr., and grandson, William Randolph Hearst III, carried on the tradition and as of 2016, the Hearst Corporation has a stake in "46 newspapers, nearly 340 magazines around the globe, and valuable stakes in cable TV channels ESPN, Lifetime and A&E.”
The family, valued at $28 billion, splits that fortune among 67 members, although William Randolph Hearst III holds a significant portion of their total wealth.
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(#13) Cargill
- Food processing, Farm Product Raw Material Merchant Wholesalers
Descendants of William W. Cargill, founder of the Minnesota-based Cargill agriculture commodities company, share their family wealth with members of the MacMillan clan thanks to the business acumen of John MacMillan.
After Cargill passed in 1909, his son-in-law, John MacMillan, took charge of the company and expanded its reach across the United States. Members of the MacMillan family ran Cargill until 1995, and as of 2016, MacMillans hold roughly 1/3 of the seats on Cargill's board.
According to Forbes, the Cargill-MacMillans had 14 billionaires in their ranks in 2015, including James Cargill II ($4.6 billion) and Pauline MacMillian Keinath ($8 billion).
The family's reclusive nature makes it somewhat difficult to assess the full extent of their wealth.
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(#14) SC Johnson
As the children of Samuel Curtis Johnson, Jr. - great-grandson of Samuel Curtis Johnson, Sr. - Fisk, Helen, S. Curtis, and Winnie are each worth $3.5 billion in 2018.
Samuel Curtis Johnson Sr. started in the flooring business in the 1880s, a venture he turned into an opportunity to innovate floor care. Johnson developed a wax for flooring that became immensely popular. He brought his son Herbert into his business in 1892.
SC Johnson & Son grew over the course of the 20th century, introducing new products like Off! Bug Spray, Glade air freshener, and Pledge furniture polish along the way.
The family company is now run by Fisk (full name Herbert Fisk Johnson III), a fifth generation Johnson. He and his siblings, Helen Johnson-Leipold, S. Curtis, and Winnie Johnson-Marquart, are major shareholders in the company.
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Many young heirs of well-known billionaires, including the children of the wealthiest people in technology and business, will receive large fortunes in the future. At the same time, some billionaires have pledged to donate part or half of their wealth. Many of these children are expected to inherit billions of dollars in inheritance from their super-wealthy parents or grandparents, while others will receive smaller cuts due to their parents' decision.
Since modern society, many people have accumulated wealth in history with the help of outstanding investment vision and perfect investment timing. Their heirs have gained experience with the help of their elders and are about to inherit the family business. The random tool lists 14 billionaire descendants who are going to inherit their families' companies.
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