Eye on the ball

Texas Rangers score $1.85 million at charity gala starring Darius Rucker

Texas Rangers Six Shooters were there to cheer with the crowd.

Photo courtesy of Texas Rangers

The Texas Rangers Baseball Foundation hit a grand slam with the 2022 TEX Gala, presented by Choctaw Casinos & Resorts at Globe Life Field in Arlington. The second annual event raised $1.85 million for the foundation's community initiatives, $200,000 more than last year's inaugural ball.

About 1,150 guests braved the heat on the evening of Monday, June 20, making the night a sell-out. Many showed their Rangers spirit by donning their best red, white, and blue.

Rangers players and their wives and significant others in attendance included Brett and Haley Martin, Brock Burke and Katie Wilson, Sam Huff and Katie Hess, Dane and Rachel Dunning, Nathaniel Lowe and Brenna Karwich, Jonah and Kenzie Heim, and Kole and Jennifer Calhoun.

VIPs started with a private cocktail hour in the Lexus Home Plate Club. Then the masses arrived for a larger cocktail hour, at which they posed at photo booths, purchased Kendra Scott jewelry mystery bags, and played on the Choctaw game tables.

Attendees had the opportunity to bid on terrific live and silent auction items that included exclusive Rangers experiences and an assortment of sports and Hollywood memorabilia.

A multicourse dinner featuring prime cut beef, chicken, mashed potatoes, vegetables, and an assortment of plated desserts was served on the playing surface of the Rangers' stadium.

Then members of the Rangers organization and foundation — including executives Karin Morris and Neil Leibman, and announcer Emily Jones — took the stage to underscore their mission in the greater Dallas-Fort Worth area. David Hogg, Sr. talked about his son’s experience at a Texas Rangers Youth Academy, one of the beneficiaries of the gala.

The Texas Rangers Six Shooters were there to cheer with the crowd throughout the fundraising efforts (like a spirited game of "Heads or Tails").

The highlight of the night was a live performance from three-time Grammy Award winner Darius Rucker. To the delight of fans, he opened with his song "Alright" and ran through his many hits until he ended with a rousing cover of Prince’s "Purple Rain."

Earlier in the day, Texas Rangers players Taylor Hearn, Jon Gray, and Dane Dunning had presented Rucker with a custom powder blue jersey. Rucker also met former MLB and Rangers legends Iván “Pudge” Rodríguez and Ferguson Jenkins.

Since its founding in 1991, the foundation has invested more than $50 million in the community. The nonprofit provides funding for children, the military, first responders and their families, and more.

Sam Huff and Katie Hess

Photo by Bailey Orr

Sam Huff and Katie Hess

Tops in Texas

Dallas makes top 10 list of cities with most millionaires in America

Photo courtesy of Dallas Cowboys

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Dallas is rolling in millionaires and a new list offers the proof: A study of the Top 10 Wealthiest Cities in USA by residency and citizenship consultant Henley & Partners puts Dallas at No. 6 — home to 72,400 millionaires as of December 2024.

As if that's not enough, Dallas also has 135 centi-millionaires — meaning they're worth $100 million or more — and 16 billionaires.

According to the study, the number of millionaires in Dallas grew 85 percent from 2014 to 2024.

The study pointed out that Dallas “has seen very strong wealth growth over the past two decades, driven in part by the relocation of several major corporate headquarters to the city. Prominent companies based in the Dallas-Fort Worth area include AT&T, CBRE, Caterpillar, American Airlines, Charles Schwab, and Texas Instruments.”

Houston was the richest city in Texas, coming in at no. 5 and beating Dallas by one place. Austin just squeezed in at 10th place but is rushing to catch up: It had the greatest increase in number of richy-rich in the past decade.

Here’s the rundown for Houston and Austin:

Houston — 81,800 millionaires, 210 centi-millionaires, and 16 billionaires. Millionaire growth rate from 2014 to 2024: 75 percent.
Austin — 32,000 millionaires, 90 centi-millionaires, and 10 billionaires. Millionaire growth rate from 2014 to 2024: 90 percent.

In its comments about Houston, the study pointed out that “America’s energy capital, Houston, is a global leader in engineering and aeronautics. It is also home to 24 Fortune 500 companies — the third-highest number among U.S. cities, after New York and Chicago."

Regarding Austin, the study said: “With its booming tech sector, Austin has been dubbed ‘Silicon Hills.’ Several major tech companies have moved their headquarters to the city over the past decade, most notably Tesla. Texas’s low state taxes add to Austin’s appeal. While wealth growth in the city has slowed over the past couple of years, it remains very impressive when viewed over the past decade as a whole.”

New York City topped the overall list, boasting 384,500 millionaires, 818 centi-millionaires and 66 billionaires. But Texas is the only state with three millionaire hubs in the top 10.

On a separate Henley & Partners list, Houston took the No. 5 spot for the most centi-millionaires in the U.S. Dallas ranked seventh and Austin ranked 12th.

study reports