Very fortunate

Low-profile DFW billionaire reigns as the richest woman in the world

Alice Walton has a net worth estimated at $59 billion.

Photo courtesy of Wal-Mart

Fort Worth’s Alice Walton may keep a relatively low profile, but she’s got a high profile when it comes to her stature among the world’s billionaires.

A new ranking from China’s Hurun Report puts Walton at No. 1 among the world’s richest women and at No. 12 overall, with a net worth estimated at $59 billion as of January 31. She’s one of the heirs to the Walmart retail fortune.

In all, nearly 16 percent of the billionaires on the 2020 list are women.

Walton lands one spot ahead of Democratic presidential candidate and former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, whose net worth is estimated at $58 billion.

Walton sat at No. 18 on Hunan’s 2019 list, meaning she climbed six spots from last year to this year. Over the past five years, Walton has padded her wealth by $20 billion to $30 billion, according to the 2020 Hunan Report, released February 26.

Walton and her relatives reign as the world’s richest family, with a cumulative net worth of $208 billion as of January 31, the report says.

Three places behind Walton on this year’s list is the world’s second-richest woman, Françoise Bettencourt Meyers. With an estimated net worth of $56 billion, the L’Oreal cosmetics heiress and her family rank 15th overall.

The world’s third-richest woman, according to the Hunan Report, is MacKenzie Bezos, ex-wife of Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos. Her estimated net worth of $44 billion puts her in a tie for 22nd place worldwide.

The latest ranking from Forbes magazine lists Meyers as the richest woman in the world, holding down the No. 13 spot with a fortune estimated at $54.3 billion. Forbes puts Walton at No. 15 ($51.8 billion) and MacKenzie Bezos at No. 22 ($38.4 billion).

More Texans on the list
The second-ranked Texan on the Hunan list is Austin’s Michael Dell, chairman and CEO of Round Rock-based Dell Technologies Inc. At $28 billion, he’s tied for the No. 35 spot worldwide.

Parked at No. 3 in Texas and No. 68 globally are Dallas’ Elaine Marshall and her family, with an estimated net worth of $17 billion. The Marshalls control a hefty stake in Wichita, Kansas-based conglomerate Koch Industries.

Tied at No. 4 in Texas are Dallas banker and real estate investor Andy Beal, and West Texas sports mogul Stan Kroenke. With an estimated fortune of $9.4 billion, each appears at No. 194 on Hunan’s global list.

With an estimated net worth of $7.2 billion, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones ranks sixth in Texas and ties for 281st worldwide. (Since Beal and Kroenke are tied at No. 4, there is no fifth-ranked Texan.)

At No. 7 in Texas and No. 347 globally is Ann Walton Kroenke, wife of billionaire Stan Kroenke and an heir to the Walmart fortune. She has an estimated net worth of $6.2 billion.

Omni Hotels and Gold’s Gym honcho Robert Rowling of Dallas claims the No. 8 ranking in Texas and ties for No. 408 worldwide. His fortune is estimated at $5.6 billion.

Houston pipeline baron Richard Kinder stands at No. 9 in Texas and ties for No. 415 globally, with a net worth estimated at $5.5 billion.

Energy magnate Trevor Rees-Jones grabs the No. 10 spot in Texas and ties for the No. 425 spot worldwide. The Hunan Report pegs his net worth at $5.4 billion.

With an estimated fortune of $5.1 billion, tequila and hair care entrepreneur John Paul DeJoria of Austin checks in at No. 11 in Texas and ties for No. 464 globally.

Houston pipeline heirs Scott Duncan and Randa Williams are tied at No. 12 in Texas and No. 482 worldwide. Each has a net worth estimated at $5 billion. Their two Houston siblings, Dannine Avara and Milane Frantz, share the No. 14 spot in Texas and the No. 493 spot globally. Each has an estimated net worth of $4.9 billion.

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Windpower News

Texas leads U.S. on wind power and other renewable energy, report says

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A new report gives Texas high marks on its efforts in renewable energy, including the top ranking on wind power: Called Renewables on the Rise, the report is from Environment Texas Research & Policy Center, a nonprofit environmental advocacy group, and finds that Texas comes in at or near the top of the list in key areas including wind power, solar power, and number of EVs.

The report looks at the growth of six key clean energy technologies across the U.S. over the past decade: solar power, wind power, battery storage, energy efficiency, electric vehicles, and electric vehicle charging stations.

Texas rankings are as follows:

No. 1 in the U.S. for wind power generation
No. 2 for solar power generation
No. 2 for battery storage. The total number of EV charging ports in 2023 was 8,637.
No. 3 for the number of electric vehicle registrations through 2023. The total number of electric vehicle registrations in Texas in 2023 was 210,433 — up from 2022 when the total number of EVs was 149,000 vehicles. The number of EVs that were newly registered in Texas in 2023 was 61,433.

Texas has seen a more than 70-fold increase in the amount of electricity it gets from the sun and a nearly 95-fold increase in battery capacity since 2014. In 2023, wind and solar energy produced 31 percent of the state’s electricity.

The top 10 wind power states are as follows, in order:

Texas
Iowa
Oklahoma
Kansas
Illinois
Colorado
New Mexico
California
North Dakota
Minnesota

The lowest ranking states for windpower include Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Kentucky, and Washington DC.

The top 10 for 2023 EV registrations are as follows:

California
Florida
Texas
Washington
New Jersey
New York
Illinois
Georgia
Arizona
Colorado

The least EV-friendly state is North Dakota, which comes in at the bottom of the list along with Wyoming, South Dakota, Alaska, and West Virginia.

“Texas is truly setting the pace in the race toward 100% clean and renewable energy,” says Environment Texas Research & Policy Center City Hall Advocate Ian Seamans in a statement.

Beyond those top rankings in wind and solar energy, Texas has seen a 40-fold increase in the number of registered electric vehicles — helped along by supportive policies from the federal government, improving technologies, and falling prices, the report says.

Electric vehicles are also emerging as an important presence during the country's increasingly extreme weather, Seamans says.

”As climate change increases the severity of hurricanes, back-up power capable EVs are also increasingly becoming life-saving equipment to residents along the Texas coast,” he says.

In addition to highlighting states that have made the most progress in adopting renewable energy technologies, the research details the gains achieved nationally over the past decade.

America produces more than three times as much power from the sun, the wind and the earth as it did in 2014, with growth in all 50 states.

The analysis comes as Texas is set to receive $360 million from the federal government to interconnect the ERCOT grid with other southern states, potentially bringing cheap, clean, Texan energy to hundreds of thousands more.

“Millions of Americans and Texans are already reaping the benefits of the dramatic clean energy progress we’ve made so far,” Seamans says. “With federal tax credits turbocharging clean energy, now is the time for states to lean in to clean energy. In the upcoming legislative session we need legislators to cut the red tape for rooftop solar and reject efforts to hamstring the incredible growth of clean energy in Texas.”

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