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Dallas-Fort Worth billionaire loses crown as richest person in Texas, Forbes says

Alice Walton is no longer the richest person in Texas.

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Eclectic entrepreneur Elon Musk has officially knocked Walmart heiress Alice Walton of Fort Worth off her longtime perch as the richest person in Texas.

On April 6, Forbes released its 2021 list of the world’s billionaires. Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, landed at No. 2 globally with a net worth of $151 billion. He sat at No. 31 in last year’s ranking. Forbes lists Musk’s place of residence as Austin, although he hasn’t confirmed where in Texas he settled last year.

Now at No. 2 in Texas is Walton, whose net worth is $61.8 billion. That puts her at No. 17 on the global list.

Walton is the only daughter of Walmart founder Sam Walton; as of December 2020, the Walton family still reigned as the richest family in the U.S., with Alice Walton's wealth accounting for a little over one-fourth of the family fortune.

The only other Texan who comes close to Musk and Walton in the Forbes ranking is Michael Dell. The chairman and CEO of Round Rock-based Dell Technologies boasts a net worth of $45.1 billion. That places him at No. 30 on the global list and No. 3 in Texas.

In all, the Forbes list features 64 Texas billionaires collectively worth $460.1 billion. (What pandemic?) Among the state’s metro areas, Dallas-Fort Worth leads with 27 billionaires, followed by Houston (17), Austin (10), and San Antonio (three).

Aside from Walton, These Dallas-Fort Worth billionaires have made the 2021 list. The list includes their source of wealth, global ranking, and estimated net worth.

Dallas:

Jerry Jones, Dallas Cowboys owner, No. 264, $8.9 billion
Andy Beal, banking and real estate, No. 311, $7.9 billion
Mark Cuban, online media and Dallas Mavericks owner, No. 655, $4.4 billion
Ray Lee Hunt, oil and real estate, No. 680, $4.2 billion
Margot Birmingham Perot, technology and real estate, No. 705, $4.1 billion
Trevor Rees-Jones, oil and gas, No. 727, $4 billion
Robert Rowling, Omni Hotels and Gold’s Gym, No. 752, $3.9 billion
Kelcy Warren, pipelines, No. 891, $3.4 billion
H. Ross Perot Jr., real estate, No. 1,174, $2.7 billion
Gerald Ford, banking, No. 1,249, $2.5 billion
Ray Davis, pipelines, No. 1,517, $2.1 billion
W. Herbert Hunt, oil, No. 1,580, $2 billion
Todd Wagner, online media, No. 1,664, $1.9 billion
Stephen Winn, real estate services, No. 1,664, $1.9 billion
Kenny Troutt, telecom, No. 2,035, $1.5 billion
Darwin Deason, software, No. 2,141, $1.4 billion
Timothy Headington, oil and gas/investments, No. 2,141, $1.4 billion
A. Jayson Adair, car salvage business, No. 2,674, $1 billion

Fort Worth:

Robert Bass, oil and investments, No. 550, $5.1 billion
David Bonderman, private equity, No. 705, $4.1 billion
Sid Bass, oil and investments, No. 1,064 $2.9 billion
Donald Horton, homebuilding, No. 1,299, $2.4 billion
Edward Bass, oil and investments, No. 1,444, $2.2 billion
Lee Bass, oil and investments, No. 1,664, $1.9 billion
John Goff, real estate, No. 2,263, $1.3 billion

Mark and Robyn Jones of Westlake, who derive their wealth from the insurance industry, appear at No. 1,249 on the Forbes list with an estimated net worth of $2.5 billion.

Here is a breakdown of Texas billionaires in other major cities:

Austin:

Elon Musk, Tesla and SpaceX, No. 2, $151 billion
Michael Dell, technology, No. 30, $45.1 billion
Robert F. Smith, private equity, No. 451, $6 billion
Bert “Tito” Beveridge, vodka, No. 622, $4.6 billion
Thai Lee, information technology, No. 956, $3.2 billion
Joe Liemandt, software, No. 1,008, $3 billion
John Paul DeJoria, hair care and tequila, No. 1,174, $2.7 billion
Jim Breyer, venture capital, No. 1,249, $2.5 billion
David Booth, mutual funds, No. 1,750, $1.8 billion
Whitney Wolfe Herd, Bumble dating app, No. 2,263, $1.3 billion

Houston:

Richard Kinder, pipelines, No. 369, $7 billion
Dannine Avara, pipelines, No. 451, $6 billion
Robert Brockman, software, No. 451, $6 billion
Scott Duncan, pipelines, No. 451, $6 billion
Milane Frantz, pipelines, No. 451, $6 billion
Randa Duncan Williams, pipelines, No. 451, $6 billion
Tilman Fertitta, Houston Rockets owner/food/entertainment, No. 622, $4.6 billion
Dan Friedkin, Toyota dealerships, No. 705, $4.1 billion
Janice McNair, Houston Texans owner and energy, No. 705, $4.1 billion
John Arnold, hedge funds, No. 925, $3.3 billion
Jeffery Hildebrand, oil, No. 1,580, $2 billion
Leslie Alexander, former Houston Rockets owner, No. 1,750, $1.8 billion
Fayez Sarofim, money management, No. 2,035, $1.5 billion
Jim Crane, Houston Astros owner and logistics, No. 2,141, $1.4 billion
Wilbur “Ed” Bosarge Jr., high-speed trading, No. 2,674, $1 billion

Two billionaires in the Houston suburbs also show up on the list:

Leo Koguan of Sugar Land, information technology services, No. 1,444, $2.2 billion
George Bishop of The Woodlands, oil and gas, No. 1,517, $2.1 billion

San Antonio:

Christopher “Kit” Goldsbury, salsa and private equity, No. 1,833, $1.7 billion
James Leininger, medical products, No. 2,035, $1.5 billion
Red McCombs, real estate/oil/car dealerships/sports/radio, No. 2,035, $1.5 billion

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Texas ranks among worst states to have a baby, new report says

Photo by Camylla Battani on Unsplash

The best places to have a baby are in the Midwest and the Northeast, not the South, according to the report.

Texas might be a family friendly state, but it certainly isn't baby friendly, according to a new WalletHub study.

Texas earned a dismal rank as No. 45 in WalletHub's 2026 report "Best and Worst States to Have a Baby," which compared all 50 states and the District of Columbia based on 31 "baby friendliness" metrics, such as affordability, health care accessibility, infant care costs, and others.

The top five best states to have a baby, in order, are: Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Dakota, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire.

Texas ranked 7th worst overall in the U.S. because of how expensive it is to have a child in the state, and because of its low prevalence of healthcare professionals for mothers and children relative to other states.

Across the four main categories in the report, Texas landed 47th nationally for its medical costs, 42nd in healthcare quality, and its baby- and family-friendliness both ranked 34th best in the country.

WalletHub says the average cost for a conventional delivery in the U.S. comes out to more than $15,700, and families with health insurance have an average out-of-pocket cost of about $2,600. The report doesn't break down state-by-state charges, but it ranked Texas 35th and 36th respectively in the national comparisons of states with the lowest costs for hospital cesarean and conventional deliveries.

The cost of childcare is another factor bringing down the state's overall performance, as WalletHub says Texas has the 23rd "best" annual cost of early childcare on average.

Here's how the report broke down the rest of Texas' ranking:

No. 27 – Parental leave policy score
No. 27 – Infant mortality rate
No. 28 – Rate of low-birth weight
No. 44 – Midwives and OB-GYNs per capita
No. 36 – Pediatricians and family medicine physicians per capita
No. 33 – Childcare centers per capita

According to WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo, expecting families should consider living in the states that "minimize costs while providing top-notch care for both newborns and their mothers."

"[The best states] also continue to be good environments for parents even long after the birth, with high-quality pediatric care, affordable and accessible child care, and a strong economic environment that makes providing for a child easier,” Lupo said.

Mississippi (No. 51), Alabama (No. 50), Florida (No. 49), New Mexico (No. 48), Nevada (No. 47), and South Carolina (No. 46) all join Texas at the bottom of the list as the worst states to have a baby.

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