Rich Getting Richer

Dallas-Fort Worth cashes in with big increase in ultra-wealthy residents

DFW's ultra-rich population is on the rise.

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Just as Dallas-Fort Worth’s population is growing rapidly, so too is its population of ultra-wealthy people.

A report released October 7 by Wealth-X shows that DFW saw the biggest jump in super-rich residents — 17 percent from 2018 to 2019 — among U.S. metro areas with the largest populations of ultra-high-net-worth individuals.

The data shows that DFW was home to 3,165 ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) individuals last year, landing it at No. 10 among ultra-wealthy cities in the world.

Wealth-X, which which provides data and analysis about wealthy consumers, defines UHNW as those with a net worth of more than $30 million.

Included in the Metroplex's ultra-wealthy crowd are 14 billionaires who earned spots on this year’s edition of the Forbes 400. Leading the DFW pack is Walmart heiress Alice Walton of Fort Worth, with a net worth estimated at $66.5 billion as of October 6. Among Texas’ metro areas, DFW boasts the most billionaires.

New York City topped Wealth-X’s worldwide list, with 10,435 UHNW individuals. Other U.S. metros joining DFW and NYC in the global top 10 are Los Angeles; Chicago; San Francisco; and Washington, D.C. Hong Kong, Tokyo, Paris, and London round out the list.

The average net worth of a UHNW individual in 2019 was $122 million. Billionaires represented just 1 percent of the global UHNW population, yet their cumulative wealth amounted to a 27 percent share ($9.4 trillion).

According to the report, the worldwide ultra-wealthy sector expanded by 290,720 people from 2018 to 2019, an increase of 9.5 percent. Meanwhile, their combined net worth climbed 9.7 percent to $35.4 trillion.

North America witnessed the most substantial UHNW gains from 2018 to 2019. The number of ultra-wealthy individuals rose 14.5 percent to 105,080, representing a 36 percent share of the global UHNW class. In the same period, the collective net worth of UHNW individuals in North America shot up by 14.4 percent to $12.4 trillion.

The economic upheaval caused by the coronavirus pandemic has shifted the wealth landscape, though. For instance, Wealth-X says North America’s UHNW population dipped by 1 percent from December 2019 to August 2020, and their wealth shrank by 3 percent.

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Texas shocks as America's No. 3 least safe state in 2026 report

Photo by Hiroshi Kimura on Unsplash

Texas ranks as the 48th "safest" state — out of 50.

While no state is invulnerable, some do more to protect their residents than others. And a new study has declared Texas one of the five least safe states in America.

WalletHub's "Safest States in America (2026)" report examined all 50 states for their emergency preparedness and for residents' personal and residential, financial, workplace, and road safety. Factors that weighed into the rankings include specific crime rates per capita, the share of the population that is uninsured, road quality ratings, workplace injury statistics, and more.

Texas ranked at the bottom of the list as the 48th "safest" state — or the third least safe state. It's joined by several other Southern states, like Mississippi (No. 50), Louisiana (No. 49), Florida (No. 47), and Arkansas (No. 46).

According to WalletHub, Texas specifically ranks third to last in the nationwide "emergency preparedness" category, which was determined based on the prevalence of climate disasters causing $1 billion or more in damages from 1980-2024, and the loss amount resulting from those disasters.

The Lone Star State also ranked 40th (or 10th worst) across three safety categories: personal and residential safety, financial safety, and road safety. The report additionally found that Texas has the highest rate of uninsured residents nationally.

Texas' "workplace safety" was the state's highest-ranking category, landing 30th nationally.

Additional rankings that determined Texas' overall safety include:

No. 30 – Assaults per capita
No. 32 – Fatal occupational injuries per 100,000 full-time workers
No. 32 – Sex offenders per capita
No. 35 – Murders and non-negligent manslaughters per capita
No. 36 – Fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles of travel
No. 41 – Loss amounts from climate disasters per capita

According to the report, the five safest states in America are all located in the Northeast. Vermont leads as the country's safest state in 2026, followed by Massachusetts (No. 2), Maine (No. 3), New Hampshire (No. 4), and Connecticut (No. 5).

Though every state has varying levels of safety, WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo asserted that the safest places in the U.S. categorically invest in protecting their residents. Top-ranking states have low crime rates and diligently maintain their road infrastructure, and other states that prioritize their residents' safety have "strong economies and job markets that prevent people from falling into dangerous financial situations."

"[The safest states in America] have high levels of occupational safety and disaster preparedness, too," Lupo said. "In addition, states are made safer by efforts that individual residents take, such as forming a neighborhood watch or working in firefighting and EMT jobs at high rates."

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