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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Closure news

Neiman Marcus flagship store in downtown Dallas to close for good

Neiman Marcus

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The iconic downtown Dallas location of luxury department store Neiman Marcus, at 1618 Main St., will close for good, the company says.

In a statement, parent company Saks Global said it planned to close the store on September 30, 2026 and focus on its NorthPark Center location in Dallas.

"As we continue to take steps to secure a strong future for Neiman Marcus, our optimized store footprint is aimed at aligning our go-forward presence with customer demand and preferences. After a thorough evaluation, we have made the difficult decision to close the Neiman Marcus Downtown Dallas store on September 30, 2026, and concentrate our resources where our customers prefer to shop.

"Dallas remains an incredibly important market for the Neiman Marcus brand, and our customers in the city and across the suburbs consistently choose to shop at our NorthPark location. We are committed to serving our loyal Dallas customers at NorthPark, where we plan to infuse elements celebrating the Downtown store’s rich history," the statement read.

The store has been open since 1914 and served as a bedrock for downtown Dallas.

The definitive closure announcement, first reported by The Dallas Morning News, ends a months-long saga of will-they-won't-they and back-and-forth with the city of Dallas. There have been many efforts to keep the longtime store open.

To recap: In mid-February 2025, Saks Global said they were closing the 100-year-old store after a dispute with the landlord. City leaders rallied to keep it open. It worked, sort of: a landlord who owned a piece of land on which the iconic store resides agreed to donate it to the city of Dallas, so that there would be no obstacles for the store's continued operation.

But then in late February 2025, Saks Global reiterated that the Neiman Marcus Downtown Dallas store would definitely close on March 31, 2025. More rallying happened.

In late March 2025, days before it was to have closed, Saks Global announced the store would remain open through the 2025 holiday season while it explored a reimagination of the location in collaboration with the City of Dallas.

In January 2026, Saks Global filed for bankruptcy, leaving the fate of all stores unclear. The more than $2 billion in debt that Saks Global amassed to acquire Neiman Marcus in 2024 helped push the company into bankruptcy court, they said. As part of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy case, Saks Global has secured about $1.75 billion in financing to keep the company afloat and its stores open.

In announcing the bankruptcy, Saks Global said it was evaluating its store lineup “to invest resources where it has the greatest long-term potential. This approach reflects an effort to focus the business in areas where [our] luxury retail brands are best positioned for sustainable growth.”

Saks Global announced that the Neiman Marcus store at The Shops at Willow Bend in Plano would close in January 2027 after 25 years. According to Saks Global, there are no plans to replace or relocate the store.

The closures of Downtown and Willow Bend leave Neiman Marcus with two DFW-area locations: NorthPark Center, and the Shops at Clearfork in Fort Worth.

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Teresa Gubbins and John Egan contributed to this story.

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