Young, Wild + Charitable

Dallas' favorite fall party packs in pretty young professionals with charitable prowess

If you're a young professional in Dallas and had to choose only one party to attend this year — this would be it. Dallas Autumn Ball is known for its lively crowd, packed dance floor, and for being a crazy good time.

Party-goers, to the tune of 700, escaped the cold on November 8 and packed into Hotel ZaZa's ballroom at 9 pm for the sold-out event. Dressed to impress, the ladies and gentlemen donned sleek gowns and black-tie attire for what is undoubtedly their favorite party of the season.

Founded by Adam Kraus and chaired by Madison McKay, Taylor Markey, Mikey Bryant, Weldon Boley, and Taylor Deves, Dallas Autumn Ball is now in its seventh year.

Guests were greeted with savory hors d'oeuvres — Korean barbecue-glazed New York steak strips and crispy artichoke croquettes — full champagne flutes, and a quick stop on the red carpet at the photographer's backdrop, just before stepping into the ballroom. The festive welcome included gold, white, and silver bubble-esque balloons from Lushra, adorning the windows and walls.

With the sounds of DJ Souljah and Emerald City Band filling the venue, attendees wasted no time hitting the dance floor — stilettos be damned. Tunes ranged from '90s hip-hop to remixed Latin pop and the crowd couldn't get enough.

Thanks to ZaZa Executive Chef Dan Landsberg, the party people got a chance to refuel, grazing on an array of sliders and some killer macaroni and cheese. And chicken-and-waffle sticks were on hand later in the evening for a late-night nosh.

Busy bartenders manned their top-shelf bars, serving up signature margaritas from Patron, brews from Peroni, and just about any cocktail requested.

Throughout the night, everyone waited their turn to pucker up and say cheese at the popular MirMir photo booth.

Although DAB is the YP party of the season, its purpose goes beyond a glamorous night of fun. The soiree raised $20,000 for Reading Partners of North Texas, a group of local volunteers who help Dallas' underprivileged elementary school-age children master basic reading skills through individual tutoring.

"It is so inspiring to see young professionals turn out every year in support of impacting early education for kids right here in Dallas," said Kraus.

A few notable faces seen at the ball include: Marty Martinez, Raven Gates and Adam Gottschalk from The Bachelor, and Gracie Hunt. Also having a great time were Sabrina Johnson, Jenna Jacobs, Gretchen Neftzger, Lindsay Steffes, Alex Castillo, Carter Inman, Claudia Lode, Preston Hext, Thomas Hoeber, Ashley Phillips, Connor Fleming, Shelly Mahony, Jeff Lohmann, Casey Schuler, Zach Roberts, Rachel Urquhart, Mandy Appleby, Jessica Schroeck, and many more.

Sabrina Johnson, Jenna Jacobs

Photo by WJNPHOTO

Sabrina Johnson, Jenna Jacobs

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