Philanthropy circuit

Black Tie announces more than $1 million raised for LGBT beneficiaries

James Fontana, Chris Kouvelis, Rhonda Sargent Chambers, Joe Gallucci

Photo by Robert Bostick

The Black Tie committee knows how to make a grand statement in everything they do — from galas to distribution parties.

About a month after devotees and LGBT supporters gathered for the 31st Annual Black Tie Dinner, the group got together at the Dallas Contemporary to learn about the distribution of funds raised from the main event.

Before co-chairs Chris Kouvelis and Mitzi Lemons took the stage, guests mingled with Black Tie board members, noshed on mac n' cheese and popcorn and sipped on cocktails. Artists such as K8 Hardy, Inez Van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin worked the room.

“I want to personally thank everyone for their time, their enthusiasm and, most of all, unwavering commitment to moving our community forward,” Kouvelis said.

Lemons later introduced Ron Hill, chair of the Black Tie community relations committee, to announce the beneficiaries who sold the most raffle tickets: In first place, Northaven United Methodist Church sold 122 tickets; in second place, Resource Center Dallas sold 45 tickets, and in third place, AIDS Arms sold 41 tickets.

And then, the highly anticipated moment arrived. Black Tie board members announced the total amount raised for each of the participating beneficiaries. All tallied, Black tie raised $1.050 million for 19 North Texas LGBT-supportive organizations, with the largest donation of $525,000 (50 percent of the total profits) going to the Human Rights Campaign foundation.

Chad Griffin, president of the HRC, captivated an enthusiastic audience by sharing the conversation he had with a Texas congressman on the plane that morning (while en route to Dallas). An extended “Oh,” was the response Griffin got after explaining what the Black Tie dinner was all about.

After lots of laughs, Griffin reminded attendees — including Maggie Ray, Eric Johnson, Dr. Mark Parker, Aaron Burnett, Rhonda Sargent Chambers, Richard Ledbetter, Bob Munro, David Sassano, Don Tapani, Rodd Gray and Neil Patel — of the successful presidential election.

“The results were incredible for equality — and those results don’t happen in a vacuum. It takes years and years of work,” he said. “Know, that you made a victory like that happen — Dallas makes change happen across the country for equality.”

Before the night ended, the 2013 presenting sponsor was announced — Turtle Creek Solutions.

Chic philanthropists left eager for next year’s Black Tie event. Mark your calendars for Saturday, November 2, 2013.

Photo by Robert Bostick

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The Rich List

Dallas visionary joins 18 DFW billionaires on new Forbes' richest list

Ben Lamm and George Church, Colossal cofounders

Courtesy of Colossal

Ben Lamm (left) and George Church (right) founded Colossal in 2021.

The richest billionaires in America have a collective worth of $8 trillion in 2026, a staggering $1.4 trillion increase since last year, says Forbes. And the Dallas-based billionaire best known for starting a company to resurrect the long-extinct woolly mammoth has become one of the richest people in America.

Biotech "serial entrepreneur" Ben Lamm, cofounder of Colossal Biosciences, has made his debut as one of the country's richest residents for 2026, according to the just-released Forbes 400.

The annual Forbes 400 list is a definitive ranking of the wealthiest Americans, using interviews, financial data, and documentation provided by billionaires and their companies. In all, 43 billionaires across Texas made it on the 2026 list, and 19 are based in Dallas-Fort Worth.

Lamm, 44, cofounded the Texas-based "de-extinction" company with geneticist George Church in 2021 with the goal to resurrect extinct animals including the mammoth, Tasmanian tiger, and the dodo. The company is now worth over $10 billion, and Lamm's own net worth is currently estimated at $5.7 billion.

"Lamm believes that governments, which have long budgeted for conservation efforts, will pay Colossal to reintroduce extinct species or to prevent endangered ones from dying off," Forbes says in Lamm's profile. "In April Lamm spun Astromech out of Colossal. The company, which private investors valued at $3.8 billion in August, uses AI to forecast evolutionary change."

He is tied with Austin billionaire and Tito's Handmade Vodka founder Bert Beveridge as the No. 302 richest person in America.

In nearby Fort Worth, Walmart heiress Alice Walton, 76, who leads as the richest woman globally, still reigns richest woman in America, the third-wealthiest person in Texas, and the richest resident in Fort Worth for 2026.

Walton's net worth has grown by $12 billion since last year, bringing her current net worth to $118 billion. She is the only daughter of late Walmart cofounder Sam Walton, though she focuses her attention on other endeavors like the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and the Alice L. Walton School of Medicine in Bentonville, Arkansas. Forbes still lists her residence as Fort Worth.

Alice Walton in 2026 Walmart heiress and Fort Worth resident Alice Walton is $12 billion richer than she was a year ago.Alice Walton/Facebook

Walton is one of only 62 women billionaires on the Forbes 400 list, making up just 16 percent of the total list.

"Shares of the retailing giant are up more than 10 percent since last year, helping Walton widen her lead over the nation’s second-wealthiest woman, Julia Koch (estimated net worth: $84.6 billion), an heir to the Koch, Inc. conglomerate fortune," Forbes says.

Missing from this year's list is David Dean Halbert of Colleyville. Halbert, 70, earned his billionaire status last year when his diagnostics firm, Caris Life Sciences, went public. He became one of the 400 richest Americans in 2025, but his net worth is currently estimated at $3.7 billion, which — shockingly — makes him one of the 590 American billionaires that are "too poor to make the cut" this year, according to Forbes.

"With the AI and data center boom in full swing and the U.S. stock market near an all-time high, it now takes a record $4.4 billion to rank among the nation’s 400 wealthiest people," the publication said. "That’s $600 million more than last year and $2.7 billion more than a decade ago.

Here's how the rest of Dallas-Fort Worth's billionaires fared on this year's list:

Koch, Inc. stakeholder Elaine Marshall and her family rank No. 34 nationally with an estimated net worth of $32.2 billion. Last year: $28.3billion.
Endeavor Energy Resources chairman Lyndal Stephens Greth and her family rank No. 37 nationwide with an estimated net worth of $30 billion. Last year: $27.4 billion.
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones of Dallas sits at No. 49 in the U.S. with an estimated net worth of $23.5 billion. Last year: $19.6 billion.
Money manager Ken Fisher of Dallas ranks 83rd nationally with an estimated net worth of $15 billion. Last year: $13.2 billion.
Banking and real estate mogul Andy Beal of Dallas holds the No. 110 spot nationally. His estimated net worth is $12.3 billion. Last year: $12 billion.
Gas tycoon Kelcy Warren of Dallas ranks No. 170 nationally with an estimated net worth of $9.3 billion. Last year: $7.5 billion.
Hotel and investment guru Robert Rowling of Dallas ranks 187th nationally with an estimated net worth of $8.8 billion, unchanged from 2025.
Oil and real estate titan Ray Lee Hunt of Dallas ranks 199th nationally with an estimated net worth of $8.3 billion. Last year: $6.9 billion.
Real estate bigwig H. Ross Perot Jr. of Dallas ranks No. 233 nationally with an estimated net worth of $7.4 billion. Last year: $6.5 billion.
Oil and investment mogul Robert Bass of Fort Worth ranks 245th nationally with an estimated net worth of $7 billion. Last year: $6.1 billion.
Media magnate and Cost Plus Drugs cofounder Mark Cuban of Dallas ranks No. 255 nationally with an estimated net worth of $6.8 billion. Last year: $6 billion.
Margot Birmingham Perot of Dallas, widow of tech and real estate entrepreneur H. Ross Perot Sr., ranks No. 264 nationally with an estimated net worth of $6.4 billion. Last year: $5.7 billion.
Oil and gas honcho Trevor Rees-Jones of Dallas ranks as No. 269 nationally with an estimated net worth of $6.2 billion. Last year: $5.9 billion.
Airplane leasing industry founder Steven Udvar-Hazy of Westlake ranks No. 336 nationally with an estimated net worth of $5.1 billion. Last year: $4.5 billion.
Oil and gas magnate Ray Davis of Dallas ties for 375th nationally with an estimated net worth of $4.6 billion. Last year: $3.5 billion.
Oil heir Sid Bass of Fort Worth and private equity firm cofounder Carl Thoma of Dallas tie for No. 380 nationally with an estimated net worth of $4.5 billion. Last year: $3.8 billion and $4.4 billion, respectively.

forbes 400 forbes billionaires richest americans dallas