Chick Lit-ified

Tyra Banks talks books and blazing trails at 16th annual Chick Lit Luncheon

The smize queen herself, Tyra Banks, dropped by Community Partners of Dallas' 16^th annual Chick Lit Luncheon on September 30 at the Hilton Anatole.

Luncheon co-chairs Errika Flood-Moultrie and Renita Joyce Smith, with honorary chair Cynt Marshall, were joined by more than 1,300 attendees at the annual event. Top sponsors got to gather in the nearby Wedgwood Ballroom during the pre-luncheon reception, which included a fun and festive Q&A with CPD president and CEO Paige McDaniel and Banks. Before leaving to get ready for the luncheon, Banks posed for a group photo with all attendees in the background.

Raffle tickets were available for a chance to win fabulous prizes, such as:

a Balenciaga Hourglass Top-Handle bag courtesy of Neiman Marcus
a $2,500 gift certificate for the Temple St. Clair collection at Eiseman Jewels NorthPark Center
a fabulous getaway for two to New York City with airfare and two-night accommodations
first-class roundtrip tickets to anywhere in the continental 48 US from Delta Air Lines
a monthly gift card to shop at Elizabeth W boutique
a hand-carved quartz onyx bowl by Pierre Verona

Attendees then took their seats in the ballroom as co-chairs Flood-Moultrie and Smith gave special thanks to underwriting chairs Bonner Allen, Rhonda Sargent Chambers, Kheana Pollard, and Kim Stephens-Olusanya; raffle chair Elizabeth Ward Creel; and the many sponsors and volunteers who helped make the day possible.

Reverend Elizabeth Moseley, associate pastor at Highland Park United Methodist Church’s Uptown Campus, gave the invocation before the co-chairs returned to the podium for a bit of fun. They directed everyone to look under their chairs, where 50 guests found a special note that they would receive a four-pack of Tyra Bank’s Smize Cream. Next was another fun drawing where a lucky VIP sponsor was the winner of two roundtrip tickets on Delta Air Lines.

Attendees then enjoyed lunch of an herb-roasted chicken and pear salad with baby lettuce, tender oak leaves, endive, goat cheese and candied pecans with a burnt honey rosemary dressing followed by a lemon meringue tart for dessert.

A video salute to longtime CPD supporter Crystal Charity Ball’s 70 years of transforming the lives of Dallas County children was next, culminating with an announcement that the shoe department in CPD’s Rainbow Room would be named in their honor.

Another, more somber video followed, showing the heart-wrenching story of Isabel and Marisol, who were abused by their father. While the video detailed the nightmare lived by Isabel and Marisol, it also showed how Marisol went on to live out her dream as a CPS caseworker, who now keeps other kids safe.

The audience was reminded that Isabel, and Marisol are just some of the 15,000 children that Community Partners of Dallas will serve this year. CPD is there for all the child-victims of abuse in Dallas County and helps kids in all levels of care with CPS, 365 days a year, 24 hours a day by providing new clothing, shoes, hygiene products, lice treatment, and more.

Moderator Kellie Rasberry, co-host of The Kidd Kraddick Morning Show, sat down with Banks for a lively chat about the books Banks has authored, her businesses, her favorite books, being a mom, her modeling career, and her Smize Cream ice cream.

Famous for making up her own words, such as smizing (smiling with your eyes) and flawsome (embracing your flaws and knowing you are awesome regardless), Banks made up a new word about the day’s event: “Chick Lit-ified.” She said, “If you come to the Chick Lit Luncheon and you look good – you are Chick Lit-ified!”

As the event came to a close, attendees received a hot pink gift bag that included, among other items, a save-the-date postcard for next year’s Chick Lit Luncheon on April 21, 2023.

Supporters spotted in the crowd included Melissa Ellis, Erin Hendricks, Arden Ellis, Caroline Settle, Lindsay Jacaman, Bianca Davis, Robin Stubblefield, Sarah Thomas, Kyle Huckaby, Suzie Forsberg, Amanda Ward, Shelly Capriotti, Lara Tafel, Michelle Hartmann, Kala Garner, Chris McSwain, Imani Daniel, Mel Horne, Samantha Wortley, Kelli Little, Brandi Chalmers, Sarah Katherine Zavala, Shannon Henderson, Olivia Barder, Krystie Womack, Maggie Kipp, Kim Hext, Tamara Bickel, Cory Brown, Andrea Cheek, Lindsay Doramus, Erica Brown, Brooke Garner, Laura Price, and many more.

Since 1989, Community Partners of Dallas has ensured safety and restored dignity and hope to abused and neglected children by providing crucial resources and support to the caseworkers of Dallas County Child Protective Services.

Community Partners of Dallas provides items such as winter coats, diapers and formula, holiday gifts, school uniforms, personal hygiene products, food and more, to send the abused children in our community the message that someone does care.

Photo by Tamytha Cameron

Tyra Banks and guests

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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.

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