The Duncan Family – $26B
The American Dream is apparent in the story of the Duncan family, who used to live in extreme poverty in rural Texas. Dan Duncan went to the oil fields to try his luck and succeeded in hitting it big when he struck oil and founded the company Enterprise Products Partners, which surged during the formative oil years in America. Today, the family’s wealth still mainly comes from oil and gas pipelines, with the company pulling in billions annually. In 2010, Dan Duncan passed away at age 77, leaving his $10 billion fortune to his children, Scott, Milane, Dannine, and Randa, but since then, their wealth has doubled.
The Duncan Family – $26B
The Marshall Family – $12B
The founding patriarch of the Marshall family empire, Howard Marshall II had shares in the Great Northern Oil Company before he traded them for a 15% stake in one of the most profitable investment companies in America, Koch Industries. Howard ended up leaving his shares to only J. Howard II, one of his sons, who became infamous for the many legal headaches he gave his family. He famously wed Anna Nicole Smith, the former Playboy model who was several decades younger than him. In the end, Smith inherited most of his estate and the other Marshalls took her to court in an effort to get that capital back.
The Marshall Family – $12B