The World’s Richest Families

Successful business enterprises are they key to the wealth of the world’s richest families. According to a ranking by Bloomberg, three American families top the ranking of the world’s wealthiest. The top 2 – The Waltons and the Mars family – deal in consumer goods, while the Kochs in rank 3 are more of an industrialist clan. The Walton family’s assets come to $238 billion, while the Mars family made a fortune of $142 billion from their empire of brands such as Milky Way, Snickers, M&M's, Twix and Wrigley chewing gum.

Among the majority of business empire owners, the Al Sauds are the exception. The royal family that rules Saudi Arabia is the richest family of monarchs in the world, largely due to their home country’s massive oil reserves. The Ambani family, owners of the Reliance Industries conglomerate, comes in rank 6 with a fortune of almost $94 billion. French luxury brands Hermès and Chanel also placed their owners in the top 8, while Germany’s wealthy have made it big with different endeavors. The Boehringer/Von Baumbach family (rank 10) runs pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim, while the Albrecht family (rank 12) is famous for their discount store Aldi. The media moguls of the Thomson family, founders of Thomson Reuters, round off the top 10 in rank 9.