Mo’ money

4 Austin billionaires join Elon Musk on Forbes' list of the world's richest

In the battle of the world’s billionaires, newly minted Texan Elon Musk comes out on top.

Forbes magazine’s new ranking of the world’s richest people puts Musk at No. 1, with a net worth of $219 billion. That’s up from $151 billion in 2021, $24.6 billion in 2020, $22.3 billion in 2019, and $19.9 billion in 2018.

CEO of Austin-based vehicle manufacturer Tesla and leader of a host of other businesses, Musk was ranked second on Forbes’ 2021 list. He sat behind Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, whose net worth in 2021 was pegged at $177 million. This year, Forbes estimates Bezos’ net worth is $171 billion.

Last month, Musk questioned the notion that he’s the richest person in the world. Rather, he believes a certain world leader holds that title.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, currently engaged in a bloody war against neighboring Ukraine, “is significantly richer than me,” Musk recently told an interviewer. Putin is said to control vast “ill-gotten gains,” but no one has been able to assign a dollar amount to his riches.

Musk confirmed in 2020 that he had relocated from California to Texas, but it’s not known whether he spends most of his time around Brownsville, near a major launch site developed by his SpaceX venture, or in Austin, where he continues to build his business empire. Tesla’s headquarters moved last year from California to Tesla’s new factory just outside Austin.

Four Austin billionaires join Musk in the top 1,000 on the Forbes list. What follows are their global ranking, 2022 net worth, and 2021 net worth:

Michael Dell, founder, chairman, and CEO of Round Rock-based Dell Technologies: No. 24, $55.1 billion, up from $45.1 billion
Venture capitalist Robert Smith: tied for No. 369, $6.7 billion, up from $6 billion
Tito’s Vodka baron Bert “Tito” Beveridge:tied for No. 637, $4.5 billion, down from $4.6 billion
Tech entrepreneur Thai Lee: tied for No. 709, $4.1 billion, up from $3.2 billion

Nearly 30 other Texans appear in this year’s top 1,000. Here, they are grouped by where they live.

Dallas

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones: tied for No. 185, $10.6 billion, up from $8.9 billion
Banking and real estate kingpin Andy Beal: tied for No. 201, $9.9 billion, up from $7.9 billion
Oil and real estate titan Ray Lee Hunt: tied for No. 386, $6.5 billion, up from $4.2 billion
Money manager Ken Fisher: tied for No. 509, $5.3 billion, down from $5.5 billion
Media magnate and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban: tied for No. 601, $4.7 billion, up from $4.4 billion
Oil and gas guru Trevor Rees-Jones: tied for No. 637, $4.5 billion, up from $4 billion
Hotel and investment titan Robert Rowling: tied for No. 637, $4.5 billion, up from $3.9 billion
Oil baron W. Herbert Hunt: tied for No. 665, $4.3 billion, up from $2 billion
Margot Birmingham Perot: widow of tech and real estate entrepreneur H. Ross Perot Sr., tied for No. 665, $4.3 billion, up from $4.1 billion
Oil and gas tycoon Kelcy Warren: tied for No. 728, $4 billion, up from $3.4 billion
Real estate bigwig H. Ross Perot, Jr.: tied for No. 951, $3.2 billion, up from $1.6 billion

Fort Worth

Walmart heiress Alice Walton: No. 18, $65.3 billion, up from $61.8 billion
Oil and investment guru Robert Bass: tied for No. 536, $5.1 billion, unchanged from last year
Private equity magnate David Bonderman: tied for No. 637, $4.5 billion, up from $4.1 billion
Investor and oilman Sid Bass: tied for No. 883, $3.4 billion, up from $2.9 billion

Houston

Oil mogul Jeffery Hildebrand: tied for No. 316, $7.5 billion, up from $2 billion
Pipeline magnate Richard Kinder: tied for No. 316, $7.5 billion, up from $7 billion
Houston siblings and pipeline heirs Dannine Avara, Scott Duncan, Milane Frantz, and Randa Duncan Williams: each tied for No. 375, $6.6 billion, up from $6 billion
Hospitality titan and Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta: tied for No. 471, $5.6 billion, up from $4.6 billion
Houston software entrepreneur Robert Brockman: tied for No. 601, $4.7 billion, down from $6 billion
Toyota mega-dealer Dan Friedkin: tied for No. 665, $4.3 billion, up from $4.1 billion
Houston Texans owner Janice McNair: tied for No. 687, $4.2 billion, up from $4.1 billion
Hedge fund honcho John Arnold: tied for No. 913, $3.3 billion, unchanged from last year

Elsewhere in Texas

Sports and entertainment mogul Stan Kroenke (Vernon): tied for No. 183, $10.7 billion, up from $8.2 billion
Walmart heiress Ann Walton Kroenke (Vernon): tied for No. 227, $9 billion, up from $8.4 billion
Oil tycoon Autry Stephens (Midland): tied for No. 552, $5 billion, not previously ranked

“The tumultuous stock market contributed to sharp declines in the fortunes of many of the world’s richest,” Kerry A. Dolan, assistant managing editor of Wealth at Forbes, says of this year’s ranking. “Still, more than 1,000 billionaires got wealthier over the past year. The top 20 richest alone are worth a combined $2 trillion, up from $1.8 trillion in 2021.”

Elon Musk is the world's richest person, according to Forbes.

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Elon Musk is the world's richest person, according to Forbes.

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Red Light

San Antonio leads Texas on ending horse-drawn carriage rides by 2030

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Horses will no longer pull carriages on the streets of downtown San Antonio.

San Antonio has pulled off something that the rest of Texas has yet to do, but it didn't come without some contentious conversations. City Council has unanimously voted (with one abstention) to phase out the use of horse-drawn carriages over the next five years. That means by January 1, 2030, there will be none on the streets at all; instead, there will be electric carriages.

These plans have been in the making since 2022 — if not always at the same level of intensity — when District 2 Councilmember Jalen McKee-Rodriguez and District 3 Councilmember Phyllis Viagran wrote up some concerns about the horses' wellbeing. A special session at the end of October 2024 hinted to San Antonians that the end for this practice was neigh — sorry, nigh — and the final vote was made on December 12. In addition to accepting the plan, it extended its timeframe by two years.

The initial proposal included worries about the horses' exposure to traffic and pollution, as well how their presence might exacerbate those issues for the environment at large by slowing traffic. It also raised concerns about the effects of standing or walking on hard surfaces for too long, or spending time in extreme weather.

At the December 12 meeting, San Antonians gave impassioned speeches about animal welfare — both to call attention to the need for better conditions and to defend the reputations and jobs of current horse drivers — but it wasn't the first time the council heard from the public about the issue.

In a prior city survey, 50,476 respondents weighed in. Of those respondents, 51.98 percent said they liked the idea to "Transition horse-drawn carriages to electric carriages and pedicabs and ban horse drawn carriages completely." There were alternative solutions listed, but respondents were less drawn to them.

A cultural divide emerged in the data and continued in the December meeting: some people avoided the carriages because they worried about the treatment of the horses, while others enjoyed them because of their historical echoes and living legacy. Many speakers in favor of the plan used this to form their argument, raising questions about history versus progress.

More tangible objections to the plan hinged on the businesses — specifically five companies — and jobs that would be lost, which was the main factor behind extending the adjustment period.

Discussions about the particulars of the electric vehicles are still to come, as confirmed in the discussion near the end of the meeting. Councilmember Jalen McKee-Rodriguez addressed concerns about what would happen to the horses, mentioning the Brady Hunter Foundation as a future partner in finding them rescue homes.

Some council members also brought up rhetorical questions about animal exploitation by groups like Sea World, the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, military and police forces, and even various groups in the Fiesta parade, although these did not come with a formal motion to pick the issues up.

This decision could have a ripple effect on other Texas cities. Dallas has recently considered a similar ban, but it appears to have stalled; Austin's attempts at a ban have been unsuccessful, but according to the Austin-American Statesman, only one operator is permitted to bring horses downtown. She declines to do so because the long hours are unfair to her and the horses. Houston does have horse-drawn carriages, and there seems to be little conversation about banning them.

Cities like Chicago and Salt Lake City have led the charge in the United States with some of the most prominent successful bans. Other cities around the world with bans include Brussels and Guadalajara, which both switched to electric models. Bans that have been around for years, like Guadalajara's and Prague's, still aren't out of the woods — people are still pushing back on the decision, so it sounds like San Antonio still has much work cut out for it.

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