The 25 richest people in Texas, ranked

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The 25 richest people in Texas, ranked

Jerry Jones

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Jerry Jones, the owner of the Dallas Cowboys NFL team.

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Everything is bigger in Texas - including big business.

Consistently ranked as the state with the third-highest number of billionaires in the US, the Lone Star State's wealth is distributed across investment bankers and professional sports team owners. The majority, however, is held by oil tycoons, as Texas produces almost 40% of the nation's oil supply.

Read more: 11 mind-blowing facts about Texas' economy

According to U.S. News & World Report, Texas' billionaire population is third only to superrich hubs New York and California, whose wealthiest individuals include real-estate empires in Manhattan and top execs in Silicon Valley, respectively.

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Real-time data from Forbes' billionaire list includes notable names such as Dallas Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones, Shark Tank's Mark Cuban, and Walmart heiress Alice Walton. Additionally, Tito's Vodka and Dell Technologies are headquartered outside Austin, Texas' capital city.

The list features several sets of siblings. In cases where siblings inherited family fortunes and now share the same net worth, as reported by Forbes, we listed them as a single entry. In others, they are listed separately along with their separate sources of wealth.

Keep reading for a complete look at the 25 richest people in Texas.

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25. Gerald J. Ford

25. Gerald J. Ford

Source of wealth: Ford Financial Fund

Industry: Finance & Investments

Net worth: $2.78 billion

According to Forbes, Dallas-based businessman Gerald Ford earned his fortune by purchasing distressed banks. Today, Ford owns 16% of shares at Hilltop Holdings and is the majority shareholder at Mechanics Bank.

24. Thai Lee

24. Thai Lee

Source of wealth: SHI International

Industry: Technology

Net worth: $2.80 billion

Thai Lee is the reigning CEO of SHI International, an IT provider that earned $10 billion in sales last year. The company — which is the largest woman-owned business in the United States — started as a software reseller, purchased by Lee and her now ex-husband for $1 million in 1989. Major clients include Boeing and AT&T.

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23. Joseph Liemandt

23. Joseph Liemandt

Source of wealth: Trilogy Software, ESW Capital

Industry: Technology

Net worth: $3.00 billion

Joe Liemandt earned his fortune by founding Trilogy Software company and investment firm ESW Capital, which focuses on acquiring software companies. Liemandt lives in Austin, Texas.

22. John Arnold

22. John Arnold

Source of wealth: Centaurus Advisor

Industry: Finance & Investments

Net worth: $3.29 billion

John Arnold earned his fortune through his hedge fund Centaurus Advisor. He previously worked at Enron, and now dedicates the majority of his time to philanthropy efforts.

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21. David Bonderman

21. David Bonderman

Source of wealth: TPG

Industry: Finance & Investments

Net worth: $3.34 billion

David "Bondo" Bonderman cofounded TPG firm with Jim Coulter in 1992. Today, the company holds $84 billion in assets. While Coulter is based in San Francisco, Bonderman resides in Fort Worth.

20. Sid Bass

20. Sid Bass

Source of wealth: Diversified

Industry: Energy

Net worth: $3.54 billion

Sid Bass and his brothers each inherited $2.8 million in 1959 from their "oil tycoon uncle." For many years, Bass and his relatives were the largest investors in The Walt Disney Company.

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19. Jeffery Hildebrand

19. Jeffery Hildebrand

Source of wealth: Hilcorp

Industry: Energy

Net worth: $3.56 billion

Houston-based oil mogul Jeffery Hildebrand cofounded his company Hilcorp in 1990. Today, the company is the largest privately owned oil company in America. According to Forbes, "In 2015 Hildebrand gave each of his 1,400 employees a $100,000 bonus after they doubled the size of his company in five years."

18. Janice McNair

18. Janice McNair

Source of wealth: Cogen Technologies

Industry: Sports

Net worth: $3.78 billion

Janice McNair's husband Robert — who died in 2018 — owned the Houston Texans NFL team. He earned his fortune in 1999 after selling Cogen Technologies for $1.5 billion.

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17. Mark Cuban

17. Mark Cuban

Source of wealth: Broadcast.com

Industry: Media & Entertainment

Net worth: $4.11 billion

Current owner of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team, Mark Cuban earned his fortune after cofounding Broadcast.com in 1995. Cuban is also a regular on ABC's "Shark Tank."

16. H. Ross Perot, Sr.

16. H. Ross Perot, Sr.

Source of wealth: Electronic Data Systems, Perot Systems

Industry: Diversified

Net worth: $4.12 billion

H. Ross Perot earned his fortune selling multiple tech companies over the years. Perot sold his self-founded Electronic Data Systems company to G.M. for $15 billion in 1986; he sold Perot Systems to Dell Computer for $3.9 billion in 2009. Perot began his career at IBM, and also ran for president in the 1990s.

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15. Dan Friedkin

15. Dan Friedkin

Source of wealth: Gulf States Toyota

Industry: Automotive

Net worth: $4.20 billion

Dan Friedkin is the owner and CEO of Gulf States Toyota, founded by his father in 1969. In 2017, the Houston-based company sold $9 billion of Toyota cars. Additionally, Friedkin invests in luxury resort properties.

14. Bert Beveridge

14. Bert Beveridge

Source of wealth: Tito's Vodka

Industry: Food & Beverage

Net worth: $4.21 billion

Bert "Tito" Beveridge founded Tito's Vodka in 1997. According to Forbes, he borrowed $90,000 across 19 credit cards to start his company; two decades later, the brand was worth $2.5 billion. Beveridge grew up in San Antonio, and today his company is based in Austin. In 2017, the Tito's brand sold 63 million bottles of vodka.

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13. Trevor Rees-Jones

13. Trevor Rees-Jones

Source of wealth: Chief Oil & Gas

Industry: Energy

Net worth: $4.27 billion

Trevor Rees-Jones founded Dallas-based Chief Oil & Gas in 1984, currently the largest privately owned natural gas producer in America. According to Forbes, Rees-Jones is close friends with the Bush family. His self-named foundation holds $520 million in assets.

12. Kelcy Warren

12. Kelcy Warren

Source of wealth: Energy Transfer

Industry: Energy

Net worth: $4.49 billion

Oil tycoon Kelcy Warren cofounded Energy Transfer, the company that completed the $3.8 billion Dakota Access Pipeline project. He currently serves as chairman and CEO of Energy Transfer Equity, one of his three public companies.

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11. Ray Lee Hunt

11. Ray Lee Hunt

Source of wealth: Hunt Consolidated, Hunt Oil Co.

Industry: Energy

Net worth: $4.81 billion

Ray Lee Hunt leads both Hunt Consolidated and Hunt Oil, one of America's oil giants. Hunt inherited the oil company from his father, H.L. Hunt, and plans to pass on the business to his son, Hunter Hunt.

10. Tilman Fertitta

10. Tilman Fertitta

Source of wealth: Fertitta Entertainment

Industry: Food & Beverage

Net worth: $4.91 billion

Tilman Fertitta is the reigning chairman and CEO of Fertitta Entertainment. His company owns Landry's, the parent company of Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. Additionally, Fertitta owns the Houston Rockets basketball team and Golden Nugget Casinos.

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9. Robert F. Smith

9. Robert F. Smith

Source of wealth: Vista Equity Partners

Industry: Finance & Investments

Net worth: $5.00 billion

Robert F. Smith earned his fortune after founding his firm Vista Equity Partners in 2000. Today, the company holds over $46 billion in assets. Smith previously worked at Kraft Foods and Goodyear Tire as an engineer before entering the business world.

8. Robert Bass

8. Robert Bass

Source of wealth: Oak Hill Capital Partners

Industry: Energy

Net worth: $5.06 billion

Along with his brothers, Robert Bass inherited $2.8 million from his "oil tycoon uncle" in 1959. With his inheritance, he founded investment firm Oak Hill Capital Partners, which currently invests in companies ranging from Blackboard to Burger King. Bass lives in Fort Worth, Texas.

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7. Robert Rowling

7. Robert Rowling

Source of wealth: Omni Hotels, Gold's Gym

Industry: Energy

Net worth: $5.80 billion

According to Forbes, Dallas-based Robert Rowling purchased Omni Hotels with the $500 million he received from selling his family's oilfields. He later added to his substantial fortune by purchasing Gold's Gym.

6. Scott Duncan, Milane Duncan Frantz, Dannine Duncan Avara, and Randa Duncan Williams

6. Scott Duncan, Milane Duncan Frantz, Dannine Duncan Avara, and Randa Duncan Williams

Source of wealth: Enterprise Products Partners

Industry: Energy

Net worth: $6.31 billion

Dan Duncan founded pipeline company Enterprise Products Partners in 1968, and later became the richest person in Houston. Following his death in 2010, Williams' four children each inherited equal shares of the family business: Scott Duncan, Milane Duncan Frantz, Dannine Duncan Avara, and Randa Duncan Williams.

According to Forbes, Randa is the only sibling involved in the company, currently serving as Non-Executive Chairman of the Board. She is also a board member of the University of Texas Health Science Center. Her sister Milane is the director of the Duncan Family Foundation.

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5. Jerry Jones

5. Jerry Jones

Source of wealth: Dallas Cowboys

Industry: Sports

Net worth: $6.90 billion

Jerry Jones is the current owner and general manager of the Dallas Cowboys. Jones purchased the football team in 1989 for $150 million; according to Forbes, the team is worth $5 billion today. As of 2018, Jones is also the controlling shareholder of Texan oil and gas company Comstock Resources.

4. Richard Kinder

4. Richard Kinder

Source of wealth: Kinder Morgan Inc.

Industry: Energy

Net worth: $7.12 billion

Richard Kinder is the current chairman of eponymous Kinder Morgan, an oil and gas pipeline company he cofounded in 1997. Now the "largest U.S. energy infrastructure firm," the company is based in Houston, Texas. Kinder also runs a self-named foundation, which has made major donations to organizations in Houston.

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3. Andrew Beal

3. Andrew Beal

Source of wealth: Beal Financial Corporation

Industry: Finance & Investments

Net worth: $9.30 billion

Andrew Beal is a Texas-based banker. Based in Dallas, he is the founder and owner of Beal Financial Corporation. The company's assets total more than $7 billion. According to Forbes, "He made a tidy sum during the Great Recession, scooping up beaten-down assets while the nation's biggest banks were being bailed out by taxpayers."

2. Michael Dell

2. Michael Dell

Source of wealth: Dell

Industry: Technology

Net worth: $39.10 billion

Michael Dell is the founder, chairman, and reigning CEO of Dell Technologies, which he started by selling computers in his dorm room at the University of Texas. In 2016, Dell merged with EMC computer storage company in a deal estimated to be $60 billion. Today, Dell lives in Austin, Texas, about 25 minutes from company headquarters in Round Rock. Through his investment firm MSD Capital, Dell holds stakes in Four Seasons Maui, Applebee's, IHOP, Calvin Klein, and Grand Central Station.

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1. Alice Walton

1. Alice Walton

Source of wealth: Walmart

Industry: Fashion & Retail

Net worth: $46.99 billion

Alice Walton is one of three heirs to the Walton fortune, along with her brothers Rob and Jim. Their father, Sam Walton, founded the Walmart superstore chain in 1962. The company headquarters are located in Arkansas, but Walton resides in Forth Worth, Texas after spending many years on a ranch an hour outside the city in Millsap, Texas. She currently serves as chairwoman to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, as well as a board member of the Walton Family Foundation.