Most of the world's wealth is split between just a few families. Nepotism has kept elite families fed and happy for generations, and the wealth only continues to grow as time passes by. This year, Bloomberg compiled a list of the wealthiest families in the world, and for the most part, there are no surprises. The families who run billion dollar businesses that are easily recognized populate the list. Sitting at the number one spot is the Walton family. The Walton's have attained $151.5 billion from Walmart, possibly the most profitable retail store in the US. Coming in at number two is the Koch family, to nobody's surprise. The Koch family became wealthy from Fred Koch's invention of a new method to turn crude oil into gasoline. Brothers Charles and David run the company now, after all four sons of Fred went through years of legal battles for the company. Their wealth sits at $98.7 billion.
The Mars family, who owns the confectionary company Mars Inc., sits at number three on the list with $89.7 billion. Mars Inc. is responsible for almost every popular candy you can think of. M&M's, Milky Way, 3 Musketeers, and Snickers all fall under the Mars umbrella, along with every Wrigley product (Orbit Gum, Starburst, Altoids, 5 Gum). The 25 richest families in the world, in order, are as follows:
Walton family – Walmart – $151.5 billion
Koch family – Koch Industries – $98.7 billion
Mars family – Mars – $89.7 billion
Van Damme, De Spoelberch, De Mevius families – Anheuser-Busch Inbev – $54.1 billion
Dumas family – Hermés – $49.2 billion
Wertheimer family – Chanel – $45.6 billion
Ambani family – Reliance Industries – $43.4 billion
Quandt family – BMW – $42.7 billion
Cargill, Macmillan family – Cargill – $42.3 billion
Boehringer, Von Baumbach families – Boehringer Ingelheim – $42.2 billion
Albrecht family – Aldi – $38.8 billion
Mulliez family – Auchan – $37.5 billion
Kwok family – Sun Hung Kai properties – $34 billion
Cox family – Cox Enterprises – $33.6 billion
Pritzker family – Hyatt Hotels – $33.5 billion
Lee family – Samsung – $30.9 billion
Rausing family – Tetra Pak – $30.9 billion
Thomson family – Thomson Reuters – $30.9 billion
Johnson family – SC Johnson – $28.2 billion
Dassault family – Dassault Group – $27.8 billion
Duncan family – Enterprise Products Partners – $26 billion
Hoffmann, Oeri family – Roche – $25.1 billion
Hearst family – Hearst Corp – $25.5 billion
Lauder family – Estee Lauder – $24.3 billion
Ferrero family – Ferrero – $22.9 billion
