America’s billionaire population is not evenly spread across the country. A large share of the people on Forbes’ latest list of the 400 richest Americans are concentrated in a handful of states, with California alone accounting for more than one-fifth of the list. This concentration occurs as the wealth threshold for entering the Forbes 400 reaches a new high. Forbes’ 2026 ranking required a net worth of at least $4.4 billion, the highest entry point in the list’s history.
Thirty-four people joined the ranking for the first time this year. Members of the Forbes 400 live across the country, and 249 of the 400 billionaires are based in just five states. As per Business Insider, the remaining members are spread across 33 other states and Washington, DC, with some states having only one person on the list.
Here are the five states with the largest number of Forbes 400 members.
5. Illinois: 18 billionaires
Illinois rounds out the top five with 18 Forbes 400 members. The state’s wealthiest resident is Lukas Walton, grandson of Walmart founder Sam Walton. His fortune is estimated at $44.4 billion. The broader Walton family has a combined fortune of $475.6 billion, according to Forbes data cited by Business Insider.
Charlie Mills, chair and former CEO of medical-surgical products company Medline Industries, ranks second among Illinois’ wealthiest residents with $11 billion. Other billionaires in the state include Groupon cofounder Eric Lefkofsky, whose fortune is estimated at $6.5 billion, and Ty Warner, the creator of Beanie Babies, with a net worth of $8.2 billion. Illinois’ billionaire fortunes are linked to areas such as investments, private equity, medical devices and technology.
- Texas: 43 billionaires
Texas has more than twice as many Forbes 400 members as Illinois, with 43 billionaires calling the state home. Energy remains an important source of wealth in the state. Business Insider found that 15 members of the Forbes 400 in Texas built their fortunes through oil, gas or pipelines.
Technology and data centres have also become increasingly important to the state’s billionaire economy. Elon Musk, the world’s richest person in the 2026 data cited by Business Insider, is based in Texas, while Dell Technologies founder Michael Dell has an estimated fortune of $263 billion.
Mark Cuban, the entrepreneur and investor known for his role on Shark Tank, is another billionaire resident, with a fortune estimated at $6.8 billion. Musk’s Texas connection is somewhat unusual. Although he has generally been associated with a small home near SpaceX’s Starbase facility, he recently said he was staying in an Airstream trailer outside Memphis while working on a data-centre project.
- Florida: 49 billionaires
Florida takes third place, with 49 Forbes 400 billionaires. The state has attracted wealthy residents in part because of its tax environment. Its billionaire population includes some of the biggest names in American business. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is Florida’s richest resident, with a fortune estimated at $378 billion. Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison follows with $204 billion.
Florida’s billionaire residents extend beyond the technology sector. Former basketball star Michael Jordan has an estimated fortune of $4.7 billion, while President Donald Trump is listed as the state’s 26th-richest resident, with a $7 billion fortune.
Finance and property are major sources of wealth in Florida. Business Insider identified hedge funds, real estate and investment banking among the prominent industries represented by the state’s richest residents. Florida is also home to some of the country’s most expensive properties. Bezos owns a large compound on Indian Creek Island in Miami, while Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate is in Palm Beach.
- New York: 54 billionaires
New York comes second with 54 Forbes 400 members. The state’s billionaire population reflects the breadth of its financial, media and luxury industries. Michael Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg L.P. and a former New York City mayor, is the richest person in the state, with a fortune of $94.9 billion.
Media mogul Rupert Murdoch is another prominent New York resident. His estimated fortune is $25 billion, placing him sixth among the state’s wealthiest residents. The list also includes fashion designer Ralph Lauren, whose fortune is estimated at $14.8 billion, and filmmaker Steven Spielberg, with an estimated $7.9 billion. Investment banking, private equity and hedge funds are among the industries that have produced significant wealth in New York, according to Business Insider’s analysis
- California: 85 billionaires
California is in a different league when it comes to the concentration of Forbes 400 wealth. The state is home to 85 members of the list, putting it more than 30 billionaires ahead of second-placed New York. Technology is a major reason for the state’s dominance, with the fortunes of several Silicon Valley and broader technology entrepreneurs represented on the list.
Google cofounders Larry Page and Sergey Brin are among California’s richest residents. Page has an estimated fortune of $278 billion, making him the state’s wealthiest person in the Forbes data cited by Business Insider.
The combined wealth of Page, Brin and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt is estimated at $571.8 billion. California’s billionaire ranks also include Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, whose fortune stands at an estimated $212 billion, and WhatsApp cofounder Jan Koum, with $18.5 billion.
Airbnb cofounders Brian Chesky and Nathan Blecharczyk together have an estimated $24.5 billion. Entertainment remains another source of enormous wealth in the state, with Star Wars creator George Lucas listed with a fortune of $5.3 billion. The numbers show how strongly America’s billionaire wealth is clustered around a small group of economic centres. California, New York, Florida, Texas and Illinois together account for 249 of the 400 members of the Forbes 400, while the remaining billionaires are distributed across the rest of the country.