These Kansas and Missouri billionaires are some of the richest in the country
Kansas and Missouri have seven of the 400 richest Americans, according to a fall 2024 report by Forbes.
With residences from St. Louis to Wichita, these individuals appeared on the annual Forbes 400 ranking.
The seven individuals are worth a total of $112.6 billion. This is greater than the combined 2024 state budgets of Kansas and Missouri ($76.7 billion).
California had the largest number of residents — 80 — on the Forbes 400 list, followed by Florida, New York and Texas.
The 400 richest Americans are worth a total of $5.4 trillion, greater than the GDPs of India and Mexico combined, according to most recent World Bank data.
An individual with a net worth of a billion dollars has over 5,000 times the wealth of the median American household — $192,000 net worth, according to the most recent data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
Here are the seven richest people living in Kansas and Missouri, as of Sept. 1, 2024.
Charles Koch and family
- Net worth: $67.5 billion
- Age: 88
- Residence: Wichita
- Rank: 17th richest in the U.S.
His father started Koch Industries, where Koch has been chairman for more than 50 years. The company, now known as Koch, Inc., is involved in gas pipelines, chemicals and manufacturing, among other industries. Charles, along with his late brother, has given significant money to conservative organizations.
David Steward
- Net worth: $11.4 billion
- Age: 73
- Residence: St. Louis
- Rank: 84th richest in the U.S.
In 1990, the University of Central Missouri graduate co-founded World Wide Technology alongside Jim Kavanaugh. The IT company’s customers include Verizon, Citi and the federal government.
John Morris
- Net worth: $8.4 billion
- Age: 76
- Residence: Springfield
- Rank: 136 richest in the U.S.
In 1972, Morris started what became the outdoor retailer Bass Pro Shops. He bought rival Cabela’s in 2017, doubling the size of the company. He opened a new concert arena in Missouri in 2022 that started regularly having shows in 2024.
Pauline MacMillan Keinath
- Net worth: $8.1 billion
- Age: 90
- Residence: St. Louis
- Rank: 142 richest in the U.S.
Her great-grandfather founded Cargill, one of the largest food companies in the world. She is one of 12 billionaire heirs to Cargill.
Jim Kavanaugh
- Net worth: $7 billion
- Age: 61
- Residence: St. Louis
- Rank: 169 richest in the U.S.
The St. Louis University graduate founded World Wide Technology with David Steward. The former pro soccer player works as the CEO.
Min Kao and family
- Net worth: $6.3 billion
- Age: 75
- Residence: Leawood
- Rank: 204 richest in the U.S.
Kao co-founded GPS company Garmin in 1989, which is based in Olathe.
Rodger Riney and family
- Net worth: $3.9 billion
- Age: 78
- Residence: St. Louis
- Rank: 338 richest in the U.S.
Riney co-founded now-defunct stockbroker Scottrade in 1980. The business was headquartered in St. Louis until it was bought in 2017 by TD Ameritrade.
This story was originally published October 2, 2024 at 6:00 AM.
