Houston is a thriving city known for Space Center Houston, industries, and elegant restaurants. Energy oil, pipelines, and other big business are popular in the city. With all these urbanizations, Houston Texas is a home for many billionaires and famous people. In this article, we have searched the richest people in Houston, their net worth, and how they make money and help grow the city.
1. Richard Kinder
Net Worth: $11 Billion
Company: Kinder Morgan Energy Partners
Richard Kinder is listed as the top richest person in Houston. He was the former CEO of Enron Energy before he stepped down in 1977. He created his firm which is the largest energy infrastructure in the United States. Kinder Morgan Energy Partners is a thriving business with over 84,000 miles of pipelines with 180 storage terminals.
The company makes profits of about $800 annually and acquired El Paso Corp in 2012 for $38 billion. In 2013 Richard Kinder purchased Capano Energy for $5 billion to enlarge his investments. With other stakeholders, Kinder Morgan Company’s share price is 23% with combined quarterly payouts of $200 million.
Apart from investment, Richard has a foundation called the Kinder Foundation. This foundation has $75 million in assets and funds education and quality of life in Houston. Richard Kinder also chairs the board of trustees of the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston.
2. Scott Duncan
Net Worth: $7.2 Billion
Company: Enterprise Product Partners
Scott Duncan is one of the four siblings and heirs to the Enterprise pipeline fortune. The 30-year-old is $800 million richer than a year ago thanks to rice in the stock price of Enterprise Product Partners. As a board member, Scott Duncan ensures the company gains a lot of revenue with over 7,000 employees.
3. Milane Frantz
Net Worth: $7 Billion
Company: Enterprise Product Partners
With the inheritance from her dad, Milane Frantz is ranked among the 400 people rich people by Forbes. He has the biggest share in Enterprise Product Partners together with her siblings. Milane Frantz sits on the board of Enterprise Product Partners.
Milane Frantz is also a board member of the Hermann Park Conservancy in Houston and the Baylor College of Medicine Board of Trustees.
4. Jeffery Hildebrand
Net Worth: $5.7 Billion
Company: Hilcorp Energy
Jeffery Hildebrand has grown Hilcorp Energy as one of the biggest private oil companies for over 10 years. A few years ago his company was named one of the 50 best places to work. In 2015 Hilcorp Energy gave its workers a $100,000 bonus as a way of appreciation.
Hilcorp is busy investing hundreds of millions a year in Alaska’s Cook Inlet. Jeffery also has other oil companies in the Utica Shale of Ohio and the Gulf Coast Region. In 2011 Hilderbrands made his biggest payday after he turned a $100 million investment in the Eagle Ford shale into $1.4 billion with a sale to Marathon Oil.
5. Randa Williams
Net Worth $5.5 billion
Company: Enterprise Products
Randa Williams was elected as vice chairman of Enterprise products. Founded by her dad. The 52-year-old is making progress in the oil and petroleum products company. She is actively involved in her company making remarkable revenues.
Randa William is also involved in other charities. They include Ballet Foundation and Manned Spaceflight. Education Foundation, Girls Scouts, and Museum of Natural Science.
6. Dannine Avara
Net Worth: $5.5 Billion
Company: Enterprise Product Partners
Dannine Avara is the sister to Randa Duncan, Scott and Milane Frantz. She saw her fortune coming after inheriting part of shares from Enterprise Product Partners after his father died. The pipelines have grown with miles of natural gas, oil, and petrochemical.
Dannine Avara is ranked by Forbes producing over $800 million in payouts for the company. Enterprise Company as well as 14 billion cube feet of natural gas storage capacity. Together with his brothers, Dannine Avara is elected as a non-executive chairman of the board.
7. Randa Duncan Williams
Net Worth: $5 Billion
Company: Enterprise Pipeline Partners
Enterprise Pipeline Partners was founded by Randa’s grandfather Duncan Jr. in 1968. The company went down in public in 1988 and by 2010 oversaw more than 50,000 miles of pipelines.
Enterprise Pipeline Partners is ranked as the largest company in America in terms of gross revenue by Fortune. The company has a market cap of $64 billion and generates $50 billion annually. With this, it contributes over 175 million shares among stakeholders.
8. Robert Brockman
Net Worth: $4.7 Billion
Company: Reynolds and Reynolds Co.
Robert Brockman was the chairman of the Ohio-based Reynolds company. He started his career in 164 as a marketing trainee with Ford Motors.
This is the largest company dealing with software for car dealerships established in 1970.
Reynolds and Reynolds Co use automotive technology and digitization to provide the best car software in the USA. The company has 4,300 employees with a revenue ratio of $511,527 million. By 2021 their peak revenue annually was $2.2 Billion.
9. Tilman Fertitta
Net Worth: $4.7 Billion
Company: Landry’s Restaurants, Houston Rockets
Tilman Fertitta took a private deal of $1.4 billion and bought Landry’s Restaurant. Over the years, this restaurant has grown to have branches in Houston and Texas. The Landry’s Restaurant owns the Golden Nugget Casinos, Houston’s Kemah Boardwalk, Tower of the Americas in San Antonio, and San Luis Resort in Galveston, Tex.
With all this, the company has 63 brands including Bubba Gump Shrimp Co, Mortons Steakhouse, and Rainforest Café with a total of 500 locations. On the other hand, Houston Rockets bring sales of $2.2 billion annually.
10. Janice McNair
Net Worth: $4 Billion
Company: NFL’s Houston Texans
Janice McNair was introduced to fuel energy investments by his late husband. She is the owner of the NFL’s Houston Texan. The company won a bid of $700 million in 1999 which lead to its expansion.
According to Forbes, Houston Texan is the youngest franchise in the NFL. The Texan’s first season in the NFL was in 2002. The team won four division titles in his lifetime
11. John Paul Dejoria
Net Worth: $4 Billion
Company: John Paul Mitchell Hair Systems and Patron Spirits
John Paul is famously referred to as the shampoo and tequila entrepreneur. He was in the navy before starting a hair care outfit with his partner Paul Mitchell. In 1980 he founded John Paul Mitchell System with $700 million.
Before the peak of his company, he used to hawk his products door by door. In 1989 he formed tequila distiller Patron Spirits in partnership with Martin Crowley. He made $50 bottles of tequila sold in restaurants and nightclubs. Currently, his company sells more than 2 million cases annually. John Paul has charity cases including GrowAppalachia, Mineseekers, Blazer House, and Food4Africa.
12. Dan Friedkin
Net Worth: $3.3 Billion
Company: Gulf States Toyota
The Gulf States Toyota was founded by Dan’s father in 1968 and he had him to it in 2001. Gulf States Toyota is an auto distribution company that exclusively deals with imports and distributes Toyota vehicles. They distribute these vehicles in Arkansas, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Texas, and Louisiana.
As the largest private business in Houston, the company makes $8 billion in sales. Dan Friedkin has also invested in the film industry, a luxury hospitality management firm, and purchased a golf course. He also has Friedkin Conversation Fund which contributes $100 million towards wildlife conservancy.
13. John Arnold
Net Worth: $2.8 Billion
Company: Centaurus Advisors, LLC
John Arnold ended his career at the age of 38 years at Enron Energy. After working in that company for 17 years, he decided to quit and established Centaurus Advisors, LLC. Having made over $750 million the Enron star decided to settle investments with his wife Laura.
Centaurus Advisors LLC is a hedge firm management providing services to pooled investment vehicles. With 100 employees it makes $10-$25 million in revenue. John Arnold is a signatory of the Giving Pledge and has devoted $1.2 billion to his foundation.
14. Edward Bass
Net Worth: $2.2 Billion
Company: Bass & Company
Edward Bass is the founder and CEO of Bass and Company which deals with oil and gas production. Bass and his brothers inherited $2.8 million from their oil tycoon uncle Sid Richardson. They invested and made multibillion-dollar fortunes with the help of bets on oil and pipelines that paid off big.
In 2017 Edward Bass sold his company to ExxonMobil for $5.6 Billion in stock. The reason why he sold his company was not known but the future payouts could total $1 billion. Still with his investments, Edward Bass pledged $160 million to refurbish Peabody Museum at Yale University.
15. Leo Koguan
Net Worth: $2.2 Billion
Company: SHI International
Leo Koguan was born and raised in Indonesia. With a lot of travel and exposure, he settled in Texas and decided to build a company. In 1989 he founded the IT firm SHI International with his wife Thai Lee. This company has over 20,000 customers like AT&T and Boeing.
Leo Koguan as the founder holds approximately a $3.2 billion stake in the company. SHI International makes revenue of $11 billion annually and is listed among the richest companies by Forbes. SHI Company offers program assistance, tracking, software licensing, assets, management, and other information technology products.
16. George Bishop
Net Worth: $2.1 Billion
Company: GeoSouthern Energy
George Bishop is an American entrepreneur making headlines in Forbes. He established GeoSouthern Energy Company after making a huge payday of $6 billion from Devon Energy. GeosSouthern is a petroleum and natural gas exploration company serving the whole of Texas.
This year they have recorded 8.75% in oil and gas production. GeoSothern also offers oil and gas drilling services for affordable taxation prices.
17. Robert McNair
Net Worth: $2 Billion
Company: Houston Texans
As old as 76 years, Robert McNair has set the standard as one of the richest people in Houston. His company Houston Texans gained a reputation when they won playoffs in 2017. They also won the competition to host Super Bowl that same year. Robert McNair has the best team in NFL bringing a championship to Houston.
A decade ago he paid $700 million for the expansion of the team. Forbes values Roberts’s 79% stake in the team at $880 million. In 1999 he made his fortune selling power plant operator Cogen Technologies to Enron. Robert also has a foundation that contributes $100 million in scholarships to students.
18. Fayez Sarofim
Net Worth: $2 Billion
Company: Fayez Sarofim & Co.
Fayez Sarofim is the son of a wealthy Egyptian cotton farmer. He received his M.B.A. from Harvard University and started his firm Fayez Sarofim & Co in 1958. Sarofim made his fortune as a buy-and-hold specialist with long-term investments in Philip Moriis Coca-Cola, Protector & Gamble. His company currently has $27 billion in assets under management
Fayez also carries a cache of stock in Kinder Morgan energy and Transportation Company. Being one of the shareholders and directors he owns 2% of the company. He still maintains the position but currently, he is concentrating on growing his own company.
19. Joe Jamail
Net Worth: 1.6 Billion
Company: Pennzoil
Joe Jamail has been the wealthiest practicing attorney general who has built his career on personal jury cases. In 1987, Jamail represented Pennzoil against a landmark case. This case won $10.5 billion with Joe Jamail taking home $345 million.
The case transcripts are currently used by law students at the Tarlton Law Library at the University of Texas. In 1986 Jamail established the Lee and Joseph D. Jamail Foundation through which he donates millions to education. This money has been used by different institutions in medical research and performing arts.
20. John Goff
Net Worth: $1.3 Billion
Company: Crescent Real Estate
John Goff is a private investor in a lot of businesses and firms. With his co-founder Richard Rainwater they formed Crescent Real Estate in 1990. In 1994 the company grew over $500 million and provided its shareholders with 15.4%
Crescent is a real estate firm that integrates real estate investment, operations, and development. They offer exceptional expertise in projects and industries.