37 Texans are on Forbes’ 2021 richest Americans list, and there’s a new No.1 in Dallas

There is a richest New Texan in Forbesannual ranking of the 400 richest Americans, and a reshuffle at the top in Dallas.

Elon Musk’s much-publicized move from California to the Lone Star State makes him the state’s richest new resident, knocking down perennial leader and Walmart heiress Alice Walton from the top spot for 2021. A surge in Tesla stock prices nearly tripled the fortune of the founder of the electric car company. .

Musk’s estimated net worth of $ 190.5 billion surpasses only Amazon founder and space race rival Jeff Bezos as the richest man in the country. Bezos is worth $ 201 billion, up $ 22 billion from a year earlier, according to Forbes.

Both Musk and Bezos have made Texas a key state in their space privatization plans. Musk’s SpaceX uses a launch site along the Gulf Coast on the Texas-Mexico border; Bezos sends his Blue Origin rockets skyward from a remote location in West Texas.

In Dallas, banker Andy Beal is back on top after being passed last year by Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. Both men saw their wealth increase, although Beal’s $ 2.3 billion gain put him ahead of Jones. Beal had led the standings several times before.

Alice Walton, who lists Fort Worth as her home address, lost her top Texas spot to Musk, but she still holds America’s richest woman title for the seventh year in a row. His estimated net worth reached $ 67.9 billion, up $ 5.6 billion from last year due to a double-digit rise in Walmart shares.

Many other billionaires in Forbes’ The 40th annual ranking also saw their wealth increase considerably last year. The 400 men and women collectively posted a gain of 40%. Forbes said the top 20 together are worth $ 1.8 trillion.

Just to make this year’s list, the bar has been raised significantly from $ 2.1 billion to $ 2.9 billion. It toppled 51 billionaires, including President Donald Trump and TV personality Oprah Winfrey, as well as some Texans.

Outside the rankings, John Paul DeJoria of Austin, who founded Paul Mitchell Systems hair care products and co-founded Patrón Tequila ($ 2.8 billion); Fort Worth oilman and investor Sid Bass ($ 2.7 billion) and Dallas banker Gerald Ford ($ 2.6 billion).