Perot was born in Texarkana during the Great Depression, the son of a modestly successful cotton broker and horse trader. No fortune in America is more directly attributable to personal force of will. It happened to have hit me.” Texas’ richest man is being a little coy. “It just comes around every so often and hits somebody. “ It’s kind of like Halley’s Comet,” Ross Perot likes to say of his wealth, about $3 billion. Wharton, Albert Buckman “Bucky” III Vernon Shelton, Andrew Brackett “Stormy” Abilene Hunt, Haroldson Lafayette “Hassie” III Dallas Hendrix, Helen Hunt New York City and Dallas Groves, Helen “Helenita” Kleberg Staunton, Virginia, and King Ranch More than any rule of thumb or method of evaluation, it was these insiders -most of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity-who were indispensable in helping us compile the Texas 100. Their wheels are greased by an entire cottage industry of brokers and analysts, money managers, attorneys, bankers, and business partners. Our net-worth calculations did not count wealth held by private foundations or other charitable entities.Īs much as they might like to, those listed on the Texas 100 cannot operate in a vacuum. In some cases, we assumed that heirs to a common inheritance received equal shares, at least where we found no evidence to the contrary. Generally, we credited wealth parked in the names of offspring or wives to the creator of the fortune. In instances in which assets are concentrated in a closely held, ongoing family business, the wealth of a family group was attributed to a member of the family deemed to control the wealth and its incumbent economic power.Public stock holdings were priced June 1.For the sake of consistency in compiling the Texas 100, we adopted the following guidelines: Since we made no allowance for hidden assets, all net-worth figures should be considered minimums. Obviously, our net-worth calculations are independent estimates, not audited figures. In probing this moneyed mine field, two overriding principles-conservatism and common sense-held sway. Whatever their objections, though, the Texas 100 were united on at least one front-almost none would discuss their net worth. Many more objected to our rich list simply because any mention of big money attracts fundraisers and developers like vultures to fresh road kill. Others feared that being listed in the Texas 100 might cause them business problems or headaches with the Internal Revenue Service. In a sure sign that times have changed in Texas, some thought it might seem as though they were bragging. With a few exceptions, none of the Texas 100 wanted to be on the list. Further complicating the matter is the intrinsic privacy with which the superrich guard their affairs. Asset values are dynamic and can never be known exactly until an asset is sold. The world of great wealth is a maze of disguised ownership, intertwining trusts, partnerships, hidden liabilities, and-the rich’s favorite shell game-estate-planning maneuvers. Searching out the richest people in the state is no simple task. Read more here about our archive digitization project. We have left it as it was originally published, without updating, to maintain a clear historical record. This story is from Texas Monthly ’s archives.
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