America’s wealthiest billionaires are $1.2 trillion richer in 2025, bringing their collective worth to a staggering $6.6 trillion. And San Antonio’s own H-E-B billionaires, Charles Butt and Eleanor Butt Crook, are richer than ever, according to the new Forbes 400.
The H-E-B family are simultaneously listed among the wealthiest billionaires in the world in 2025. Charles Butt is the 120th wealthiest person in the U.S. and the 11th richest Texan, and his sister is the 38th richest Texan and ties nationally for the No. 352 richest American, Forbes says.
The annual Forbes 400 list is a definitive ranking of the wealthiest Americans, using interviews, financial data, and documentation provided by billionaires and their companies.
Charles Butt, 87, is the chairman of the Texas cult-favorite grocery chain, and Forbes estimates his net worth at $10.3 billion this year, up from his 2024 net worth of $7.6 billion. H-E-B heiress Eleanor, 93, has a 2025 net worth of $4.4 billion, up from $2.8 billion over the last two years. Forbes says her city of residence is technically San Marcos, which is halfway between San Antonio and Austin.
“It’s been a year unlike any we’ve seen in the four decades we’ve tracked America’s billionaire class,” said Forbes senior editor Chase Peterson-Withorn in a press release. “The super-rich at the very top are richer than ever — and between the White House and the booming stock market, they’re as powerful as they’ve ever been.”
Charles and Eleanor’s grandmother, Florence Butt, founded H-E-B in 1905. According to Charles’ profile, the grocery chain has generated $45 million in revenue. Eleanor also serves on H-E-B’s board of directors, and in 1997 she and her late husband founded global nutrition nonprofit The Eleanor Crook Foundation.
Richest billionaires elsewhere in Texas
In all, 43 Texas billionaires made it on the 2025 Forbes 400 list.
The richest person in America in 2025 is none other than Austin-based Elon Musk. Musk, 54, saw his net worth skyrocket to $428 billion this year, or $184 billion more than his 2024 net worth. He claimed the No. 1 spot for the fourth time.
Walmart heiress Alice Walton of Fort Worth was dubbed the wealthiest woman in America for 2025. Walton, 75, simultaneously holds the title as the richest woman in the world. Forbes estimates Walton’s net worth at $106 billion (up from $89.2 billion last year) and proclaims her as the first female centibillionaire (a person with a 12-digit fortune) in America. Now that’s wealth.
“Tariffs. Inflation. Slowing employment. None of it has hit the fortunes of America’s billionaires,” Forbes said. “A decade ago, when it took $1.7 billion to make The Forbes 400, a net worth of $3.8 billion was comfortably within the top half of the ranking — now that lofty sum is the minimum required.”