These families with Kentucky and Ohio ties lands on Forbes list of the richest in America
Three families with ties to Kentucky and Ohio have landed on the latest Forbes report naming the richest families in the nation.
This year, Forbes introduced the first ranking of the nation's families who are worth $10 billion or more; 45 families made the list. Together, they're worth a combined $1.3 trillion, according to Forbes. Just 36 families were worth $10 billion or more in 2020, the last time Forbes counted the fortunes of America's richest families.
Here are the families from Kentucky and neighboring states that are among the richest families in the country, according to Forbes:
No. 24: Brownfamily
Net worth: $16.5 billion
Hometown: Louisville, Kentucky
The Brown-Forman Corporation, founded in Louisville, Kentucky, by George Garvin Brown in 1870, is best known for its whiskey. Its brands include Jack Daniel's, Old Forester and Woodford Reserve. The company also owns Scotch whisky brands Glenglassaugh, GlenDronach and Benriach, Irish whiskey imprint Slane, Tequila Herradura, Fords Gin and Diplomático Rum, which it bought in January 2023 for $725 million. The Brown family owns an estimated 50% of the publicly traded firm, which also houses wine and liqueur brands.
Campbell Brown, a great-great-grandson of the founder, is chairman. Three other Browns are board members.
No. 31: Haslam family
Net worth: $14.4 billion
Hometown: Knoxville, Tennessee
Brothers Jimmy and Bill Haslam sold their remaining 20% stake in roadside truck stop company Pilot Flying J, founded by their father in 1958, to Berkshire Hathaway in January. The deal marked the end of a legal dispute in which each party accused the other of manipulating the company's accounting to get a better price. The family sold 39% of Pilot to Berkshire in 2017 for $2.8 billion, and 41% in January 2023 for $8.2 billion.
Jimmy and his wife, Dee, maintain close ties to Ohio as owners of the NFL's Cleveland Browns.
No. 37: Farmer family
Net worth: $12.5 billion
Hometown: Cincinnati
During the Great Depression, out-of-work circus performers Doc and Amelia Farmer collected rags, cleaned them up and resold them. From that beginning, their grandson Dick Farmer turned the business into the uniform rentals and commercial company known as Cintas, which he ran as CEO and then chairman for nearly 40 years. The company is a leader in facility services, uniform supply, first aid and safety, and corporate training and compliance.
Dick Farmer's son, Scott, is now chairman of the $8.8 billion (2023 fiscal revenue) firm, which has more than 1 million customers and supplies uniforms for everyone from casino pit bosses to swimming pool attendants and provides cleaning services and supplies for restrooms and more.
The family has pledged at least $70 million to Scott and Dick's alma mater, Miami University in Ohio, whose Farmer School of Business opened in 2009.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: The richest Kentucky, Ohio families in the US according to Forbes
