These two Mississippi brothers are on Forbes billionaires list. See who else made it

Two Mississippians have once again made the Forbes' 37th annual World's Billionaires List, joining 2,638 other billionaires around the world.

Of that number, the U.S. has the most with 735, followed by China at 495. India, Germany and Russia follow, with 169, 126 and 105 respectively.

All told, the U.S. billionaires are worth a total of $4.5 trillion.

It's the fifth time for the two men from Hattiesburg to be on the Forbes list.

Brothers Tommy Duff and Jim Duff each rank at No. 1,312 — in the middle of the pack of global billionaires.

Each of the Duff brothers has a net worth of approximately $2.3 billion. That is nearly double the $1.2 billion each man was worth in 2019, the first year they made the billionaires list.

The Duffs, who own Duff Capital Investors, started the company after building up and expanding the tire company left to them by their father. Over the years, DCI has grown to include a number of companies including Southern Tire Mart, KLLM Transport Services, Frozen Food Express, TL Wallace Construction, Forest Products Transports, DeepWell Energy Services, Pine Belt Chevrolet, Courtesy Ford, Southern Insurance Group, Duff Real Estate, Magnolia Grille and Magnolia Inn.

The Duffs are big supporters of higher education in Mississippi and have donated millions to some of the state's public universities.

The men rank higher than Pascagoula native Jimmy Buffett, who made the billionaires list for the first time in 2023. Buffett ranked No. 2,504 on the list, with a reported net worth of $1 billion.

The Duff brothers are not far behind Kosciusko native Oprah Winfrey, who at No. 1,217 is worth a reported $2.5 billion.

That's how the Duffs compare with other Mississippi billionaires. How do they compare with other billionaires across the country?

While the Duffs' net worth is nowhere near that of Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos, the men rank higher than list newcomers LeBron James ($1 billion, rank 2,504) and Tiger Woods ($1.1 billion, rank 2,405).

They also rank higher than Kim Kardashian, who has a reported $1.2 billion and ranks at 2,259; and Michael Jordan, who at No. 1,516 has a net worth of $2 billion.

So, what could the Duff brothers do with the $4.6 billion they share between them? The could fund nearly two-thirds of the state's budget of $7.615 billion for the 2023-24 fiscal year.

One brother could fund one year of paving roads and highways across the United States.

Each brother could buy around 6,000 Rolls-Royces or more than 1 million bicycles.

One could buy all of the 41 luxury homes listed for sale in Mississippi by Sotheby's International Realty at around $30-$35 million and not even come close to making a dent in his estate.

Do you have a story to share? Contact Lici Beveridge at lbeveridge@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @licibev or Facebook at facebook.com/licibeveridge.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Duff brothers in Mississippi are on Forbes billionaires list 2023