The Gettys – $5B
The Getty clan earned most of the family fortune during the twentieth century thanks to the petroleum industry. The founders are none other than George Franklin and his child, Jean Paul. Originally from Ireland, the father-and-son duo had Irish and Scottish lineage. They traced their roots to Cullavmor, which eventually became what we now know as County Londonderry. George Franklin was a lawyer before he became an oilman. After making it big, he gave the proceeds of the company to his sons and told them to go into oil and gas. They followed his sound advice, and it worked out for the best. In 1916, they started Getty Oil. The mighty oil business is still under the control of the family, and the net worth keeps going up with each generation.
The Gettys – $5B
The Strykers – $35B
The Stryker family has been here since 1941, which means it has dominated the medical technology field in the country for about a half-century now. Homer Stryker is an inventor who came up with new kinds of medical equipment, though none is better known than his mobile hospital bed invention. Eventually, he passed the figurative baton to his son Lee, though he died in a plane crash not long after. Lee had three kids: Jon, Patricia, and Ronda. They took over the family business after he passed away. The Strykers have earned a reputation for supporting socially liberal causes as well as the Democrat party. They also started the Arcus Foundation and the Bohemian Foundation, which advocates for LGBTQ rights and promotes arts and culture respectively.
The Strykers – $35B
