Ah, to be born filthy rich. What a life.
These nine individuals have been featured in documentaries, tabloids, and celebrity news magazines for their lavish lifestyles made possible by the fortunes they inherited.
Jamie Johnson
Jamie Johnson is the heir to the Johnson & Johnson fortune. Johnson & Johnson started out selling dental floss and first-aid kits in 1886. Now, it is best known for selling baby products under the brand name Johnson’s and also sells pharmaceutical supplies. The Johnson family is now worth an estimated $16 billion.
Jamie Johnson decided to go into the movie business and made the documentary Born Rich, in which he convinced some of his wealthy friends to talk about their fortunes. It did not make him universally popular — he lost other wealthy friends. But it did highlight the lavish lifestyles of billionaires’ children.
“You wonder….can life get any better than this?” Jamie asks in the documentaries opening sequence. “Well..to be blunt. It can. At midnight, I’m going to inherit more money than most people can earn or spend in a lifetime.”
Keepin’ it humble there, Jamie.
Paris Hilton
Paris Hilton, daughter of Hilton & Hyland founder Richard Hilton, reportedly inherited a relatively paltry $5.6 million from grandfather Barron Hilton.
The reason: He preferred to leave most of his money to charity. This family was best known for earning money in the hotel business.
However, she didn’t let it keep her down for long. She departed from her family’s traditional hotel business to earn her own fortune through modeling, TV shows, endorsement deals, and her own product lines. She is worth an estimated $300 million.
Stephanie Ercklentz
Stephanie Ercklentz and her husband, Tiger Global Management founder Chase Coleman, are worth an estimated $6 billion. She is the daughter of corporate lawyer Enno W. Ercklentz and socialite Mai Harrison.
Ercklentz’s career includes positions as an investment banking analyst for Merrill Lynch and Manager of Public Relations at Vera Wang. She co-founded Valentine’s Farm, which trains farmers and promotes bio-dynamic farming.
Josiah Hornblower
Josiah Hornblower is an heir of the Vanderbilt family, which originally made its fortune in shipping and railroads. He is also a descendant of the Whitney family, whose notable members include cotton gin inventor Eli Whitney.
In the 20th century, the Whitney family’s wealth came from large businesses that included Pan Am, J.H. Whitney & Company, and Freeport-McMoran.
S.I. Newhouse IV
S.I. Newhouse IV is an heir to the Condé Nast fortune built by his grandfather, Samuel Irving Newhouse Jr. Shortly before his death in 2017, S.I. Newhouse Jr. was listed as having a $12.1 billion fortune.
Since appearing in the “Born Rich” documentary, he joined Condé Nast as its marketing manager.
Benjamin Luke Weil
Benjamin Luke Weil is the son of former Scientific Games Corporation chairman and CEO Allen Lorne Weil. Now known as Light & Wonder, Inc., this Nevada-based company manufactures slot machines, table games, and shuffling machines.
A best guess of Allen Lorne Weil’s net worth puts it at over $200 million.
Ivanka Trump
Ivanka Trump is Donald Trump’s most well-known child. Trump real estate-based fortune of $3.8 billion despite legal challenges that include criminal charges and the NYAG’s successful bid to prevent Trump from heading a New York-based company.
Ivanka Trump’s own businesses include a fashion line. Although she had previously been involved in the Trump presidency, Trump later commented that she seemed to have “checked out” towards the end.
John Elkhan
Margherita Agnelli, John Elkann’s mother, is the daughter of Fiat founder Giovanni Agnelli. When Giovanni died in 2003, the family fortune was reportedly worth €33 billion.
Giovanni had already gifted John Elkann 25% of the company prior to his death, naming his as the successor of his company, Fiat. But Giovanni’s death sparked a 20-year-long feud between Margherita Agnelli and her three eldest children, John Elkann, Lapo Elkann, and sister Ginevra Elkann.
When Fiat was in danger of bankruptcy, Margherita Agnelli Agnelli agreed to a €1.2 billion payout from her mother Marella in exchange for her stake in the family estate and company, Dicembre. Marella in turn sold that stake to the three Elkann children.
Margherita Agnelli went on to remarry and have five more children with a a Russian businessman. But when Marella died, rumors swirled that Giovanni had a hidden fortune in his estate and accounts abroad, unbeknownst to Margherita. As the stakeholders, the Elkann children had legal entitlement to the fortune, though Italian courts are set to rule on whether or not Margherita Agnelli has any claim to the hidden fortune, the depth of which is unknown to the public.
Mark Mateschitz
Thirty-two year old Mark Mateschitz is the only son of Austrian billionaire Dietrich Mateschitz, who cofounded and owned 49% of Red Bull. Dietrich passed away in 2022 at the age of 78, leaving Mark his nearly $40 billion dollar fortune.
