This Is The Richest Person In Wisconsin, New Analysis Says

WISCONSIN — With his namesake stores across the Midwest putting up fierce competition in the home improvement retail market, John Menard Jr. continues to have bragging rights as the richest person in the Badger State, according to a recent ranking by Forbes.

Nearly all states have at least one billionaire, according to The Richest Person In Every State list put together by Forbes. The only ones that don’t are Alaska, Delaware and West Virginia.

Menard, a titan of the home improvement industry, has an estimated net worth of $18.1 billion (as of June 12). Menard, 83, lives in Eau Claire.

Nearly a third of the billionaires topped their states for the first time, according to Forbes.

The competition to make the list is the fiercest in four states, where than 60 percent of the 775 billionaires who live in the United States reside: California with 179 billionaires, New York with 130, Florida with 92, and Texas with 73.

Because of ties, 54 people made the list. Their average age is 73, with Walmart heir Lukas Walton, 36, of Illinois, and Maryland-based Annette Lerner, 93, the widow of Washington Nationals owner Ted Lerner, who died in February, bookending the list.

About two-thirds of these billionaires, as well as centimillionaires (people whose net worth is more than $100 million) are self-made, and the rest inherited their fortunes, according to Forbes. More than half made their money in four industries: finance and investments, fashion and retail, food and beverage, and technology.