Minnesota
Many with Minnesota ties make Forbes list of world’s richest people
California considers one‑time tax targeting the state’s wealthiest
The California Billionaire Tax Act proposes a one‑time tax on the state’s wealthiest residents to raise revenue for services like health care
Several people with Minnesota ties are on Forbes’ latest listing of the world’s wealthiest people.
South African-born businessman and tech mogul Elon Musk is once again the richest man in the world, according to the magazine, which released its annual list of the world’s billionaires March 10.
Glen Taylor, of Mankato, Minnesota, is at No. 1285 on the list with assets totaling $3.3 billion, Forbes said. Taylor, 84, grew up on a farm in southern Minnesota, went to Minnesota State University, and in 1975 bought a wedding service he had worked in during college for $2 million, according to the magazine. That wedding service became Taylor Corp., a printing service with current annual sales of more than $2 billion. He owns stakes in the NBA’s Timberwolves and WNBA’s Lynx as well as the Minnesota Star Tribune newspaper.
T. Denny Sanford, who grew up in the Twin Cities, went to the University of Minnesota and now lives in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, was at No. 1712 on the list with assets totaling $2.4 billion. Sanford, 90, owns First Premier Bank, which is one of the largest issuers of Mastercards. Sanford has said that he wants to die broke, and he has given more than $1 billion to Sanford Health, a group of 43 nonprofit hospitals formerly called the Sioux Valley Health System, according to Forbes.
Also on the Forbes list are members of the Cargill family, which owns Cargill. The food and beverage company based in Wayzata, Minnesota, is the largest privately owned company in the country, and 21 heirs of founder W.W. Cargill are worth $1 billion or more, according to Forbes. The highest on the list is Pauline MacMillan Keinath, who landed at No. 361 with $9.5 billion in assets, according to Forbes. Keinath, 92, now lives in St. Louis.
There are a record 3,428 people worth $1 billion or more, an increase of 400 compared with last year. This year’s billionaire class is worth a combined record $20.1 trillion, $4 trillion more than last year’s total income.
Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, tops the list again this year, increasing his wealth from 2025 by an estimated $497 billion, roughly doubling his fortune and bringing it to a record $839 billion. The 54-year-old is more than three times richer than Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who Forbes lists as the second and third wealthiest people in the world, respectively.
Here’s the top 50 wealthiest people on this year’s list.
Forbes’ 2026 top billionaires in the world
Forbes’ 2026 ranking of the richest people in the world was based on stock prices and exchange rates, as of March 1, according to the magazine.
Here’s a look at the top 50:
| Rank | Name | Net Worth | Age | Country | Source |
| 1 | Elon Musk | $839 billion | 54 | United States | Tesla, SpaceX |
| 2 | Larry Page | $257 billion | 52 | United States | |
| 3 | Sergey Brin | $237 billion | 52 | United States | |
| 4 | Jeff Bezos | $224 billion | 62 | United States | Amazon |
| 5 | Mark Zuckerberg | $222 billion | 41 | United States | |
| 6 | Larry Ellison | $190 billion | 81 | United States | Oracle |
| 7 | Bernard Arnault & family | $171 billion | 77 | France | LVMH |
| 8 | Jensen Huang | $154 billion | 63 | United States | Semiconductors |
| 9 | Warren Buffett | $149 billion | 95 | United States | Berkshire Hathaway |
| 10 | Amancio Ortega | $148 billion | 89 | Spain | Zara |
| 11 | Rob Walton & family | $146 billion | 81 | United States | Walmart |
| 12 | Jim Walton & family | $143 billion | 77 | United States | Walmart |
| 13 | Michael Dell | $141 billion | 61 | United States | Dell Technologies |
| 14 | Alice Walton | $134 B | 76 | United States | Walmart |
| 15 | Steve Ballmer | $126 B | 69 | United States | Microsoft |
| 16 | Carlos Slim Helu & family | $125 billion | 86 | Mexico | Telecom |
| 17 | Changpeng Zhao | $110 billion | 49 | Canada | Cryptocurrency exchange |
| 18 | Michael Bloomberg | $109 billion | 84 | United States | Bloomberg LP |
| 19 | Bill Gates | $108 billion | 70 | United States | Microsoft |
| 20 | Francoise Bettencourt Meyers & family | $100 billion | 72 | France | L’Oréal |
| 21 | Mukesh Ambani | $99.7 billion | 68 | India | Diversified |
| 22 | Giancarlo Devasini | $89.3 billion | 61 | Italy | Cryptocurrency |
| 23 | Thomas Peterffy | $82.9 billion | 81 | United States | Discount brokerage |
| 24 | Julia Koch & family | $81.2 billion | 63 | United States | Koch, Inc. |
| 25 | Charles Koch & family | $73.8 billion | 90 | United States | Koch, Inc. |
| 26 | Zhang Yiming | $69.3 billion | 41 | China | TikTok |
| 27 | Zhong Shanshan | $68.1 billion | 71 | China | Beverages, pharmaceuticals |
| 28 | Jeff Yass | $67.4 billion | 67 | United States | Trading, investments |
| 29 | Dieter Schwarz | $67.2 billion | 86 | Germany | Retail |
| 30 | Germán Larrea Mota Velasco & family | $67.1 billion | 72 | Mexico | Mining |
| 31 | Gautam Adani | $63.8 billion | 63 | India | Infrastructure, commodities |
| 32 | Tadashi Yanai & family | $61.8 billion | 77 | Japan | Fashion retail |
| 33 | Ma Huateng | $53.8 billion | 54 | China | Online games |
| 34 | Robin Zeng | $53.2 billion | 57 | Hong Kong | Batteries |
| 35 | Iris Fontbona & family | $52.6 billion | 83 | Chile | Mining |
| 36 | Masayoshi Son | $51.5 billion | 68 | Japan | Telecom, Investments |
| 37 | Ken Griffin | $49.8 billion | 57 | United States | Hedge funds |
| 38 | Jacqueline Mars | $49.1 billion | 86 | United States | Candy, pet food |
| 38 | John Mars | $49.1 billion | 90 | United States | Candy, pet food |
| 40 | Lukas Walton | $48.9 billion | 39 | United States | Walmart |
| 41 | Giovanni Ferrero | $48.8 billion | 61 | Italy | Nutella, chocolates |
| 42 | Li Ka-shing | $47 billion | 97 | Hong Kong | Diversified |
| 43 | Mark Mateschitz | $45.8 billion | 33 | Austria | Red Bull |
| 44 | Gianluigi Aponte | $44.5 billion | 85 | Switzerland | Shipping |
| 44 | Rafaela Aponte-Diamant | $44.5 billion | 80 | Switzerland | Shipping |
| 46 | Andrea Pignataro | $42.6 billion | 55 | Italy | Financial software |
| 47 | Klaus-Michael Kuehne | $41.9 billion | 88 | Germany | Shipping |
| 48 | Thomas Frist, Jr. & family | $41.1 billion | 87 | United States | Hospitals |
| 49 | Alain Wertheimer | $39.4 billion | 77 | France | Chanel |
| 49 | Gerard Wertheimer | $39.4 billion | 75 | France | Chanel |
To see the full list, go to https://www.forbes.com/billionaires/.
Gayle Eubank contributed to this story.
Kate Perez covers national trends and breaking news for USA TODAY. You can reach her at kperez@usatodayco.com or on X @katecperez_.
Minnesota
Minneapolis city leaders say law enforcement, community members making Uptown safer, but more must be done
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, Police Chief Brian O’Hara and other city leaders outlined ongoing efforts to improve safety and livability in the city’s Uptown neighborhood during a news conference Tuesday morning.
The discussion focused on a series of public safety initiatives, including expanded patrols by the Minneapolis Police Department and the planned growth of the city’s Community Safety Ambassador Program in Uptown.
That program is already in place elsewhere in south Minneapolis, on East Lake Street and Franklin Avenue. Officials said Tuesday it will come to Uptown in November. One dispatcher and up to eight ambassadors will be available to perform safety escorts, wellness checks, first aid and more.
Officials say efforts to increase safety in the area have been ongoing since December, when dedicated police patrols were introduced.
“Uptown is experiencing a comeback, but we need to be doing the work to make sure that it happens faster. We’ve all got these beautiful, nostalgic memories about what Uptown was six, seven, eight years ago. Twenty years ago,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said. “What’s certain is the Uptown of the future is going to be dramatically different than the Uptown of the past.”
In March, dozens of people lined up for a community meeting discussing safety and livability concerns in the Uptown neighborhood. Data from the city shows there are more assaults, car thefts, robberies and calls for gunshots in the neighborhood compared to the same time last year. Community members, business owners and others have come together to launch community initiatives — like United Uptown — to get the area back on track.
Leaders describe the city’s approach as a coordinated strategy that combines public safety resources, infrastructure investments and partnerships with community organizations. City Council member Elizabeth Shaffer said the goal is “an Uptown that is safe, welcoming and enjoyable for everyone.”
Frey, O’Hara and Shaffer all highlighted drug use as a serious problem in the area. Shaffer and Frey said law enforcement has been helpful in curbing the issue, but more needs to be done.
“We need to be stepping up to be honest about it, to do something about it, to provide the supports for people who need it and yes, also make sure that we’re enforcing the law,” Frey said. “That’s part of the comeback that we’re going to see in Uptown.”
Minnesota
Driver who fatally struck bicyclist in Minneapolis may have been impaired, police say
Minneapolis police suspect a driver was under the influence when he hit and killed a bicyclist on the city’s southside early Monday morning.
Officers responded to the crash at the intersection of Hiawatha Avenue and East 35th Street around 3 a.m., according to the Minneapolis Police Department.
Upon arrival, police found a man in his 50s suffering from apparent life-threatening injuries. Officers provided immediate medical aid, including CPR, before the man was transported to Hennepin Healthcare, where he later died.
The Minneapolis Police Department says that preliminary information indicates the driver, a 23-year-old man, had been traveling south on Hiawatha Avenue in a Ford Edge when he struck the bicyclist.
Officers arrested the driver and took him to the hospital, where police say “a search warrant for evidence collection was carried out.” Police later booked the driver into Hennepin County Jail on suspicion of criminal vehicular homicide.
The incident is still under investigation.
Minnesota
I-94 rest area in Minnesota closed until Independence Day for $2.9M improvement project
A rest area along Interstate 94 in Minnesota has been closed to trucks until about Independence Day to accommodate an almost $3 million improvement project.
The eastbound I-94 Enfield rest area between St. Cloud, Minnesota and the Twin Cities between Wright County Road 8 and Highway 25 is now closed to cars and commercial vehicles as crews resurface the entrance and exit ramps, and update nearby sidewalks.
According to KNSI, the full closure is just the first phase of the project. The rest area will reopen to passenger vehicles only the week of May 11th. During that time, the truck parking area will remain closed as crews repave the lot.
The truck parking lot will reopen the week of June 30th, right around Independence Day. During that time, the passenger vehicle area will be shut down to allow for the resurfacing of the lot. The Minnesota DOT expects the rest area to be fully open by late July. The entire project is expected to cost $2.9 million.
Drivers heading east on I-94 are encouraged to use the Big Spunk Lake rest area near Avon, or to drive a little farther out to the Elm Creek rest area.
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