Michael Reaves/Getty Images
Audio By Carbonatix
From DOGE-related cuts to the federal government, the AI boom and a large tax cut for the rich, it’s been great to be a billionaire these last 12 months. (Then again, isn’t it always?)
On March 11, Forbes released its list of the wealthiest people in the world, with Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk topping the list. With nearly $840 billion to his name, the 54-year-old is three times richer than the second-wealthiest person on the planet, Google co-founder Larry Page. Page is followed by fellow Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Amazon Founder Jeff Bezos, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison.
In total, this year’s billionaires class is a record-breaking 3,428 people, about 400 more than last year. And while you can’t find an Arizona resident or a billionaire with strong Arizona connections among the top 10 richest people, there are 16 billionaires connected to the Grand Canyon State on the list. Near the bottom are notable names like Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick ($1.2 billion) and Axon CEO Rick Smith ($1.8 billion), but their fortunes are dwarfed by Arizona’s wealthiest.
Here are the 10 richest men — and they’re all men — with major Arizona connections. Their net worths are as of March 17.
10. Mark Shoen
Forbes worldwide ranking: 1108
Net worth: $3.9 billion
Mark Shoen owns roughly a fifth of Amerco, the parent company of U-Haul. He sided with his older brother to wrest control of the company from their father and push him into retirement. The 75-year-old Shoen lives in Phoenix.
Gage Skidmore
Tie-8. Bob Parsons
Forbes worldwide ranking: 1044
Net worth: $4.1 billion
A 75-year-old Scottsdale resident, Parsons founded what became the web-hosting firm GoDaddy in 1997. In 2018, he sold off his remaining stake in the company and stepped down from the board. Additionally, Parsons founded PXG, a high-performance golf equipment company, in 2014. He also owns commercial real estate, motorcycle dealerships, a production company and the Scottsdale National Golf Club, according to Forbes.
Tie–8. Stewart Horejsi
Forbes worldwide ranking: 1044
Net worth: $4.1 billion
Horejsi and his family began investing in the holding company Berkshire Hathaway as early as 1980. Berkshire’s class A stock is now the world’s most valuable, and Berkshire Hathaway chairman and CEO Warren Buffett is the ninth-wealthiest person in the world.
The 88-year-old Horejsi resides in Phoenix, but splits his time between Arizona, Oregon and Barbados, according to Forbes.
Josh Lefkowitz/Getty Images
7. Arturo Moreno
Forbes worldwide ranking: 852
Net worth: $5 billion
Moreno owns the Los Angeles Angels, which he purchased for $184 million in 2003. Today, the team is worth around $2.75 billion. The 79-year-old resides in Phoenix and has stakes in commercial real estate holdings throughout the Valley. His initial fortune came from the Phoenix-based billboard advertising company Outdoor Systems, which he sold for $8.3 billion in 1999. Today, he still has stakes in other billboard advertising companies.
6. Justin Ishbia
Forbes worldwide ranking: 694
Net worth: $6 billion
While he lives mostly in Chicago, Ishbia is a big name in the Arizona sports world after he and his brother, Mat, bought a majority stake in the Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury in 2023. The deal was valued at $4 billion. This past year, Ishbia also reached a “long-term agreement” that sets him up to acquire ownership of the Chicago White Sox. The deal could see Ishbia take over the team as soon as 2029 or as late as 2034.
The 48-year-old made his money as the founder and managing partner of Shore Capital Partners, a Chicago-based private equity firm. He also owns a 22% stake in United Wholesale Mortgage, which his father founded in 1986.
Web Summit/Flickr/CC BY 2.0
5. George Kurtz
Forbes worldwide ranking: 528
Net worth: $7.3 billion
Kurtz is the founder and CEO of CrowdStrike, a cloud-based cybersecurity company that he started in 2011. If the name CrowdStrike sounds familiar, that’s probably because a bug in the software’s update grounded flights, took media outlets offline and disrupted companies worldwide in July 2024. The 55-year-old lives in Paradise Valley.
4. Mat Ishbia
Forbes worldwide ranking: 383
Net worth: $9.1 billion
Ishbia is the chairman and CEO of the Michigan-based mortgage lender United Wholesaler Mortgage, now UWM Holdings. He owns a 71% stake in the company, which became the country’s largest wholesale lender in 2015. More notably for Arizonans, Ishbia bought a majority stake in the Phoenix Suns and Mercury with his aforementioned younger brother. The 46-year-old lives in Michigan but is often seen courtside at Mortgage Matchup Center.
Gage Skidmore/Flickr/CC BY-SA 2.0
3. Ernest Garcia III
Forbes worldwide ranking: 323
Net worth: $10.2 billion
Garcia is the CEO and co-founder of Carvana, an online platform for buying and selling used cars and a staple of State Route 202. The 43-year-old launched Carvana in 2012 as a subsidiary of DriveTime, which is owned and run by his father. He lives in Phoenix.
2. Ernest Garcia II
Forbes worldwide ranking: 116
Net worth: $21.5 billion
Garcia is the father of Ernest Garcia III and the biggest shareholder of Carvana, which his son founded. Carvana was a subsidiary of DriveTime Automotive before spinning out into its own company. Garcia II still owns and runs DriveTime, which is the country’s fourth-biggest used car retailer. The 68-year-old lives in Tempe and attended the University of Arizona before dropping out.
Gage Skidmore/Flickr/CC BY-SA 2.0
1. Rob Walton
Forbes worldwide ranking: 11
Net worth: $146 billion
Walton is the richest man in Arizona, according to Forbes. At 81 years old, he is the oldest son of Walmart founder Sam Walton. He took over as chairman of the company after his father died in 1992 and retired from the position in 2015. He was on the company’s board until June 2024, when he retired from that position as well. In 2022, he led a group to purchase the NFL’s Denver Broncos for $4.7 billion.
While he was born in Oklahoma and lives in Arkansas, Walton and his wife have three adjoining properties in Paradise Valley at the base of Camelback Mountain, which are worth more than $14 million combined. Anti-Walmart protesters have staged demonstrations near the base of his home in the past over issues of low wages, erratic scheduling and the company’s retaliation against employees.
