7 Arizona billionaires make new richest people in U.S. ranking

When you think of a used car salesman, you might picture a slick-haired hustler in a cheap suit, desperate to move whatever’s on the lot. What you probably don’t picture is Arizona’s richest man.

On Tuesday, Forbes magazine announced its list of the 400 richest people in America. Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison and Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg topped the list. An Arizona resident ranks in the top 50.

Ranked 42nd is 68-year-old Ernest Garcia II of Tempe. Garcia II is the owner of DriveTime, an online and in-person used-car retailer with dozens of dealerships across the country, including several locations throughout the Valley. Garcia II is also the largest shareholder of Carvana, which was founded in 2012 by his son, Ernest Garcia III. The Tempe-based online car retailer’s nine-story car vending machine is a staple of the Loop 202.

As of Tuesday, Garcia II has a net worth of more than $23 billion, according to Forbes’ recent rankings, which makes him the richest Arizonan by $12 billion. Since late June, his net worth has increased by two billion. Garcia III, a Phoenix resident, trails him on the list as the second-richest Arizonan with a net worth of $11.4 billion.

Rob Walton, the oldest son of Walmart founder Sam Walton, also has a mansion in Paradise Valley and comes in at the 11th-richest man in America. His net worth is $118 billion, according to Forbes’ list. However, Forbes lists Walton’s primary residence as being in Arkansas, so New Times isn’t listing him as the richest Arizonan. Similarly, brothers and Phoenix Suns owners Mat and Justin Ishbia make Forbes' list but they primarily live elsewhere.

Five other Arizonans made Forbes’ top 400 list:

3. George Kurtz, the cofounder and CEO of CrowdStrike, has a net worth of nearly $8 billion. Forbes ranked the Paradise Valley resident comes in at No. 176.

4. Arturo Moreno, the owner of the Los Angeles Angels, made his money off of billboards. The Phoenix resident’s net worth is nearly $5 and he comes in at No. 308.

Tie-5. Stewart Horejsi and his family made money from buying stocks in the holding company Berkshire Hathaway as early as 1980. The Phoenix resident ranks 362nd with a net worth of $4.1 billion.

Tie-5. Bob Parsons, the co-founder of web hosting company GoDaddy and Scottsdale resident, is also worth $4.1 billion..

Tie- 5. Mark Shoen owns roughly a fifth of Amerco, the parent company of U-Haul. The Phoenix resident has a net worth of $4.1 billion.