Net Worth: $600 million Source: Seymour Durst The 74-year-old Douglas Durst is the heir to the Durst fortune, which was built from real estate. Born into a Jewish family in 1944, his father was real estate investor and developer Seymour Durst. Did you know Durst was the inventor of the National Debt Clock? Just reminding us all how much we all owe to the government. Gee, thanks – what a swell guy! In saying that, the story of the Durst family’s rise to fortune is a good one. Durst’s paternal grandfather, Joseph Durst was a penniless immigrant tailor from Austria Hungary. After moving to America, he invested and became a very successful real estate manager and developer, founding the Durst Organisation in 1915.
Years and years compounded the family’s wealth, and Douglas took over the “family business” in 1992 after his father Seymour retired. But whilst he’s mega-rich, he’s also respected for emphasising density and sustainability in his projects. He, in fact, presided over the development of the 48-story 4 Times Square, the 38-story Helena at 601 West 57th Street, the 57-story Epic on West 31st Street and in 2008, the 58-story Bank of America Tower at One Bryant Park. So next time you’re in NYC and looking for something to do (gee you’d have to be super bored), check ‘em out!
Lynsi Synder
Net Worth: $3 billion Source: In-N-Out Burger So it seems the CEO of In-N-Out Burger clearly doesn’t eat its burgers, because she looks fit as a fiddle for a 37-year-old mother of four children! Lynsi Lavelle Snyder-Ellingson is a billionaire businesswoman and heiress of the famed burger chain. As the only child of Lynda and H. Guy Snyder and the only grandchild of Harry and Esther Snyder, the entire wealth falls to Lynsi! According to Bloomberg Billionaires Index, in 2012, Snyder was America’s youngest female billionaire. Until Instagram and Kylie Jenner came along and the makeup giant knocked her off the top spot!
On her thirty-fifth birthday, Lynsi became the full owner of the business and became president after Mark Taylor, her brother-in-law. For a long time, Snyder has been called reclusive – hey, if she wants to decline interviews, she’s more than entitled to doing so! But there’s a reason for her hesitation – after opening up in a 2014 interview with Orange Coast, Snyder said she was the target of multiple kidnapping attempts. For hers and her family’s safety, Snyder has kept out of the public eye. The paps can’t argue with that! Fun fact: two of her husbands have been In-N-Out employees. Who says you can’t date the boss eh?
Gloria Vanderbilt
Net Worth: $200 million Source: Reginald Claypoole Vanderbilt Gloria Vanderbilt, what an icon. Sadly, this legend passed away just last month – and social media made sure everyone knew. Living to a grand age of 95, the fashion trailblazer and artist “was an extraordinary woman, who loved life, and lived it on her own terms," her son Anderson Cooper said in a statement. "She was a painter, a writer and designer but also a remarkable mother, wife, and friend. She was 95 years old, but ask anyone close to her, and they'd tell you: She was the youngest person they knew -- the coolest and most modern."The former fashion designer, socialite, author and actress was born in Manhattan in 1924. Being born into a family with so much money and prestige involved surely wasn’t easy, and this came to light in a huge public custody battle over the young Gloria, between her mother Gloria and her aunt, Gertrude. Both her aunt and mother wanted control of her trust fund, and was labelled by the New York press as “the trial of the century.”
In a twist which rocked the nation, scandalous evidence showed that Gloria was an unfit parent, with Gertrude winning custody. Despite fighting for her custody, it came out later that Gloria’s nanny, Dodo, was more of a mother figure to the young Vanderbilt. She began modeling at 15, photographed for Harper’s Bazaar and then she appeared in Vogue and Vanity Fair, posing for greats like Richard Avedon. At 21 she took control of her trust fund which was worth a whopping $4.3 million US (back in the 40s that was a huge amount of money!). Calculators estimate the wealth was worth almost $60 million in the current day! Gloria went on to become a fashion designer and actress, and of course, leaves behind her son, Anderson Cooper.
Lisa Jobs
Net Worth: $18.8 billion Source: Apple, Inc. Apple. Without even thinking about it, you’re not even thinking about the fruit, you’re thinking about a logo of an apple with a bite taken out of it. You’re thinking about the latest iPhone, or you’re thinking about the shiny new Mac computer you can’t wait to get your hands on! Ah, marketing. Anywho, next up is the daughter of the man behind Apple, Steve Jobs. After passing away just a little while ago, the fortune has made its way to his daughter, Lisa Jobs. The Portland, Oregon native studied at Harvard and is the daughter of the former CEO and his first wife, Chrisann Brennan, whom was his high school sweetheart. During their rollercoaster five-year relationship, Brennan was pregnant. Jobs for a while claimed he was not the father, even after taking a paternity test, which showed he was indeed her father! Gee.. good with technology, not so good with handling kids.
Sure, he didn’t handle the whole “you have a daughter” situation ideally, but after the media caught wind of the story, well, they made a meal out of him. It’s reported that he lost his TIME Person of the Year spot because of his actions. This clearly spurred him into action, reconciling with his daughter and of course, leaving her a sizeable inheritance. We’re not sure she got the lot (over $18 billion), but she’s surely got a couple hundred million!
Katharine Rayner
Net Worth: $6.4 billion Source: Cox Enterprises Cox Enterprises, Inc., is a privately held global conglomerate, which holds a number of subsidiary companies – Cox Communications, Cox Media Group and Cox Automotive. With 55,000 employees and a total revenue of $21 billion, it’s definitely successful. Its wide-reaching business covers Asia, Australia, Europe and Latin America.
Katharine Rayner is the heir to the fortune, by way of her maternal grandfather, who founded Cox Enterprises. One of three, she shares her fortune with her siblings Margaretta and James. She currently holds a 16% stake in the company, which is owing to her late mother, who held a 49% stake and divided it between her children. Currently residing in East Hampton New York, Rayner was living with her husband Billy (a painter and author) up until last year when he very sadly passed away. We’re sure she’s got family to surround her, and to enjoy the wealth together!