“Richest American:” The Big List Of The Richest Americans In 2022

The Richest American is a category of people and companies that many people are obsessed with knowing about and following. Whether it's business people, athletes, entertainers, or companies, enquiring minds wanna know, "Who is the richest American?"

What does the "Richest American" mean? 

For the purpose of this post, the "Richest American" means the person or company with the most money, assets, or wealth and/or the person or company with the greatest surplus, e.g. net earnings or profits after taxes. 

So, let's get started exploring the richest in America, shall we?

How do we determine who the wealthiest Americans are? 

To determine who the wealthiest Americans, whether business people or companies are, we use sources like Forbes, an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. Forbes also reports on related subjects such as technology, communications, science, politics, and law. It is based in Jersey City, New Jersey. 

The magazine is well known for its lists and rankings, including of the richest Americans (the Forbes 400), of America's Wealthiest Celebrities, of the world's top companies (the Forbes Global 2000), Forbes list of the World's Most Powerful People, and The World's Billionaires.

Previous billionaires who were at the top of the list

The wealthiest people in America have included billionaires like Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, but none of them are "the richest" in the U.S. for 2022.  

According to the latest U.S. census figures, the median household income in the USA was just over $71,000 dollars in 2021, making these high net worth individuals a point of interest for many.

This black man is one of the wealthiest Americans

The richest American black man in the world is Robert F. Smith, who has a net worth of $5.2 billion. Smith became the richest black American billionaire as the founder, Chairman, and CEO of private equity firm Vista Equity Partners, which has assets surpassing $46 billion and with annualized returns of 22%. 

This bachelor is the richest in America

It seems that this bachelor has both American and Ukrainian citizenship. Jan Koum was born in Kyiv, Ukraine and later his parents moved the family to California. Jan co-founded WhatsApp, which was sold to Meta for $22billion. His net worth is about $9.9 billion. Recently, Jan purchased some sweet California real estate for a cool $87 million dollars in Malibu.

Jan Koum does not like being called an entrepreneur. According to Business Insider, he once tweeted "Next person to call me an entrepreneur is getting punched in the face by my bodyguard." Koum thinks the word entrepreneurship is for people who create businesses to make money. He says it's more fitting for people who sold web companies in the 1990s and are now creating mobile apps. Koum says he just wanted to build a great product, not find wealth. He thinks it's "silly" when people compare founders like himself to rock stars. What do you think? 

Which American athlete has the highest net worth in 2022?

The richest American athlete in 2022 is a former basketball player and the highest net worth athlete in the world for 2022, and that is....drum roll please...Michael Jordan. His fortune comes in at $2.2 billion. And as it turns out, 5 of the 10 richest athletes in the world are American. 

Forbes lists her as the wealthiest woman in America in 2022

Alice Walton is one wealthy woman, and she didn't need to make her fortune in the world of hedge funds (read: Connecticut hedge funds or York hedge funds). Nope. She is the heiress to Walmart Stores and now ranks as one of the wealthiest people in the U.S. and is also the richest woman in the world by net worth of $61 billion dollars.

Who is the Richest American baseball player in MLB?

Alex Rodriguez's net worth is estimated to be $300 million. He's a former MLB shortstop and third baseman. Alex played in MLB for 22 years for the Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, and NY Yankees. Rodriguez is the chairman and CEO of A-Rod Corp, chairman of Presidente Beer, and part-owner of the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves.  

Who is the Richest American boxer?

The Richest American boxer is Floyd Mayweather Jr., who's net worth is estimated to be $560 million. Mayweather had a professional boxing career that spanned 21 years, from 1996 to 2017. He retired with an undefeated record of 50 professional fights won. 

Mayweather was named "Fighter of the Decade for the 2010s by the Boxing Writers Association of America, won Ring Magazine's Fighter of the Year award twice, BWAA's Fighter of the Year award three times, and the Best Fighter ESPY Award six times.

ESPN ranked him as the greatest boxer, pound-for-pound, of the last 25 years in 2016. As of May 2021, BoxRec ranks him as the greatest boxer, pound-for-pound, of all time.

Who is the Richest American NHL hockey player?

Wayne Gretzky's net worth is estimated to be $200 million. He considered by many to be the greatest hockey player of all time, is called the "Great One," and still holds many NHL records. 

Gretzky is Canadian, not American, so why did I include him in this list? He lives in the U.S. (St. Louis) and he played a lot of hockey on U.S. NHL teams after he was traded to the Los Angeles Kings in 1988, which trade is referred to as the biggest trade ever in NHL history.

The Richest American NFL football player was news to me

A net worth of $600 million brings us Roger Staubach, who played for the Dallas Cowboys from 1969 to 1980 and never played for any other NHL team. Staubach led the Cowboys to the Super Bowl 5 times, winning it twice. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest NFL quarterbacks of all time. He's ranked #8 on NFL.com's list of the top 25 quarterbacks who ever played in the NFL.

Roger Staubach played for Dallas Cowboys for 11 years starting in 1969, leading the team to five Super Bowls and winning two of those. 

The Richest American track and field athlete is Bruce Jenner

Bruce (call me Caitlyn) Jenner's net worth is estimated to be $100 million. Jenner was an accomplished decathlete, and won the Olympic Gold Medal for Decathlon, setting a new world record, at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, Canada.

Jenner didn't need performance enhancing drugs to achieve all of his track and field records because he ate a lot of Wheaties. 

The Richest American NASCAR driver is Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is the wealthiest American NASCAR driver with a net worth estimated of $300 million dollars. He's a five-time NASCAR Champion, winning 2 consecutive championships in the NASCAR Busch Grand National Series where he also won 24 races, in addition to his 26 premier series victories.

The Richest American golfer is Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods is the undisputed richest American golfer of all time with a net worth estimated at $800 million dollars as of 2022. Woods is tied with Sam Snead for 1st place in number of PGA Tour wins, and is 2nd only to Jack Nicklaus with number of Majors won.  

The soccer player in the U.S.A. is Christian Pulisic

With a net worth of $40 million dollars or so, Christian Pulisic is definitely a high net worth soccer player. Christian was born in Hershey, Pennsylvania. He is an attacking midfielder for Chelsea FC, and also plays for the U.S. Men's National Soccer Team, and will be playing in this year's World Cup Soccer tournament. He's been given the nickname 'Captain America' because of his high level of play and his nationality. 

A net worth of $7.6 billion dollars makes George Lucas the wealthiest American Hollywood celebrity

George Lucas is, far and away, the richest American celebrity with a net worth estimated at $7.6 billion dollars. Lucas is best known as the brains behind the Star Wars franchise and head of special effects firm Industrial Light and Magic. His six Star Wars films have earned more than $4.3 billion worldwide at the box office. Toys, merchandise and video games have grossed more than $20 billion. Here you can read more facts about George Lucas. 

The Richest American Singer is Herb Albert

Herb Albert is the wealthiest American singer. He has a net worth of $850 million dollars. Herb Albert is a jazz musician and became famous for his group known as Herb Albert and The Tijuana Brass.

Who knew that Metallica was worth more than $1 billion dollars?

Metallica's net worth is estimated to be more than $1 billion dollars, making them the richest American band as of 2022. The band was formed by James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich in 1981 and has sold more that 125 million albums worldwide. Metallica is a heavy metal band and is one of the most commercially successful bands in any genre of all time. Their album Metallica (The Black Album) has sold more than 30 million copies since its release in 1991. Metallica was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2009.

The wealthiest American guitarist, believe it or not, is Jimmy Buffet

You're likely familiar with the song Margaritaville, which is the one that Jimmy Buffet is most famous for, but I had no clue that Jimmy Buffet was also ranked as the richest American guitarist. Jimmy Buffet's net worth is valued at an impressive $900 million dollars. Jimmy has parlayed his entertainment chops into a successful chain of resorts called - you guessed it - Margaritaville Resorts.

The wealthiest American bass player is Gene Simmons of KISS fame

Gene Simmons net worth is estimated to be $400 million dollars in 2022. In 1973, Gene and his business partner, Paul Stanley, formed the iconic rock band KISS. KISS is considered to be one of the most influential bands of all time as well as one of the best selling American rock bands ever.  

The wealthiest American song writer is Jay-Z

Jay-Z was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. and is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and the founder of Roc Nation. His net worth in 2022 is estimated at $1.3 billion dollars. Jay-Z is married to another music legend, Beyonce. As an entrepreneur, Jay-Z has many interests and businesses across alcohol, apparel, sports, and technology.

Dolly Parton is one rich country star

Dolly Parton's net worth is estimated to $500 million dollars, making her the wealthiest country music star of all time. She is from Pittman Center, Tennessee, and is a very successful businesswoman, philanthropist, singer-songwriter, and actress. Her music career spans six decades as she began performing as a child. She has sold more than 100 million albums worldwide. Parton has been married to Carl Thomas Dean since 1966. 

So, there you have great and long list of the Richest American in twenty categories. But wait, there's more. Stay tuned, because I'll be adding to this list soon. And check out these other posts below for more great stuff to read. 

When I was making this list, I thought about some of the conversations going on right now around topics like student loan forgiveness. It makes one wonder whether some of these wealthy Americans would be willing to use some of their cash to help fund free education for American college students.