H-E-B’s Butt now one world’s top 100 billionaires

Grocery magnate Charles Butt and his family have surpassed the $12 billion mark in holdings and remain — by a long shot — the wealthiest of six San Antonio billionaires on Forbes magazine’s listing of the world’s billionaires for 2015.

Butt, the 77-year-old chairman and CEO of H-E-B, jumped into the top 100 ranking by tying for No. 94 on the list, released online Monday, with a net worth of $12.3 billion.

A year ago, Forbes listed Butt at No. 121, with a net worth of $7.4 billion.

Butt is H-E-B’s majority shareholder. The magazine notes that two siblings and two nephews also own stakes in the supermarket chain.

Like Butt, the five other San Antonio billionaires have appeared previously in the magazine’s wealth rankings, both among the world’s billionaires and among the richest Americans.

Natural-gas driller Rodney Lewis, 61, is the second-richest San Antonian, with a net worth of $2.1 billion. He is tied with others at No. 894 in the world. A year ago, the magazine estimated his wealth at $2.4 billion and ranked him No. 731 in the world.

Tom Benson, 87, owner of the NFL’s New Orleans Saints and the NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans, is in a tie at No. 1,006 in the world, with a net worth of $1.9 billion. A year ago, Forbes ranked Benson at No. 1,154 with a net worth of $1.5 billion. Benson is listed by Forbes as a New Orleans resident, but he also has a San Antonio condominium, a San Antonio-based bank, a 2,300-acre ranch near Johnson City and three San Antonio auto dealerships.

Much of Benson’s Texas holdings are held in the Shirley L. Benson Testamentary Trust that last month was moved into receivership while a bitter family dispute plays out in Bexar County probate court.

The trust was created after Tom Benson’s first wife died in 1980.

Benson’s daughter, Renee Benson, and her two children, Rita LeBlanc and Ryan LeBlanc, are trying to remain in line to control Benson’s companies upon his death. Tom Benson in January declared he intends for his third wife, Gayle, to inherit his companies.

The estate fight is in courts in Bexar County and New Orleans. Shirley Benson trust co-receivers Phil Hardberger and Art Bayern are in the process of determining the value of the trust’s assets, which likely is in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

Investor B.J. “Red” McCombs, 87, is in a tie with others at the No. 1,054 position in the world with a fortune of $1.8 billion, up from $1.4 billion a year ago, when he was ranked No. 1,210.

Silver Ventures owner Christopher “Kit” Goldsbury, 72, is in a tie at No. 1,250 with a net worth of $1.5 billion, up from $1.4 billion a year ago, when Goldsbury was listed No. 1,210 in the world.

Kinetic Concepts Inc. founder James Leininger, 69, ranks in a tie at No. 1,415, with a net worth of $1.3 billion, the same as last year when he came in at No. 1,284.

Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates remains on top of the world’s billionaire list with a net worth of $79.2 billion on March 1, up from $76 billion in 2014.

Mexico telecommunications mogul Carlos Slim Helu is second with a $77.1 billion net worth, up from $72 billion last year.

Investor Warren Buffett is third with a net worth of $72.7 billion, an increase of $14.5 billion over the past year to make Buffett the biggest net-worth gainer on the list.

In all, a record 1,826 billionaires exist, an increase from 1,645 in 2014. The average net worth is $3.86 billion, down $60 million from $3.92 billion last year.

The United States has the most billionaires of any nation with 536. China follows with 213, Germany with 103, India with 90 and Russia with 88.

Texas has 49 billionaires, the third-highest among states behind California and New York.

The full Forbes list is available online at www.forbes.com/billionaires.

dhendricks@express-news.net