Houston billionaires named to Forbes' list of richest Americans for 2019

Seeing dollar signs

Pipeline mogul and Memorial Park benefactor Richard Kinder (pictured with his wife, Nancy) leads the Houston billionaires. Photo by Michelle Watson/Catchlight Group

Who's the richest person in Texas? That title once again goes to Walmart heiress Alice Walton, of Fort Worth, according to the newly released Forbes 400 ranking. But seven very wealthy Houstonians also appear on the list of the 400 richest people in the country right now.

The top Houstonian on the list is Houston pipeline mogul Richard Kinder, who is tied with another Walmart heiress, Ann Walton Kroenke, for sixth place in Texas and No. 67 nationally. Forbes estimates they're each worth $7.5 billion.

The other Houston billionaires on the list are:

Randa Duncan Williams and her siblings Dannine Avara, Scott Duncan, and Milane Frantz, all of whom live in Houston. Each boasts an estimated net worth of $6.3 billion, tying them for the eighth place in Texas and 100th place nationally.
Restaurant mogul and Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta, $4.9 billion. Tied for 15th in Texas and No. 140 in U.S.
Toyota titan Dan Friedkin, $4 billion. Tied for No. 21 in Texas. Tied for No. 187 in U.S.
Houston Texans co-founder Janice McNair, widow of businessman and Texans co-founder Bob McNair, $4 billion. Tied for No. 21 in Texas and No. 187 in U.S.
Energy executive Jeffery Hildebrand, $3.8 billion. No. 23 in Texas. Tied for No. 207 in U.S.
Former hedge fund manager John Arnold, $3.3 billion. No. 26 in Texas. No. 261 in U.S.
Energy mogul George Bishop of The Woodlands, $2.4 billion. Tied for No. 33 in Texas and No. 355 in U.S.

With an estimated net worth at $51.4 billion, Walton is the 11th richest person in the country (and the richest person in the Lone Star State). Second in line is Austin's Michael Dell, founder, chairman, and CEO of Round Rock-based Dell Technologies, who notches a net worth of $32.3 billion, which puts him at No. 18 on the list of America's billionaires. Holding down third place in Texas and 48th in the U.S. is Dallas banker and real estate titan Andy Beal, with an estimated net worth of $9.8 billion.

This year, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones got muscled out of the No. 4 spot in Texas by Stan Kroenke, whose professional sports holdings include the NFL's Los Angeles Rams. The estimated net worth of Kroenke, who owns a 520,000-acre ranch west of Wichita Falls, is $9.7 billion, compared with $8.6 billion for Jones. That puts Kroenke in 49th place and Jones in 56th place among the richest Americans.

Here are the other Texans who made it onto this year's Forbes 400, in order of ranking:

Omni Hotels and Gold's Gym king Robert Rowling of Dallas. $5.5 billion. No. 12 in Texas. Tied for No. 119 in U.S.
Oil and gas heir Ray Lee Hunt of Dallas. $5.2 billion No. 13 in Texas. No. 127 in U.S.
Venture capital entrepreneur Robert Smith of Austin. $5 billion. No. 14 in Texas. Tied for No. 131 in U.S.
Oil heir Robert Bass of Fort Worth. $4.9 billion. Tied for No. 15 in Texas and No. 140 in U.S.
Pipeline executive Kelcy Warren of Dallas. $4.3 billion. No. 17 in Texas. Tied for No. 159 in U.S.
Vodka tycoon Bert "Tito" Beveridge of Austin. $4.2 billion. Tied for No. 18 in Texas and No. 168 in U.S.
Margot Birmingham Perot of Dallas, widow of tech entrepreneur H. Ross Perot. $4.2 billion. Tied for No. 18 in Texas and No. 168 in U.S.
Tech entrepreneur and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban of Dallas. $4.1 billion. No. 20 in Texas. Tied for No. 179 in U.S.
Private equity giant David Bonderman of Fort Worth. $3.7 billion. Tied for No. 24 in Texas and No. 217 in U.S.
Oil and gas chief Trevor Rees-Jones of Dallas. $3.7 billion. Tied for No. 24 in Texas and No. 217 in U.S.
Investor and oil heir Sid Bass of Fort Worth. $3.1 billion. Tied for No. 27 in Texas and No. 275 in U.S.
John Paul DeJoria of Austin. $3.1 billion. Tied for No. 27 in Texas and No. 275 in U.S.
Tech entrepreneur Thai Lee of Austin. $3 billion. Tied for No. 29 in Texas and No. 287 in U.S.
Software entrepreneur Joe Liemandt of Austin. $3 billion. Tied for No. 29 in Texas and No. 287 in U.S.
Oil heir W. Herbert Hunt of Dallas. $2.6 billion. Tied for No. 31 in Texas and No. 333 in U.S.
Investor and former grocery distributor Drayton McLane Jr. of Temple. $2.6 million. Tied for No. 31 in Texas and No. 333 in U.S.
Hearing-aid titan Bill Austin of Brownsville. $2.4 billion. Tied for No. 33 in Texas and No. 355 in U.S.
Energy entrepreneur and Texas Rangers co-owner Ray Davis of Dallas. $2.3 billion. Tied for No. 35 in Texas and No. 363 in U.S.
Big-time banker Gerald Ford of Dallas. $2.3 billion. Tied for No. 35 in Texas and No. 363 in U.S.
Oil heir Edward Bass of Fort Worth. $2.2 billion. Tied for No. 37 in Texas and No. 370 in U.S.
Oil heir Lee Bass of Fort Worth. $2.2 billion. Tied for No. 37 in Texas and No. 370 in U.S.
Real estate developer H. Ross Perot Jr. of Dallas. $2.2 billion. Tied for No. 37 in Texas and No. 370 in U.S.
Private equity entrepreneur Brian Sheth of Austin. $2.2 billion. Tied for No. 37 in Texas and No. 370 in U.S.

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This article originally ran on CultureMap.

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Houston 3D printing company closes latest round of funding, plans to hire

money moves

Roboze — an Italian high-performance 3D printing company with its U.S. headquarters in Houston — closed a multimillion-dollar round of funding this month with investments from an international group of leaders from diverse backgrounds.

Investors include Nova Capital, Lagfin, Andrea Guerra, Luigi De Vecchi, Roberto Ferraresi, Luca Giacometti, Denis Faccioli and others, according to a statement.

“We are honored to have a group of investors of this caliber, who strongly believe in the vision of Roboze and in the change of production paradigm that our technology is enabling by replacing metals and producing parts without wasting raw materials," Alessio Lorusso, founder and CEO of Roboze, said in a statement.

Roboze aims to put the funds towards the research and development of a new "super material" developed in the company's R&D facility in Italy, where the company is also building a new chemistry lab.

The company added that it will also be implementing an aggressive hiring plan in 2022, hiring 60 experts in the next 12 to 18 months in fields such as materials science, chemistry, business development, aerospace, medical devices, and field and applications engineering. Half of the new jobs will be based in the U.S. while the others are slated to be located in Italy and Germany.

Roboze specializes in manufacturing industrial 3D printing technology, such as its ARGO1000, which the company says is the largest printer of its kind. Through a process called Metal Replacement 3D Printing, the company uses super polymers and composites like PEEK and Carbon PEEK to create large-scale, end-use parts for an array of industries—from aeronautics equipment to medical manufacturing.

The company currently works with GE, Bosch, and Airbus, among others, and announced in the statement that manufacturing giant Siemens Energy acquired its first 3D printer from the company.

"We think additive manufacturing is playing a key role in digitalization and cost out in the energy sector. At Siemens Energy we evaluated many companies and found that Roboze technology for high temperature polymers has met our engineering qualification and expectations," Andrew Bridges, Service Frame Owner at Siemens Energy, said in a statement. "As a result, we acquired our first machine and look forward to expanding our relationship with Roboze."

Atlanta growth equity firm acquires Houston health care startup

M&A moves

A Houston-based startup specializing in minimally invasive vascular procedures has made an exit.

Fulcrum Equity Partners, based in Atlanta, has announced the acquisition of Texas Endovascular Associates, a specialty physician practice across five locations in the greater Houston area. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“We are excited to partner with the Texas Endovascular team to continue growing the impressive platform they have already built,” says Tom Greer of Fulcrum Equity Partners in a news release. “The company has created a differentiated service model and is well positioned to continue its growth in Texas. We look forward to building on this strong presence in the state as well as pursuing strategic acquisitions as we expand its geographical footprint.”

Fulcrum manages over $600 million in assets and provides expansion capital to rapidly growing companies within health care — including IT, B2B software, and more.

The new funding will spur Texas Endovascular's growth into its next phase of business.

“We knew that finding the right equity partner was critical to our long-term growth prospects,” said Sean Mullen, CEO of Texas Endovascular. “After an exhaustive search and after meeting with multiple prospective PE firms, we chose Fulcrum because of their healthcare experience, collaborative approach, and impressive track record. We are excited to enter this new chapter in our company’s life with Fulcrum as our partner."

The two entities collaborated with Founders Advisors LLC, a merger, acquisition, and strategic advisory firm serving middle-market companies.

“Working with the founders of the practice, Drs. Fox and Hardee, as well as the CEO, Sean Mullen, was a pleasure. The entire team at Texas Endovascular acted as a cohesive unit and persevered to find the right partner in Fulcrum," says Michael White, managing director at Founders Advisors. "We are grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this process and we are looking forward to the future of Texas Endovascular in partnership with Fulcrum”.

New ERCOT dashboards let Houstonians check energy supply in real-time

power check

With winter temperatures and last year's freeze still top of mind for many Texans, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, has rolled out new dashboards to help you keep tabs on the energy supply in real-time.

Local may not have heard of ERCOT until the winter storm in February 2021 that would go on to take the lives of 246 people after the freeze overwhelmed the power grid and left millions freezing in the dark.

Since that storm, anxiety has been high. But these dashboards may help Texans get a gauge on what we're dealing with at any given moment.

The ERCOT site features find nine different dashboards on the Grid and Market Conditions page. Each dashboard has a timestamp of when it was last updated and if you select "Full View," you'll get a detailed explanation of what the graphs mean.

If things are normal, the grid will be green. But if it's black, that means we're in an energy emergency level 3, so expect controlled outages. Energy conservation would also be critical.