TheBadPlaceyahoo news | Mississippi billionaires make more than Oprah, according to Forbes
Forbes’ 2026 billion‑dollar tracker revealed a record 3,428 people on the list, with total billionaire wealth reaching a historic $20.1 trillion. Of the 989 U.S. billionaires, two call Mississippi home, and together they now out‑net Oprah Winfrey, whose $3.2 billion places her well below the state’s leaders. The Duff brothers—James, 65, and Thomas, 69—are tied for the title of richest Mississippians, each worth roughly $4.5 billion and ranked 940th worldwide as of April 10. Their wealth stems largely from Southern Tire Mart, a family‑started tire and retread business that sells more than four million new tires and 2.5 million truck retreads annually, and from Duff Capital Investors, a holding company generating over $5 billion in revenue across more than 20 enterprises, including trucking, construction, hospitality, and food‑service operations.
The brothers have expanded their influence beyond business. Tom Duff serves on the Mississippi Power Company board and previously on the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees; he also heads a political action committee and is considered a potential gubernatorial candidate. Both have been on the Forbes billionaire list since 2019, when they first broke the $1 billion threshold, and have steadily climbed the rankings, overtaking Oprah’s position in the state.
While the Duff brothers dominate Mississippi’s billionaire scene, the global list still places Elon Musk at the top with an estimated $789 billion, followed by other tech magnates and retail heirs such as Alice Walton, the world’s wealthiest woman at $133.2 billion. Oprah remains a notable figure among U.S. billionaires, but the Duff brothers’ rapid ascent underscores how regional enterprises—particularly in trucking, energy, and real‑estate—can propel local families into the upper echelons of global wealth.
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