Two members of San Antonio’s H-E-B family are once again among the wealthiest individuals in the country, according to Forbes’ newly released “400 Richest People In America” list.
H-E-B Chairman Charles Butt and his sister, Eleanor Butt Crook, both made the annual ranking of the nation’s wealthiest Americans, with a combined fortune of approximately $16 billion. Butt, 88, ranked at No. 137 on this year’s Forbes 400 with an estimated net worth of $11.3 billion.
Crook, 94, ranks No. 367 with an estimated net worth of $4.7 billion, and is part of the same H-E-B family that has long been tied to the San Antonio-headquartered grocery chain. Although she does serve on H-E-B’s board of directors, she doesn’t have a role in the company’s day-to-day operations.
So, where exactly does the fortune come from? Of course, the family’s H-E-B grocery empire is at the center of it all.
Forbes says H-E-B has about $50 billion in annual revenue and 455 stores across Texas and Mexico. The company traces its roots to 1905, when Florence Butt — Charles and Eleanor’s grandmother — founded the grocery business after her husband became ill and could no longer work.
Charles Butt began working for the family business as an 8-year-old bagging groceries. He became H-E-B’s chairman and CEO in 1971 before handing the CEO position to his nephew, Howard Butt III, in 2021.
And the H-E-B fortune isn’t the only San Antonio connection to make Forbes’ list. Two other Alamo City billionaires also landed among the nation’s wealthiest, including Christopher Goldsbury, No. 2,052 with an estimated $2 billion, and James Leininger, No. 2,177 with an estimated $1.9 billion.
Goldsbury is the CEO of Pearl developer Silver Ventures, while Leininger founded San Antonio medical device company Kinetic Concepts.
The 2026 Forbes 400 is a particularly exclusive club this year. Forbes estimates the 400 richest Americans are collectively worth a record $8 trillion, while it now takes at least $4.4 billion to make the list.