Wealthiest Americans (1957)

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This list of the seventy-six wealthiest Americans was developed in 1957 by Fortune Magazine and republished in many American newspapers. The primary source of wealth is indicated as inherited or a particular business or industry. Oil fortunes were valued by “bankers valuation” of what a person might pay for assets rather than the valuation of proven oil reserves. Within each wealth category, individuals are listed alphabetically, not by their estimated total wealth. Fortunes smaller than $75,000,000 were not considered worthy of inclusion in the list.

An article the next year in the New York Times by Cleveland Amory mentioned that after publication of the list, one hitherto anonymous oil man, Tulsa's James A. Chapman, was particularly indignant. "I don't like my name in print at all, but when I do, I like it accurate. Why I could buy and sell that Paul Getty." However the man with the greatest impact on the list was arguably Andrew W. Mellon, who had been dead for twenty years: the second category, covering the second to eighth richest individuals, included his son, daughter, niece and nephew. The list also included seven members of the Rockefeller family, five members of the Ford family, and four members of the Du Pont family (and a non-family DuPont executive).

Arthur Vining Davis, who was then 91 and had the ambition to become a billionaire, contacted the Fortune editor directly. "Young man, if I had $20 and owed $18, would you estimate that I was worth $20 or $2?"

Some of the links may be to the source of the inheritance or to information on the family rather than the specific individual.

$700,000,000 to $1,000,000,000

J. Paul Getty Oil; business headquarters is in Los Angeles, California.

$400,000,000 to $700,000,000

Mrs Mellon Bruce, the former Ailsa Mellon, New York, New York. Inherited wealth: Mellon Bank, Gulf Oil Company, Alcoa.
Arthur Vining Davis, Miami, Florida; Alcoa, Florida real estate.,
H. L. Hunt, Dallas, Texas; independent oil operator.
Paul Mellon, Upperville, Virginia; inherited wealth.
Richard King Mellon, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; inherited wealth: Alcoa, Gulf Oil, Mellon Bank, etc.
John D. Rockefeller Jr., New York inherited wealth: Standard Oil Trust.
Mrs. Alan M. Scaife, the former Sarah Mellon, Pittsburgh. Inherited wealth.

$200,000,000 to $400,000,000

Irénée du Pont, Wilmington, Delaware and Cuba; inherited wealth: E. I du Pont de Nemours & Co.
William du Pont, Jr., Wilmington; inherited wealth: E. I du Pont de Nemours & Co.
Mrs. Frederick Guest, the former Amy Phipps, Palm Beach, Florida. Inherited wealth.
Howard Hughes, Los Angeles; inherited wealth: Hughes Tool Company.
Joseph P. Kennedy, Boston, Massachusetts-New York; real estate.
Daniel K. Ludwig, New York; National Bulk Carriers.
Sid Richardson, Fort Worth, Texas; independent Oil operator.
Alfred P. Sloan, Jr., New York; General Motors Corporation.

$100,000,000 to $200,000,000

James Abercrombie, Houston, Texas; independent oil operator.
Vincent Astor, New York; inherited wealth: real estate.
Stephen Bechtel, San Francisco; construction, Bechtel Corporation.
William Blakley, Dallas; Braniff Airways, real estate.
Jacob Blaustein, Baltimore, Maryland; American Oil Company.
Lammot du Pont Copeland, Wilmington; E. I du Pont de Nemours & Co..
Clarence Dillon, New York; Dillon, Read & Co.
Doris Duke, New York. New Jersey. Inherited wealth: tobacco
Mrs. Alfred I. du Pont, Jacksonville, Florida-Wilmington; inherited wealth: St. Joe Paper Company, E. I du Pont de Nemours & Co..
Mrs. Edsel Ford, Detroit, Michigan. Inherited wealth: Ford Motor Company
Amory Houghton, Ambassador to France; inherited wealth: Corning Glass.
Arthur A. Houghton Jr., New York; Corning Glass.
Roy Arthur Hunt, Pittsburgh; Alcoa.
William Keck, Los Angeles; Superior Oil.
Charles F. Kettering, Dayton, Ohio; General Motors Corporation.
Mrs. Jean Mauzé, the former Abby Rockefeller, New York. Inherited wealth: Standard Oil Trust
Mrs. Chauncey McCormick, the former Marion Deering, Chicago, Illinois. Inherited wealth
William L. McKnight, St. Paul, Minnesota; Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing
John Mecom, Houston; independent oil operator.
Clint Murchison, Dallas; independent oil operator.
Mrs. Charles Payson, the former Joan Whitney, New York. Inherited wealth.
John L. Pratt, Fredericksburg, Virginia; General Motors Corporation.
David Rockefeller, New I York; Chase Manhattan Bank and inherited wealth: Standard Oil Trust.
John D, Rockefeller 3d, New York. inherited wealth: Standard Oil Trust.
Laurance Rockefeller, New York; venture capital: Eastern Air Lines, Reaction Motors, International Nickel and inherited wealth: Standard Oil Trust.
Nelson Rockefeller, New York; Rockefeller Center,-, Inc., International Basic Economy Corporation and inherited wealth: Standard Oil Trust.
Winthrop Rockefeller, Arkansas; ranching, Ibec Housing and inherited wealth: Standard Oil Trust.
R. E. Smith, Houston; independent oil operator.
John Hay Whitney, New York, Ambassador to Britain; venture capital and inherited wealth.

$75,000,000 to 100,000,000

Michael Late Benedum, Pittsburgh-West Virginia; Benedum-Trees Oil Company, Hiawatha Oil and Gas, etc.
Donaldson Brown, Port Deposit, Maryland., E. I du Pont de Nemours & Co..
George R. Brown, Houston; Brown & Root, Inc.
Herman Brown, Houston; Brown & Root, Inc.
John Nicholas Brown, Newport, Rhode Island; inherited wealth: real estate..
Godfrey L. Cabot, Boston; Godfrey L. Cabot, Inc., etc.
James A. Chapman, Tulsa, Oklahoma; inherited oil wealth.
Leo Corrigan, Dallas; real estate.
Mrs. Horace Dodge, Jr.,, Palm Beach-Detroit. Inherited wealth: automobiles.
John T. Dorrance, Jr., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; inherited wealth: Campbell Soup Company.
Benson Ford, Detroit; inherited wealth: Ford Motor Company.
Henry Ford 2d, Detroit; inherited wealth: Ford Motor Company.
William C. Ford, Detroit, inherited wealth: Ford Motor Company.
Erle P. Halliburton, Duncan, Oklahoma; Halliburton Oil Well Cementing Company (died in Los Angeles Oct. 13, 1957).
Averell Harriman, Albany, New York; Governor of New York. Inherited wealth: Investment banking.
Henry J. Kaiser, Oakland, California; Kaiser Industries, etc.
John W., Kieckhefer, Milwaukee, Wisconsin – Prescott, Arizona; Kieckhefer Container, Eddy Paper (absorbed by Weyerhaeuser).
Robert Kleberg Jr., King Ranch, Texas.; inherited wealth: cattle, oil, land.
John E. Mabee, Tulsa; independent oil operator.
John D. MacArthur, Chicago; Bankers Life and Casualty Company.
A. H. Meadows; Dallas; General American Oil.
Charles S. Mott, Flint, Michigan; General Motors Corporation.
John M. Olin, Alton, Illinois; inherited wealth: Olin Mathieson Chemical.
Spencer T. Olin, Alton, Ill.; inherited wealth: Olin Mathieson Chemical.
J. Howard Pew, Philadelphia; inherited wealth: Sun Oil Company.
Joseph Pew, Philadelphia; inherited wealth: Sun Oil.
Mrs. M. Merriweather Post, Washington, DC; inherited wealth: General Foods.
James Sottile Jr., Miami; Pan American Bank.
George W. Strake, Houston; inherited wealth: independent oil operator.
Louis Wolfson, Miami Beach, Florida; Merritt-Chapman & Scott, New York Shipbuilding, etc.
Robert W. Woodruff, Atlanta, Georgia; The Coca-Cola Company.

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