Grocery Stores are something that we collectively need in a society; it’s the central hub for all food and basic home goods. These people are basically keeping all of our lives afloat every day, but we’re earning them a nice amount of money in return. Supermarkets are literally super, think about the amount of different products they are selling each day and how quickly they are going to have to restock on those items; it’s a huge business. Here are the five richest grocers in the world.
5. Joyce Raley Teel (Raley’s) – $1.7 Billion
Joyce’s father opened up the Raley grocery stores way back during 1935 out in California. Joyce’s father passed away in 1991 and she filled his shoes very successfully continuing to help the company expand. The Raley’s grocery stores are still a family business with Joyce and her husband serving as co-chairs while their son, Michael, controls the CEO position. Raley’s currently has 128 stores out in the west and Joyce is valued at $1.7 billion.
4. The Jenkins Family (Publix) – $4 Billion
Publix is a retailer that is based out of Florida. The business is family run, but the founder’s daughter, Carol Jenkins Barnett is the largest shareholder and currently sits on $1 billion. She runs the companies charity and philanthropic events and is the only family member who still has a huge hand in the company. Besides the family members portions of Publix are owned by its employees.
3. Hank and Dough Meijer (Meijer) – $8.3 Billion
The Meijer grocery store, like Raley’s, was opened back in 1934 when grocery stores were hard to find. The store was a huge success because all of founder Hendrik’s barbershop customers gladly shopped at his store. Eventually the company was able to start expanding and open up more general stores around the mid-west. They currently have 200 total stores and Hendrik’s grandsons are running things.
2. Charles Butt (H. E. Butt Grocery Co.) – $8.5 Billion
Charles Butt is still the chairman and largest shareholder of his grocery company. This family business has been around for over 100 years and is still running strong. They have 305 stores that are located in Texas and Mexico and are able to compete with the very popular Whole Foods. Butt has some other family members who are partial owners of the company however he is the most involved.
1. The Walton Family (Wal-Mart) – $152 Billion
Well, Wal-Mart really steals the show here with its massive $152 billion net worth. The remaining family members of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton own a massive 54% of the company which has grown to sell groceries in 3,500 different locations (everywhere). Wal-Mart is unstoppable and the king of selling just about everything in one place.
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