The article profiles three common paths to wealth among ordinary American business owners: auto dealerships, beverage distribution, and construction contracting. It provides examples of wealthy entrepreneurs in each sector—Alan Wildstein (auto dealer with ~$500M net worth), John Nau (beverage distributor who sold his company for ~$1B), and Tommy Mello (garage door contractor worth over $1B)—demonstrating that tens of thousands build eight-figure fortunes outside tech and finance.
Ben Lamm, founder of de-extinction biotech firm Colossal Biosciences, debuted on the 2026 Forbes 400 at No. 302 with a $5.7 billion fortune, becoming one of 34 newcomers. Texas dominates the list with billionaires like Elon Musk ($908 billion) and Michael Dell ($263 billion), while the entry threshold surged to a record $4.4 billion, excluding nearly 600 American billionaires from the ranking.