James and Thomas Duff
- James and Thomas Duff are the only Mississippians listed in the rankings.
Forbes released its updated listing of the world’s billionaires on Wednesday, with Mississippi brothers James and Thomas Duff again making the annual rankings.
James and Thomas came in at No. 978 and No. 982, respectively, on the global rankings.
In the U.S. alone, the brothers rank 380 out of Forbes’ top 400 richest Americans.
The publication noted that it used stock prices and exchange rates from March 1, 2026, to calculate its rankings.
The Duffs are the only Mississippians listed in the rankings.
The reported net worth of the two is $4.5 billion each, based on Forbes’ real-time tracker. The brothers, who live in the Pine Belt, co-own Duff Capital Investors and Southern Tire Mart as well as KLLM Trucking, TL Wallace Construction and other businesses.
James and Thomas Duff have long been known around the state for their philanthropy, particularly on college campuses where they have donated millions to aid Mississippi’s public universities.
Thomas Duff has also been active in public service over the years, have been appointed to serve on the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning and other boards. He is rumored to be among the handful of candidates still considering a gubernatorial run in 2027.
According to Forbes, the U.S. has the most billionaires, with a record 989, including 15 of the top 20. China, including Hong Kong, is next, with 610.
Elon Musk topped the global list with a $930 billion net worth. Jeff Bezos and Larry Page were second and third with $360 billion and $284 billion, respectively. In all, tech entrepreneurs took the top nine spots.
The richest woman listed was Alice Walton from the Walmart company. She came in at No. 16 with a net worth of $116 billion.
