Only One Kept the Land: 10 Old Money Families That Built Texas

In February 2016, the largest ranch in America under one fence was sold for the first time in its history. The asking price was $725 million. The family that had held it for more than 160 years is on this list, and it is only number seven. Ten families made fortunes that built Texas: cattle, cotton, sugar, insurance and oil. They are ranked by one rule: how much of what the founder built is still in the family's hands today. The money, the company, the land, the house. From the man who founded the Dallas Cowboys and went bankrupt with $396 million in debts, to a mansion in Galveston bought for $20,000 after the storm of 1900, to two brothers who tried to corner the silver market. Only one family still owns land its founder bought before the Civil War. CHAPTERS 0:00 A $725 million ranch changes hands 1:50 #10 The Murchisons: the Dallas Cowboys and a $396 million bankruptcy 5:04 #9 The Kenedys: a monk, a will and 400,000 acres 8:03 #8 The Hoggs: the governor's oil and Bayou Bend 10:52 #7 The Waggoners: the biggest ranch under one fence 13:49 #6 The Kempners: Galveston cotton and Imperial Sugar 16:04 #5 The Cullens: the oilman who gave away 90 percent 17:51 #4 The Moodys: a $20,000 mansion after the 1900 storm 20:12 #3 The Basses: the bachelor billionaire's heirs 22:31 #2 The Hunts: East Texas oil and Silver Thursday 25:49 #1 The family that never sold the ground 28:24 The answer 28:55 Ten families, one rule SOURCES Texas State Historical Association (Handbook of Texas) — King Ranch; Waggoner Ranch; Thistle Hill; Sarita Kenedy East; Hugh Roy Cullen; Isaac Herbert Kempner; Clint Murchison Jr.; Sid Richardson Texas Historical Commission — Varner-Hogg Plantation Texas Monthly — When We Were Kings (1998); Sarita's Secret The Land Report — Stan Kroenke to acquire the Waggoner Ranch (2016) UPI archives (1985) — Murchison bankruptcy filing and estate sale Forbes — Moody Foundation (2023); Hunt family (2024); Billionaires list (2025) Oil & Gas Journal — ExxonMobil and the Bass family's Permian assets (2017) CandysDirt — Mount Vernon, the former H. L. Hunt estate (2025) Wikipedia — Waggoner Ranch; Kenedy Ranch; Ima Hogg; Moody Mansion; American National Insurance; Imperial Sugar; H. L. Hunt; Silver Thursday; East Texas Oil Field Where sources disagree, the film says so. #Texas #OldMoney #GildedAge