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Austin nets 2 more billionaires on annual Forbes list, city now has richest person in Texas

From top corner clockwise, Elon Musk, Michael Dell, Robert F. Smith and Whitney Wolf Herd.
Austin has had its fair share of billionaires for years now, but this year's Forbes rankings added two very-talked-about tech moguls: Elon Musk and Whitney Wolfe Herd.
While Musk is no stranger to Forbes' billionaire's list, Herd is spick-and-span new, only recently gaining the wealth to join the other local billionaires on the list this year when global dating app Bumble made its market debut.
Here's how Austin's billionaire's ranked in Forbes' 2021 world's billionaire's list:
No. 2 (+29) Elon Musk, $151 billion
Tesla CEO and new Austinite Musk landed in second place, falling behind Amazon founder Jeff Bezos after briefly overtaking him earlier this year but easily supplanting longtime richest Texan Alice Walton. His worth is largely fueled by Tesla and SpaceX, according to Forbes. This is more than six times his estimated net worth in 2020 and has allowed him to climb several ranks.
No. 30 (+3) Michael Dell, $45.1 billion
While getting knocked out of his spot as wealthiest Austin resident, Chairman and CEO of Dell Technologies Michael Dell still got richer. His wealth almost doubled from last year after dropping in value last year.
No. 451 (-121) Robert F. Smith, $6 billion
Founder of the private equity firm Vista Equity Partners, Robert F. Smith is the wealthiest Black man, although rapper Kanye West almost took the throne last month. Although going down in Forbes' ranking, he is worth $11 billion more than last year. Last fall, Smith reached a $140 million settlement with the U.S. Justice Department to resolve issues involving undeclared offshore accounts.
No. 622 (-6) Bert "Tito" Beveridge, $4.6 billion
Founder of Tito's Vodka Bert Beveridge's net worth went up since last year by about $1.4 billion, although he went down in Forbes' rankings.
No. 956 (-276) Thai Lee, $3.2 billion
CEO of the IT provider SHI International, Thai Lee is the wealthiest woman in Austin. She is ranked No. 8 on Forbes' America's self-made women 2020 list.
No. 1,008 (-328) Joseph Liemandt, $3 billion
Founder of the investment firm ESW Capital, Joseph Liemandt's net worth has stayed stagnant the past three years.
No. 1,174 (-526) John Paul DeJoria, $2.7 billion
Both in the alcohol and beauty industry, John Paul DeJoria is the founder of tequila maker Patron Spirits Co. and co-founder of the hair care company John Paul Mitchell Systems. His net worth went down this year by less than $1 billion after increasing the year before.
No. 1,249 (-341) Jim Breyer, $2.5 billion
One of Facebook's first venture investors, Jim Breyers credits investing in Facebook in early 2005 and helping Mark Zuckerberg recruit now-Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg as two of the best decisions of his business career.
No. 1,750 (-401) David Booth, $1.8 billion
Co-founder of Dimensional Fund Advisors which he launched in 1981, David Booth began a decades-long experiment in applying academic theory to real-world investing, he told Forbes.
No. 2,263 (new to the list) Whitney Wolfe Herd, $1.3 billion
And finally, Herd, co-founder and CEO of the dating app Bumble, made her debut on the list after an initial public offering of Bumble took the company to $43 a share, raising more than $2 billion for the company. Herd has been listed on Forbes self-made woman list two years in a row.
- Austin's four richest self-made women in America, Forbes - austonia ›
- Robert F. Smith agrees to $140M tax fraud settlement - austonia ›
- What billionaires like Elon Musk look for in Austin real estate - austonia ›
- Who are the Austin billionaires? The new list is out. - austonia ›
- 8 Austin billionaires make a return to the Forbes 400 list - austonia ›
- Cline, Rogers step down from Robert Smith's Vista Equity Partners - austonia ›
- Why Austinites pay a higher income tax rate than Elon Musk - austonia ›
- Austin's Michael Dell joins San Antonio Spurs as investor - austonia ›
- Forbes 400 names seven Austin billionaires and two bite the dust - austonia ›
- Austin has the 3rd highest quality of life according to study - austonia ›
- Rich residents find Austin and wealth management sees a boom - austonia ›
- Elon Musk and eight Austinites make Forbes Billionaires list - austonia ›
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(Austonia)
May's second election is here, in which voters will decide on the candidates to represent their party in the November general election after the winner in some March primary races was unclear.
Just like the March primaries, voters will choose which party they choose to vote in. Then based on location, each ballot will show which races are in a runoff.
In Texas, candidates must win at least 50% of the vote to be elected. In the races where the top candidate only received a plurality of votes, a runoff is being held.
Here's everything you need to know before heading to the polls.
Know before you go
Early voting for the Texas primary runoff election begins Monday and will last through May 20; Election Day is May 24.
The registration period for this election has passed; check if you're registered to vote here.
The polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. As long as you're in line by 7 p.m., you can vote.
You'll need a valid photo ID to present once you're at a polling location.
Here are the early voting locations in Travis County.
View wait times at polling locations here.
Races to watch in Travis County:
Statewide
Lieutenant Governor
- Republican: Incumbent Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick won his primary in March.
- Democratic: Mike Collier and Michelle Beckley are vying to be the Democrat candidate on the ballot.
- Republican: Incumbent AG Ken Paxton is fighting for his seat against George P. Bush.
- Democratic: Rochelle Garza and Joe Jaworski will face off to be the Democratic candidate in this race.
View all the statewide races on the ballot here.
U.S. House of Representatives
View the district you live in here.
District 21
- Republican: Incumbent Chip Roy won his primary in March.
- Democratic: Claudia Andreana Zapata and Ricardo Villarreal are hoping to secure this vote.
- Republican: Dan McQueen and Michael Rodriguez are going head to head to be the Republican candidate in this race.
- Democratic: Former Austin council member Greg Casar won this race in March.
District 19
- Republican: Ellen Troxclair and Justin Berry are vying to be the Republican candidate in this race.
- Democratic: Pam Baggett won her primary in March.
Texas has been home to some of the country’s biggest celebrities of all time—think Amarillo resident Georgia O'Keeffe, Lubbock’s Buddy Holly and Corpus Christi’s famous singer Selena.
The Pudding’s People Map of the U.S., which shows each city’s “most Wikipedia’ed” resident, placed celebrities from all walks of life on the Texas map. As for Central Texas celebrities, there are some interesting (and not so surprising) names on deck.
(The Pudding)
Proving that Austin is “alright, alright, alright,” Minister of Culture Matthew McConaughey is both Austin’s and Uvalde’s top Wikipedia’ed resident. McConaughey, who was born in San Antonio adjacent Uvalde, has deeply ingrained himself in Austin by studying Radio-Television-Film at UT Austin, starring in the Austin-filmed movie “Dazed and Confused” and investing in Austin FC.
Heading down just a few miles south, San Marcos claimed former president Lyndon Baines Johnson as Texas State University’s most famous alumni, who graduated in 1930, and was also named in Fredericksburg. LBJ wasn’t the only ex-president on the map—George W. Bush was listed as the top resident in Dallas, Midland, Houston and Crawford.
You’ll see some other names with ties to Austin strewn around the state: Janis Joplin in Beaumont and Port Arthur; Stone Cold Steve Austin in Victoria and Edna; Dan Rather in his hometown of Wharton; and Waylon Jennings in Littlefield.
Venturing outside of the central areas, there are big celebrities who call Texas Home. Actress and artist Selena Gomez dominated search traffic in her hometown of Grand Prairie, musical artist Post Malone was most “Wikipedia’ed” in Grapevine, and Shaquille O’Neal was named in the city where he went to high school, San Antonio.
Plus, Thomas Haden Church, Angela Kinsey, Jessica Simpson, Chuck Norris, Roy Orbison, Ron White, Jessica Alba, Colt McCoy, Jimmy Dean and Johnny Manziel all had at least one city covered on the list.
Where’s Texas’ newest resident, Elon Musk? You’ll find him still in Los Angeles, as his foray into Texas living has just begun.
Click here to view the full map.