The Clans That Fell Off Forbes' List of America's Richest Families 2015

A billion-dollar fortune wasn’t enough to land a spot on the FORBES list of America’s Richest Families this year. Even as we expanded the club from 185 to 200 families, 18 clans who appeared on last year’s list missed the cut in our second annual ranking.

Some families slid down the ranks due to falling stock prices, as with the Cabela family’s eponymous hunting-and-fishing retailer. The family holds nearly a quarter of the company’s stock, which fell 14% year-over-year, pushing their net worth down to $1 billion — not enough to make the list this year. The value of the Adams family’s stake in Adams Resources & Energy, an oil and natural gas mass producer, dropped as its stock price fell 32% year-over-year. Along with changes in some of their private holdings, that pushed their net worth down from last year’s $1.3-billion estimate.

Some clans who owned private companies saw reduced valuations because of declines in financial performance, a weaker industry or new information about their assets. That group included the Gilbane , who run a national  construction and real estate development firm; the Nussdorfs, owners of pharmaceutical and beauty product distributor Quality King; and the Stephenses, founders of research database provider EBSCO Industries.

Most of the families fell off simply because we raised the bar. It took a minimum net worth of  $1.2 billion to make the list this year, compared to $1 billion in 2014. Many of the families who didn’t make the cut this year fell in that $1-billion to $1.15-billion net worth range. This was the case for the Unanues, who run the Hispanic food company Goya Foods; the Stuarts, whose fortune dates back to the sale of Carnation to Nestlé in 1984; and the Herschends, who own one of the nation’s largest private amusement-park-and-entertainment companies.