New Forbes List: Illinois’ Richest Person Is Worth $44 Billion

Sure, it would be great to be one of the people on the new Forbes 400 list of the richest Americans. But if you didn't make the cut, there is always Plan B: become really, really good friends with somebody who did.

You can't have too many billionaires in your contact list, as my grandfather used to say.

Forbes released its 45th annual Forbes 400 on Tuesday, and Illinois has a pretty impressive presence. Eighteen Illinois residents made the list, including the state's richest resident, 39-year-old Lukas Walton.

Stacks of hundred dollar bills are shown

Wait, The Richest Guy In Illinois Is Worth How Much?

Lukas Walton, the grandson of Walmart founder Sam Walton, is worth an estimated $44.4 billion, good enough for #24 nationally. That's an awful lot of Walmart bags.

Here are the other Illinois billionaires who made the Forbes 400:

Charlie Mills: $11 billion
Neil Bluhm: $9.9 billion
Patrick Ryan: $9.4 billion
Ty Warner: $8.2 billion
Elizabeth Uihlein: $7.6 billion
Richard Uihlein: $7.6 billion
Thomas Pritzker: $7.5 billion
Mark Walter: $7.3 billion
Eric Lefkofsky: $6.5 billion
Justin Ishbia: $6.4 billion
Joseph Grendys: $6.1 billion
Penny Pritzker: $5.8 billion
Andy Mills: $5.5 billion
Larry Gies: $5.4 billion
Joe Mansueto: $5.3 billion
Byron Trott: $5 billion
Wendy Abrams: $4.7 billion

A pile of money sitting on top of a table

It's Crazy How Much Money You Have To Have Just To Get On The List

Let's just put the whole thing into perspective.

The Forbes 400 cutoff has risen to a record $4.4 billion. Forbes says there are actually 590 American billionaires who weren't rich enough to make the list. Imagine being a billionaire and having Forbes essentially tell you, "Sorry, maybe next year."

The Illinois group includes people who made their fortunes in everything from Walmart and Medline to insurance, private equity, real estate, Uline, Morningstar, Groupon and Beanie Babies.

Meanwhile, at the very top of the national list sits Elon Musk, with an estimated $908 billion fortune.

So, if you're sitting around this morning wondering why you didn't make the Forbes 400, don't feel bad. There are literally hundreds of billionaires having the exact same problem.