Maryland's Richest Person Is Actually A Family That Owns A DC Major League Sports Team

MARYLAND — Annette Lerner and her family have bragging rights as the "richest person" in Maryland, according to a recent ranking from Forbes.

Nearly all states have at least one billionaire, according to The Richest Person In Every State list put together by Forbes. The only ones that don’t are Alaska, Delaware and West Virginia.

Lerner loaned $250 to her 26-year-old husband Ted Lerner in 1952 to start a real estate company. Now, Lerner Enterprises is among the largest landowners in the Washington, D.C. region with an estimated net worth of $6.3 billion (as of June 12).

Since 2006, the Lerner family has owned the Washington Nationals. Ted Lerner passed on control of the team to his son Mark in June 2018.

The Lerner family contributes to local charities like George Washington University and Children's National Hospital in D.C., as well as Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

Ted Lerner died in February, leaving his wife and children as the heirs to his estate. Annette Lerner, 93, lives in Chevy Chase.

Nearly a third of the billionaires topped their states for the first time, according to Forbes.

The competition to make the list is the fiercest in four states, where than 60 percent of the 775 billionaires who live in the United States reside: California with 179 billionaires, New York with 130, Florida with 92, and Texas with 73.

Because of ties, 54 people made the list. Their average age is 73, with Walmart heir Lukas Walton, 36, of Illinois, and Maryland-based Annette Lerner, 93, the widow of Washington Nationals owner Ted Lerner, who died in February, bookending the list.

About two-thirds of these billionaires, as well as centimillionaires (people whose net worth is more than $100 million) are self-made, and the rest inherited their fortunes, according to Forbes. More than half made their money in four industries: finance and investments, fashion and retail, food and beverage, and technology.