The 25 richest American families, ranked

18. Millstone-Winter-Heyman families

18. Millstone-Winter-Heyman families, 17. The Smith family, 16. The Reyes Family, 10. The Cox family, 7. The SC Johnson family

Net worth: $19.2 billion

Source of wealth: Standard Industries

Currently led by David Millstone and David Winter, the Standard Industries conglomerate dates its family ties back to a 1938 proxy battle in which businessman Sam Heyman acquired GAF Corporation, which is the country's largest roofing manufacturer, per Forbes.

17. The Smith family

18. Millstone-Winter-Heyman families, 17. The Smith family, 16. The Reyes Family, 10. The Cox family, 7. The SC Johnson family

Net worth: $19.8 billion

Source of wealth: Illinois Tool Works

Dating back to Byron Smith's 1889 founding of the financial services company Northern Trust Corporation and his 1912 co-founding of the manufacturing firm Illinois Tool Works, the Smith family has ties to both the tools manufacturing and finance industries. The family now holds at least 9% of Illinois Tool Works and 1% of Northern Trust's shares, according to Forbes.

16. The Reyes Family

18. Millstone-Winter-Heyman families, 17. The Smith family, 16. The Reyes Family, 10. The Cox family, 7. The SC Johnson family

Net worth: $19.9 billion

Source of wealth: Reyes Holdings

Led by chairmen Chris and Jude Reyes and CEO Duke Reyes, Reyes Holdings is a leading food-and-beverage distributor, according to Forbes. It owns Martin-Brower, McDonald's's main global food distributor, Reyes Beverage Group, the largest beer distributor in the US, and Reyes Coca-Cola Bottling, which serves the Midwest and the West Coast.

10. The Cox family

18. Millstone-Winter-Heyman families, 17. The Smith family, 16. The Reyes Family, 10. The Cox family, 7. The SC Johnson family

Net worth: $26.8 billion

Source of wealth: Cox Enterprises

Since its founding in 1898, Cox Enterprises has a hand in a number of industries — cable and broadband (Cox Communications), newspapers and radio stations (Cox Media Group), and the automotive industry. It generates about $20 billion in revenue per year, per Forbes.

The company's CEO is Alex Taylor, the great-grandson of the founder, James Cox.

7. The SC Johnson family

18. Millstone-Winter-Heyman families, 17. The Smith family, 16. The Reyes Family, 10. The Cox family, 7. The SC Johnson family

Net worth: $38.5 billion

Source of wealth: SC Johnson

The Johnson family is behind SC Johnson, which produces cleaning products such as Pledge, Glade, and Windex. The company was founded by its namesake, S.C. Johnson, in 1882 and was eventually taken over by his son Herbert Fisk Johnson. Herbert died in 1928 without a will, and the family feuded over the inheritance until it was eventually divided between his two children, Herbert Fisk Johnson Jr. and Henrietta Johnson Louis.

Herbert Fisk Johnson III, a fifth-generation member of the family, is the current CEO and chairman of the company.

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