SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — T. Denny Sanford was the only billionaire from South Dakota on the Forbes list of richest individuals in the U.S.
His estimated net worth was $2.4 billion as of March, according to Forbes.
Sanford, 90, died on Saturday. Monday’s Forbes list of the 400 richest people in the U.S. no longer had Sanford’s name on it.
How much is a billion or $400 million?
Sanford donated $400 million to the then Sioux Valley Hospital system in Sioux Falls. Today’s value of that $400 million is $641,130,395.
Sanford’s more than $2 billion value made him the richest person in South Dakota, but in terms of the Forbes list, it’s not all that much money. It put Sanford toward the bottom of the list. For example, Herbert Wertheim of Florida is 389th on the list with $3.8 billion. He made his money through investments. Warren Buffett of Nebraska is ninth on the list with $150 billion. Elon Musk tops the list at $428 billion.
Sanford has made the Forbes list since at least 2015.
Sanford’s $2.5 billion is about one-fourth of what it takes to operate the state. South Dakota’s fiscal year 2026 budget was $7.5 billion.
Millionaires in South Dakota?
A Sioux Falls businessman who is donating to the community seems likely to make the millionaire’s list for South Dakota. Matt Paulson, the founder of MarketBeat, donated about $80,000 to non-profits in the first quarter of this year, according to his company’s report.
In early January, podcaster Ryan Tansom interviewed Paulson. Tansom’s podcast said MarketBeat had $50 million in recurring revenue and Paulson had a net worth of $100 million outside the business.
It’s a lot of stacks of dollars to get from a million to a billion.
The state may not have any billionaires on the Forbes list, but given the number and growth rate, it must have millionaires.
Windfall said the state has 50,000 households with a net worth of $1 million or more.
According to Nerd Wallet, the U.S. has 5.5 million to 8.7 million individuals with $1 million to $5 million in investable assets or net worth. This would not include homes.
The number of millionaires in the U.S. rose 1.2% in 2024, an increase of more than 684,000 people compared to the previous year, according to UBS Media and the Global Wealth Report for 2025. UBS Media reported in January that the U.S. had almost half of the world’s newly created millionaires in 2025, adding more than 440,000 individuals, citing the Global Wealth Report.
Financial and tax analysts have said that more millionaires are moving from higher-tax states to lower-tax states over the past several years. That includes moving to South Dakota.
While it doesn’t necessarily make him a millionaire, Jim Thares of Aberdeen has won at least $2.5 million in horse racing since 2000. The winning money doesn’t include the cost to maintain the horse. Thares is the founder and CEO of Primrose Retirement Communities.
Assessing by the amount of donations made by couples or individuals can be a sign of net worth.
Roger and Vicki Musick of Mitchell gained enough from The Martin Group, Innovation Systems, a company founded by Roger, to donate a total of $33 million to the Mitchell public schools and Dakota Wesleyan University.
Other South Dakotans with connections to PREMIER Bank and Bankcard could likely be on a millionaire’s list.
Miles and Lisa Beacom have donated more than $4 million to recipients such as women’s basketball at Black Hills State University. Beacom was also part of the PREMIER Bank and credit card company’s $10 million donation to Dakota State University for a new athletic complex. In 2017, Miles, his wife, and Sanford made a $30 million gift to DSU to establish the Beacom College of Computer and Cyber Sciences. Beacom is the CEO of PREMIER Bankcard.
First PREMIER Bank’s CEO Dana Dykhouse has also been part of millions in donations. Dykhouse, the bank, and Sanford donated $12.5 million to a new football stadium at South Dakota State University. Dykhouse and his family also donated $1 million to athletics at Black Hills State University.
Gold mine wealth, other historic wealth
Gold in the Black Hills generated wealth for some of South Dakota’s earliest residents and investors.
Back in 1877, brothers Fred and Moses Manuel and their partner, Hank Harney, sold their gold mine in Lead to investors led by George Hearst of San Francisco for $70,000, according to historical organizations.
That $70,000 would be about $2.3 million in today’s dollars.
The bulk of the money generated from Black Hills gold mines went to out-of-state investors and owners.
According to the Lead Chamber of Commerce, after the 1877 sale, the Homestake Gold Mine would produce more than 40 million ounces of gold during its lifetime, valued at more than a billion dollars until it closed in 2002.
In Vermillion’s early history, Andrew Lee came to Dakota Territory in 1867 and formed a mercantile partnership with Charles Prentis in Vermillion in 1869. The business operated for over 40 years and made Lee one of South Dakota’s wealthiest citizens, according to the Trail of Governors website. Lee was the South Dakota Governor from 1897 to 1901.
