Four Virginians make Forbes list of richest Americans

Four Virginia billionaires have made the Forbes magazine list of the 400 richest Americans.

The group includes Jacqueline Mars, 73, of The Plains. She tied her Wyoming-based brothers, John Mars,77;  and Forrest Mars Jr., 82; for 15th place on the list, up from 16th in 2012. The Mars siblings own McLean-based candy maker Mars Inc., which produces M&Ms and Snickers among other sweet treats. Forbes estimates the net worth of each Mars heir at $20.5 billion.

Winnifred Johnson-Marquart, 54,  is No. 166 on the rich list, down from No. 151 last year. Her net worth is estimated at $3 billion. Johnson-Marquart is one of four great-great grandchildren of the founder of household products company SC Johnson.  She lives with her husband and four children in Virginia.  She is the only Johnson sibling who does not live in Racine, Wis., the company’s hometown.

The other two Virginia billionaires on the list are Daniel D’Aniello, 67, and William Conway Jr., 64, two of the three top officials with The Carlyle Group, a private equity firm.  Each man has an estimated net worth of $2.6 billion, an amount that left them tied with 11 others for No. 209 on the list .

D’Aniello is chairman of the Carlyle Group, where he is in charge of day-to-day operations. Conway shares the title of CEO and co-founder of the firm with David Rubenstein, 64, of Bethesda, Md., who also had an estimated net worth of $2.6 billion. D’Aniello, Conway and Rubenstein all tied for 250th on the 2012 Forbes list.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates topped the rich list with a net worth of $72 billion. Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway was second with  $58.5 billion and Larry Ellison, a co-founder of Oracle Corp., was third at $41 billion.