Who's Who of Iowa

Notable American Families & Dynasties

The great American family dynasties: the families behind the nation's politics, industry, and fortunes, profiled from public sources.

The Kennedy FamilyThe Irish-American dynasty from Boston that produced a president, senators, and the “Camelot” era of American politics.Read profile →The Rockefeller FamilyThe family whose Standard Oil fortune made the first American billionaire, and funded a century of philanthropy.Read profile →The Vanderbilt FamilyThe shipping-and-railroad dynasty that ruled the Gilded Age, and built some of America's grandest houses.Read profile →The Roosevelt FamilyThe New York dynasty of Dutch-American roots that gave the nation two presidents and a world-changing First Lady.Read profile →The Ford FamilyThe Michigan family whose Model T and moving assembly line put the world on wheels.Read profile →The Astor FamilyThe fur-trade-and-real-estate dynasty that built America's first great fortune and ruled New York society.Read profile →The du Pont FamilyThe French-émigré family whose gunpowder mill grew into the DuPont chemical empire, and shaped a state.Read profile →The Walton FamilyThe Arkansas family whose single five-and-dime grew into Walmart: the largest company on earth.Read profile →The Morgan FamilyThe banking dynasty that financed America's industrial age and twice steadied the nation's economy.Read profile →The Hearst FamilyThe mining-and-media dynasty behind America's largest newspaper empire, and the castle that inspired “Citizen Kane.”Read profile →The Guggenheim FamilyThe immigrant family whose mining empire became a legacy of museums, foundations, and the arts.Read profile →The Adams FamilyThe Massachusetts family that gave the young republic two presidents, a founding mother, and generations of statesmen.Read profile →The Bush FamilyThe family that sent a senator, two presidents, and a governor to the top of American politics.Read profile →The Disney FamilyThe brothers whose cartoon studio grew into the world's best-known entertainment empire.Read profile →The Getty FamilyThe oil dynasty whose founder was once the richest American, and whose fortune built a world-class art museum.Read profile →The Busch FamilyThe St. Louis dynasty behind Budweiser and America's largest brewery.Read profile →The Mellon FamilyThe Pittsburgh banking dynasty that financed American industry, and gave the nation its National Gallery of Art.Read profile →The Pulitzer FamilyThe immigrant publisher whose newspapers, and the prizes that bear his name, shaped American journalism.Read profile →The Ochs-Sulzberger FamilyThe family that has published The New York Times for more than a century and a quarter.Read profile →The Marriott FamilyThe family whose Depression-era root beer stand grew into the largest hotel company in the world.Read profile →The Pritzker FamilyThe Chicago dynasty behind Hyatt Hotels, and architecture's most prestigious award.Read profile →
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