If you thought billionaires like Philip Green were swimming in coins, these families all want you to hold their beers, wines and whiskey.

Inheriting loads of money and making it last is something of a skill, I suppose, and some people like Kim Jong Un go wild with their inheritance as soon as it hits their bank account.

These 12 families have seen their fortunes span multiple generations, totalling a combined $1,1 trillion (R15 trillion) of the world’s wealth, a report by IOL explains.

Take a look at the 12 families who make up this trillionaire set:

1. Walton Family – Walmart:

Sam Walton founded what would become Walmart – the source of the world’s biggest family fortune – when he bought his first retail store in 1945. He died in 1992, when his oldest son Rob [middle] became chairman of the Bentonville, Arkansas-based company.

Their fortune: $151,5 billion (R2,06 trillion)

2. Koch Family – Koch Industries:

Fred Koch co-founded the Wood River Oil and Refining Company in 1940, which his sons – Frederick, Charles, David and William – inherited. The brothers feuded over control of the industrial company in the early 1980s, leading to the departure of Frederick and William. Charles and David stayed on, developing the Wichita, Kansas-based company into Koch Industries, a conglomerate with revenues of roughly $100 billion (over R1,3 trillion) a year.

Their fortune: $98,7 billion (R1,35 trillion)

3. Mars Family – Mars:

Frank Mars, born in 1883, learned to hand-dip chocolates as a child. He went on to found Mars, known for its many milk chocolates treats, including M&Ms, Milky Way and Mars bars … The Mars family owns the entire company, based in McLean, Virginia.

Their fortune: $89,7 billion  (R1,22 trillion)

Three Belgian families run Anheuser Busch beverage company. De Spoelberch and De Mevius were already in working together when the Van Damme joined the partnership in 1987 after Piedboeuf and Artois merged, leading to the creation of Interbrew – which went on to merge with Brazil’s AmBev in 2004.

William W. Cargill founded Cargill, a food agriculture and industrial company, in 1865 with one grain storage warehouse in Conover, Iowa, in 1865. His descendants [above] maintain control of the company, which is now based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Their fortune: $42,3 billion (R579 billion)

Albert Boehringer founded Boehringer Ingelheim drug company in Germany in 1885 after buying a small tartar factory. The family, which encompasses the von Baumbachs, still control the company. Hubertus von Baumbach is the chairman of the business, based in Ingelheim, Germany.

The Albrecht family opened a grocery store in Essen, Germany in 1913 that would later evolve into Aldi, based in Essen and Mullheim, Germany. Sons Theo and Karl Albrecht took it over after they returned from World War II and forged Aldi, a national chain low-cost supermarkets.

Their fortune: $38,8 billion  (R532 billion)

12. Mulliez Family – Auchan:

Gerard Mulliez [pictured above] was born in 1931 to a family that owned a clothing company. He went on to found the Auchan supermarket chain in 1961. Known as ‘France’s Walmart,’ Lille, France-based Auchan has spread across Europe to become one of the continent’s largest chains. The family’s holding company, Association Familiale Mulliez, still controls a mix of retail businesses, including home improvement chain.

Their fortune: $37,5 billion (R514 billion)

Must be tough keeping track of all those zeros.

[source:iol]