The Texas billionaires with deep ties to New York
Byline: Karen Jones, founder of Citywealth, has more than 20 years’ experience in global private wealth.
As we have found in New York, Chicago and California, America’s billionaires are rarely tied to a single place. They may move their primary residence or establish a new base in Texas while maintaining homes, businesses, family offices and professional networks in the places where their fortunes were first built.
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Texas has become an increasingly important centre for American wealth, but moving there does not always mean leaving New York behind. Some of the state’s wealthiest families continue to manage investments, operate philanthropic organisations, own property or conduct business in Manhattan.
Michael Dell
Michael Dell founded his computer company in Austin, and Dell Technologies remains headquartered in nearby Round Rock. His personal fortune is managed by DFO Management, his family office, which operates from New York City and West Palm Beach.
Dell is also connected to BDT & MSD Partners, a merchant bank created by merging Byron Trott’s Chicago advisory firm with the investment business established for Dell and his family. It advises wealthy business owners on major transactions and invests alongside them.
The firm is co-headquartered in New York and Chicago, with Dell’s family office and its New York operation sharing an address at 550 Madison Avenue in Manhattan. Dell is therefore firmly rooted in Texas while a significant part of his investment network operates from New York.
John and Laura Arnold
Houston billionaire John Arnold began trading energy at Enron in 1995 and later ran its natural-gas derivatives desk. He subsequently founded the hedge fund Centaurus Energy, which became the main source of his fortune.
He and his wife, Laura, now run Arnold Ventures, a philanthropic organisation with offices in Houston, New York City and Washington. It funds research and policy work involving health care, education, criminal justice, infrastructure and public finance.
The New York office gives the Houston-based couple a permanent presence in one of the country’s main centres for finance, philanthropy and public-policy research.
Fernando De Leon
Dallas billionaire Fernando De Leon founded Leon Capital Group, a family-owned holding company with businesses in property, health care and financial services.
Its subsidiary Leon Financial Network provides long-term growth funding to independent wealth and asset managers. It buys minority stakes or provides loans, allowing those firms to expand without being taken over by a conventional private-equity owner.
In July 2026, it invested in Tocqueville Asset Management, a Manhattan firm managing about $10.2bn for wealthy families and other clients. De Leon also began his career at Goldman Sachs in New York.
The investment gives his Dallas financial business a direct interest in an established New York wealth manager.
The Bass family
The Bass family’s multibillion-dollar fortune originated in Texas oil. Sid Bass’s father, Perry Richardson Bass, built the family business with oilman Sid W. Richardson before Sid and his brothers expanded the wealth through investments.
The family remained centred in Fort Worth but also developed substantial ties to Manhattan. Sid and Anne Bass maintained a home at 960 Fifth Avenue, overlooking Central Park. Anne served on the board of the New York City Ballet from 1980 to 2005 and supported the School of American Ballet.
Anne Bass died in 2020, making this a historical example. Nevertheless, the combination of Fort Worth oil wealth, Manhattan property and New York cultural philanthropy represents a longstanding link between the two states.
New York institutions in Texas
The connection also operates in the opposite direction. JPMorganChase is headquartered in New York but employs approximately 30,000 people in Texas. The bank also reports making more than $85m in philanthropic contributions in the state since 2021.
Its Texas operations include banking, technology, investment services and commercial finance, alongside programmes supporting employment, small businesses and affordable housing.
The Rockefeller Foundation, based in New York, has funded organisations in Houston working on small-business development, public health and economic opportunity.
Bloomberg Philanthropies, the charitable organisation founded by former New York mayor and billionaire businessman Michael Bloomberg, has also funded work in Texas. Houston was awarded up to $1m through its Public Art Challenge for HueMan: Shelter, a project using public art to examine perceptions of homelessness.
These institutions have not relocated from New York to Texas. They maintain their New York headquarters while investing money, employing people and supporting projects in Texas.
A link between two centres of wealth
Billionaire migration is often presented as a simple journey from one state to another. In practice, a wealthy individual may establish a home or company headquarters in Texas while retaining investments, property, advisers and philanthropic interests in New York.
Michael Dell’s family office, the Arnolds’ philanthropy, Fernando De Leon’s investment and the Bass family’s cultural history all connect Texas wealth with New York institutions.
Texas may be the principal base, but New York often remains an important part of the network.
Key Takeaways
- Texas has emerged as a key hub for American billionaires, who often retain strong connections to New York.
- Michael Dell manages his fortune from Texas while maintaining ties to New York through his family office and investment networks.
- The Arnolds run a philanthropic organisation with offices in both Houston and New York, contributing to significant social causes.
- Billionaire Fernando De Leon has interests in New York through his Dallas-based financial firm, investing in Manhattan.
- Prominent New York institutions, such as JPMorganChase, actively engage in philanthropic efforts in Texas, showcasing strong ties between the two regions.
Author: Karen Jones is the founder of Citywealth and a wealth management commentator with more than 20 years’ experience across global private wealth, family offices and succession. Before founding Citywealth in 2005, she held publishing roles at The Times and The Sunday Times, London; Legal Business magazine and worked on the Asia Pacific Legal 500.
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