Mississippi’s Duff brothers again make Forbes list of richest people in the world

Mississippi brothers James and Tommy Duff again made Forbes’ list of the top 400 richest Americans.

The billionaire brothers are the two wealthiest people in Mississippi, and they each saw their net worth rise from $4.1 billion last year to $4.5 billion, according to Forbes. They ranked 380 on the list.

The Duff’s also made Forbes’ global billionaire ranking, with James coming in at 978 and Tommy at 982.

The global list was topped by Elon Musk, the Tesla and SpaceX founder, with a current net worth of nearly $948 billion. Musk was the single largest overall political donor of the 2024 US election cycle, forking over hundreds of millions of dollars to support President Donald Trump. He later led Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, before leaving the administration in May of 2025.

Tommy Duff, 69, and Jim Duff, 65, built a multi-billion-dollar business empire that started as a small tire shop founded by their father. Southern Tire Mart, which is based in Columbia, now sells over 4 million new tires and 2.5 million truck tire retreads each year, Forbes said. The Duff brothers also cofounded and co-own Duff Capital Investors, a holding company with total revenue of $6 billion from more than 20 businesses.

Tommy Duff has been a political power broker in Mississippi and a philanthropist. He served an eight-year stint on the board of the state Institutions of Higher Learning, first appointed by then-Gov. Phil Bryant, and has been a major contributor to many Republican campaigns in Mississippi.

He has said he is considering running for governor in 2027, but has not announced a decision.