39. South Dakota - (tie) T. Denny Sandford - undefined - The Richest Person In Every State

T. Denny Sanford may own a bank, but these days he seems less interested in collecting money than in giving it away. He faces a rare problem: He can't get rid of his fortune fast enough. Sanford says he wants to die broke -- but after donating $1.4 billion to health and children's causes, he's no closer than when he began thanks to the hefty dividends he reaps from his First Premier Bank. The Sioux Falls-based company has just 12 branches, but it's one of the largest issuers of Visa and Mastercards. It specializes in offering high-risk borrowers cards with steep interest rates and low credit limits. Sanford still runs the company, but devotes considerable time to charity. Operating on a shoestring budget (staff: Sanford, a secretary and a bookkeeper) he has given nearly $1 billion to Sanford Health -- a group of 43 non-profit hospitals formerly called the Sioux Valley Health System -- and has also supported the Mayo Clinic. His children's education philanthropy includes Sanford Harmony, a program designed to reduce friction between students in pre-K through sixth grade classrooms. Sanford says he hopes the program, which promotes positive relationships between boys and girls, will reduce America's divorce rate by 50% within the next 50 years.

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T. Denny Sanford

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