US FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. DESIGN BY FORBES.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin earned his reputation during a 41-year career in the U.S. Army, but he earned the bulk of his fortune—which Forbes estimates at $7 million—serving on boards in retirement.
The son of a postal worker and a homemaker, Austin grew up in Thomasville, Georgia. He did well enough in school to earn acceptance to two of America’s premier universities: Notre Dame and West Point. His father, a World War II veteran, sat him down and asked where he’d like to go to college. “Without hesitation, I said, ‘Dad, I want to go to Notre Dame,’” Austin later recalled. “And he sat there for a moment, and then he said, ‘Sounds good, son. We’ll try this conversation again tomorrow.’”
Austin ended up enrolling at West Point. He planned to serve in the Army for five years before moving onto law school. But after graduating in 1975, he got hooked on military service, relishing the…