With a history dating back nearly 115 years, the Butt family ranks as the largest grocery retailer in Texas and one of the largest in the entire United States. Thanks in large part to the family’s ownership of the American grocery chain H-E-B, the family’s net worth was listed at $10.7 billion as of 2019. The grocery chain was founded by Howard Edward Butt who, after a first failed attempt in 1919, successfully launched the chain in Del Rio, Texas in 1927. He quickly purchased three other stores and gave them all the name H-E-B. Howard followed his mother Florence’s footsteps into the grocery business after she opened C.C. Butt’s Grocery Store in Kerrville, Texas in 1905. In 1924, Howard married Mary Elizabeth Holdsworth. Together, they had four children: Howard E. Butt Jr., Margaret Eleanor Butt Crook, Charles Clarence Butt and Mary Beth Butt, who tragically lived only ten days. In 1971, Charles took over as president and chairman of H. E. Butt Grocery Company. Under his leadership, the company expanded into Mexico and built that market. His efforts over the years earned him the Aguila Azteca medal for his philanthropic involvement and business dealings with Mexico.
