Sygma, Corbis
Our country has a long history of family dynasties, from our founding political leaders to newspaper and oil tycoons that shaped society. But what makes for an influential family in America today? Town & Country magazine's upcoming May cover story features the 50 most prominent American families. The list is broken down into five categories with 10 families in each category: 10 Most Inspiring; 10 Most Generous; 10 Most Enduring; 10 Most Creative; 10 Most Powerful. Keep clicking for a look at the top family in each of those categories.
The Bush family, seen here, is considered the Most Powerful family in America.
The full lists will appear in upcoming issue of Town & Country, which hits news stands on April 16.
AP Photo
Town & Country magazine's staff initially selected 200 families, then scored them using criteria: inspiration, endurance, generosity, power, creativity. The staff created a composite score for each family and used that to select the 50 families. To be eligible, the family must be socially prominent today and prominence must date back at least two consecutive generations.
The Most Enduring family is the du Pont family.
Seen here, the three du Pont brothers, from left, Irenee, Pierre Samuel, and Lammot, stand under a portrait of their father Lammot du Pont, in Wilmington, Del., on June 1949.
AP Photo/VMI Photo by Kevin Remington
In this April 21, 2009 photo, released by Virginia Military Institute, Gov. Pete du Pont examines Medals of Honor won by VMI graduates on Tuesday, April 21, 2009 at VMI in Lexington, Va. The governor was attending a ceremony honoring his great-grand uncle, Henry du Pont, who shelled VMI during the Civil War and later sponsored federal legislation to pay reparations to the Institute.
AP Photo/Stuart Ramson
Actor Christopher Reeve, center, arrives at the "Talk" magazine inaugural party on Liberty Island in New York, Monday, August 2, 1999. He was escorted by his daughter Alexandra, left, and wife Dana.
AP Photo/Daniel Hulshizer
Christopher Reeve and his wife Dana smile as he receives a standing ovation from the audience at a concert in his tribute at the McCarter Theatre in Princeton, N.J., Sunday, Jan. 12, 1997. The concert marked the first fund-raising effort for the Christopher Reeve Foundation, which sponsors medical research toward finding a cure for spinal cord injuries.
Bettina Lewin/Town & Country
From left: Matthew Reeve, Alexandra Reeve Givens and Will Reeve seen in a photo recently featured in an issue of Town & Country magazine.
Bettina Lewin/Town & Country
From left: Matthew Reeve, Alexandra Reeve Givens and Will Reeve seen in a photo recently featured in an issue of Town & Country magazine.
Jack Vartoogian
The Marsalis family is considered the Most Creative on the Town & Countrymagazine list. Wynton Marsalis, left, is a CBS News cultural correspondent.
AP
From left: Branford Marsalis, Wynton Marsalis and Delfeayo Marsalis perform together in this undated photo.
AP Photo/Charles Sykes
Musicians Wynton Marsalis, left, Branford Marsalis and Delfeayo Marsalis perform at the National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master Awards Ceremony and Concert held in New York, Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2011.
AP Photo/Dean Cox
Branford Marsalis, at left on saxaphone, and his brother Wynton Marsalis, on trumpet, have a horn "fight off" during the "Teach Me Tonight" jazz concert to benefit the Lincoln Center at the Apollo Theater in New York on Monday, June 7, 2004.
Brian Zak/Sipa Press
Wynton Marsalis and his father, Ellis Marsalis play at Wynton Marsalis Awarded Legion of Honor held at the Cultural Services of the French Embassy.
Juda Ngwenya/Reuters
The Most Generous family is the Gates family. Seen here, Bill and Melinda Gates. The Microsoft co-founder and his wife run the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation, which supports initiatives in education, world health, and community giving.
AP Photo/Elise Amendola
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, his wife Melinda, far left, his father Bill Gates Sr., and his step-mother Mimi Gates pose for a photo after he received his honorary Doctor of Laws degree and was keynote speaker at Harvard University's 2007 commencement exercises on campus in Cambridge, Mass., Thursday, June 7, 2007.
AP Photo/Aftab Alam Siddiqui
In this March 23, 2011 photo, Microsoft Corp. founder and philanthropist Bill Gates, right, and his wife Melinda Gates attend to a child as they meet with members of the Mushar community at Jamsot Village near Patna, India.
