The Only Ozark Characters Richer Than Marty And Wendy

Marty (Jason Bateman) and Wendy Byrde (Laura Linney) may not have as much money in the first episode of "Ozark" as they do now, but they sure embrace the challenge of making tons of money throughout the series. However, the longer they stay in the money-laundering business, the more ambitious, greedy, and power-hungry the Byrdes (especially Wendy) become. Rather than providing a better life for their family, their involvement in the cartel ends up moving them to a new town, damaging their marriage, endangering their children, and ending the life of Wendy's brother, Ben (Tom Pelphrey). Marty and Wendy's ambition for lucrative crime does not save their family — it almost destroys it.

However, nearly every character on "Ozark" who pursues crime does so for the sake of their children or other family members. Fighting for one's family appears to be an effective motivating factor because, by the end of the show, there are only a handful of characters who appear to still be richer than Marty and Wendy, and most of them are parents as well. However, like the Byrdes, instead of providing a better life for their families, most of the others end up living through extensive trauma instead, and most of them are also dead by the end of the series, leaving their loved ones rich but also alone.

Frank Cosgrove (John Bedford Lloyd) is the head of the Kansas City Mafia. He makes plenty to provide for his son, Frank Jr. (Joseph Sikora), but as an adult, Frank Jr. becomes involved in a life of crime just like his father. After Darlene Snell (Lisa Emery) shoots and injures Frank Jr., she later kills Frank Sr.

Jacob (Peter Mullan) and Darlene Snell own a massive property, control the sheriff, and make tons of money farming heroin. According to Netflix, the depiction of money made through crime on the show is fairly true to life. Despite their riches, Jacob and Darlene both end up murdered.

Helen Pierce (Janet McTeer) is the prominent Navarro cartel's exclusive lawyer. According to the New York Post, this is a highly lucrative career. Helen earns enough to divorce her husband and still provide a fancy house and privileged life for her daughter. However, Helen ends up tortured and eventually murdered by the cartel, leaving her unable to care for her daughter.

Charles Wilkes (Darren Goldstein) is a powerful, respected Missouri senator who owns an incredible, exclusive lake house. Wilkes has so much money that he can essentially control which bills get passed by bankrolling them. Once Wendy partners with Wilkes, she is able to get him to fund several projects that she and Marty use to launder cartel money.

Omar Navarro (Felix Solis), the head of the cartel, is the richest character on "Ozark." He has a beautiful, massive property in Mexico, where he entertains his large family and many children. Although Navarro is worth over $50 million, several of his family members are killed because of his work, and ultimately, he is killed as well.