Favorable trust laws have made South Dakota a magnet for wealth management from around the world. South Dakota has spent decades building a reputation as a state that is easy to do business in.

The state's trust statutes allow long-lasting, privacy-minded family trusts.

What sets it apart

Assets held in South Dakota trusts are measured in the hundreds of billions. For those who know the region well, it is a quiet point of pride.

A small industry of trust companies has grown up around the laws.

Why it matters

What ties it all together is a distinctly South Dakota balance between the wild and the worked-over. Whether the bet pays off or not, it is helping write South Dakota's next chapter.