The World's Billionaires
| List of the world's billionaires, ranked in order of net worth | |
 | |
The net worth of the world's billionaires increased from less than $1 trillion in 2000 to over $7 trillion in 2015.
| |
| Publication details | |
|---|---|
| Publisher |
|
| Publication | Forbes |
| First published | March 1987[1] |
| Latest publication | March 5, 2019 |
| Current list details (2019)[2] | |
| Wealthiest | Jeff Bezos |
| Net worth (1st) |  US$131 billion |
| Number of billionaires |  2,153 |
| Total list net worth value | US$8.7 trillion |
| Average net worth | US$4.0 billion |
| Number of women | 243 |
| New members to the list | 195 |
| Forbes: The World's Billionaires website | |
The World's Billionaires is an annual ranking by documented net worth of the wealthiest billionairesin the world, compiled and published in March annually by the American business magazine Forbes. The list was first published in March 1987.[1] The total net worth of each individual on the list is estimated and is cited in United States dollars, based on their documented assets and accounting for debt. Royalty and dictators whose wealth comes from their positions are excluded from these lists.[3] This ranking is an index of the wealthiest documented individuals, excluding and ranking against those with wealth that is not able to be completely ascertained.[4]
In 2018, there was a record of 2,208 people on the list, that included 259 newcomers mostly from China and the U.S.; there were 63 people under 40 and it had a record number of 256 women.[5] The average net worth of the list came in at US$4.1 billion, up US$350 million from 2017. Added together, the total net worth for 2018's billionaires was US$9.1 trillion, up from US$7.67 trillion in 2017.[5][6][7] As of 2018, Microsoft founder Bill Gates had topped the list 18 of the past 24 years, while Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is ranked at the top for the first time and he became the first centibillionaire included in the ranking.[6] Additionally, Mark Zuckerberg is currently the only person in the top 10 billionaires list who is under the age of 50, and the only one in the top 20 billionaires list who is under the age of 40.[8]
In 2017, 500 of the richest people in the world became richer by $1 trillion, according to a report by Bloomberg News.[9][10] According to a 2017 Oxfamreport, the top eight billionaires own as much combined wealth as "the poorest half of the human race".[11][12]
Contents
Methodology[edit]
Each year, Forbes employs a team of more than 50 reporters from a variety of countries to track the activity of the world's wealthiest individuals.[13]Preliminary surveys are sent to those who may qualify for the list. According to Forbes, they received three types of responses – some people try to inflate their wealth, others cooperate but leave out details, and some refuse to answer any questions.[14] Business deals are then scrutinized and estimates of valuable assets – land, homes, vehicles, artwork, etc. – are made. Interviews are conducted to vet the figures and improve the estimate of an individual's holdings. Finally, positions in a publicly traded stock are priced to market on a date roughly a month before publication. Privately held companies are priced by the prevailing price-to-sales or price-to-earningsratios. Known debt is subtracted from assets to get a final estimate of an individual's estimated worth in United States dollars. Since stock prices fluctuate rapidly, an individual's true wealth and ranking at the time of publication may vary from their situation when the list was compiled.[13]
Family fortunes dispersed over a large number of relatives are included only if those individuals' holdings are worth more than a billion dollars. However, when a living individual has dispersed his or her wealth to immediate family members, it is included under a single listing provided that individual is still living.[13] Royal families and dictatorsthat have their wealth contingent on a position are always excluded from these lists.[15]
Annual rankings[edit]
The rankings are published annually in March, so the net worths listed are snapshots taken at that time. These lists only show the top 10 wealthiest billionaires for each year.
Legend[edit]
| Icon | Description |
|---|---|
 | Has not changed from the previous ranking. |
| Has increased from the previous ranking. |
| Has decreased from the previous ranking. |
2019[edit]
In the 33rd annual Forbes list of the world's billionaires, the list included 2,153 billionaires with a total net wealth of $8.7 trillion, down 55 members and $400 billion from 2018.[2] The U.S. continued to have the most billionaires in the world, with a record of 609, while China dropped to 324 (when not including Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan). Kylie Jenner, at 21 years old, was included in the 2019 list for her first time and is currently the youngest billionaire in the world.[2]
| No. | Name | Net worth (USD) | Age | Nationality | Source(s) of wealth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jeff Bezos | $131 billion | 55 |  United States | Amazon |
| 2 | Bill Gates | $96.5 billion | 63 | United States | Microsoft |
| 3 | Warren Buffett | $82.5 billion | 88 | United States | Berkshire Hathaway |
| 4 | Bernard Arnault | $76 billion | 70 |  France | LVMH |
| 5 | Carlos Slim | $64 billion | 79 |  Mexico | América Móvil, Grupo Carso |
| 6 | Amancio Ortega | $62.7 billion | 82 |  Spain | Inditex, Zara |
| 7 | Larry Ellison | $62.5 billion | 74 | United States | Oracle Corporation |
| 8 | Mark Zuckerberg | $62.3 billion | 34 | United States | |
| 9 | Michael Bloomberg | $55.5 billion | 77 | United States | Bloomberg L.P. |
| 10 | Larry Page | $50.8 billion | 45 | United States | Alphabet Inc. |
2018[edit]
In the 32nd annual Forbes list of the world's billionaires, the aggregate wealth of the top 20 richest people on Earth amounted to about 13 percent of all billionaires' fortunes combined.[5] A record of 2,208 billionaires were in the ranking and the total wealth was $9.1 trillion, up 18% since 2017. For the first time, Jeff Bezos was listed as the top billionaire due to Amazon's rising stock price that resulted in one person's biggest one-year gain in wealth ($35 billion) since Forbes started tracking in 1987.[5] The U.S. had the most billionaires in the world, with 585, while China was catching up with 476 when including Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan; it had 372 when excluding those three places.[5]
| No. | Name | Net worth (USD) | Age | Nationality | Source(s) of wealth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jeff Bezos | $112 billion | 54 | United States | Amazon |
| 2 | Bill Gates | $90 billion | 62 | United States | Microsoft |
| 3 | Warren Buffett | $84 billion | 87 | United States | Berkshire Hathaway |
| 4 | Bernard Arnault | $72 billion | 69 | France | LVMH |
| 5 | Mark Zuckerberg | $71 billion | 33 | United States | |
| 6 | Amancio Ortega | $70 billion | 81 | Spain | Inditex, Zara |
| 7 | Carlos Slim | $67.1 billion | 78 | Mexico | América Móvil, Grupo Carso |
| 8 | Charles Koch | $60 billion | 82 | United States | Koch Industries |
| 8 | David Koch | $60 billion | 77 | United States | Koch Industries |
| 10 | Larry Ellison | $58.5 billion | 73 | United States | Oracle Corporation |
2017[edit]
On the 30th anniversary of the Forbeslist of the world's billionaires, for the fourth year in a row, Bill Gates was named the richest man in the world.[6]In 2017, there was a record of 2,043 people on the list, which is the first time over 2,000 people were listed. This included 195 newcomers of whom 76 were from China and 25 from the U.S.; there were 56 people under 40 and it had a record of 227 women.[16]The number of billionaires increased 13% to 2,043 from 1,810 in 2016; this was the biggest change in over 30 years of tracking billionaires globally.[6]Added together, the total net worth for 2017's billionaires was US$7.67 trillion, up from US$7.1 trillion in 2015.[6][7]This was the first time after 12 years that Carlos Slim was not within the top five. The U.S. had the most billionaires in the world, with a record of 565. China had 319 (not including Hong Kong, Taiwan or Macau), Germany had 114, and India had the fourth most with 101; India reached over 100 billionaires for its first time.
| No. | Name | Net worth (USD) | Age | Nationality | Source(s) of wealth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bill Gates | $86.0 billion | 61 | United States | Microsoft |
| 2 | Warren Buffett | $75.6 billion | 86 | United States | Berkshire Hathaway |
| 3 | Jeff Bezos | $72.8 billion | 53 | United States | Amazon |
| 4 | Amancio Ortega | $71.3 billion | 80 | Spain | Inditex, Zara |
| 5 | Mark Zuckerberg | $56.0 billion | 32 | United States | |
| 6 | Carlos Slim | $54.5 billion | 77 | Mexico | América Móvil, Grupo Carso |
| 7 | Larry Ellison | $52.2 billion | 72 | United States | Oracle Corporation |
| 8 | Charles Koch | $48.3 billion | 81 | United States | Koch Industries |
| 8 | David Koch | $48.3 billion | 76 | United States | Koch Industries |
| 10 | Michael Bloomberg | $47.5 billion | 75 | United States | Bloomberg L.P. |
2016[edit]
For the third year in a row, Bill Gates was named the richest man in the world by Forbes' 2016 list of the world's billionaires.[17] This is the 17th time that the founder of Microsoft had claimed the top spot. Amancio Ortegarose from last year's position of number four to second.[18] Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway came in third for the second consecutive time,[19] while Mexican telecommunication mogul Carlos Slimslipped from last year's second position to fourth. Jeff Bezos of Amazon,[20] Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook[21] and Michael Bloombergof Bloomberg L.P.,[22] appeared for the first time on the Forbes top 10 billionaires list, coming at fifth, sixth and eighth positions, respectively. Zuckerberg became the youngest top 10 billionaire this year at the age of 31. Larry Ellison, Charles Koch and David Koch also slipped from their previous year's positions, with Ellison dropping to seventh from fifth, and the Kochs falling to ninth position from sixth.
| No. | Name | Net worth (USD) | Age | Nationality | Source(s) of wealth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bill Gates | $75.0 billion | 60 | United States | Microsoft |
| 2 | Amancio Ortega | $67.0 billion | 79 | Spain | Inditex |
| 3 | Warren Buffett | $60.8 billion | 85 | United States | Berkshire Hathaway |
| 4 | Carlos Slim | $50.0 billion | 76 | Mexico | América Móvil, Grupo Carso |
| 5 | Jeff Bezos | $45.2 billion | 52 | United States | Amazon |
| 6 | Mark Zuckerberg | $44.6 billion | 31 | United States | |
| 7 | Larry Ellison | $43.6 billion | 71 | United States | Oracle Corporation |
| 8 | Michael Bloomberg | $40.0 billion | 74 | United States | Bloomberg L.P. |
| 9 | Charles Koch | $39.6 billion | 80 | United States | Koch Industries |
| 9 | David Koch | $39.6 billion | 75 | United States | Koch Industries |
2015[edit]
In the 29th annual Forbes list of global billionaires, a record 1,826 billionaires were named with an aggregated net worth of $7.1 trillion compared to $6.4 trillion in the previous year. 46 of the billionaires in this list were under the age of 40. A record number of 290 people joined the list for the first time, of whom 25 percent hailed from China, which produced a world-leading 71 newcomers. The United States came in second, with 57; followed by India, with 28; and Germany, with 23.[23] The United States had the largest number of billionaires with 526. Russia went down to 88 from 111 in 2014. Russia was placed behind China, Germany and India by the number of billionaires. Self-made billionaires made up the largest number of people on the list with 1,191 positions (over 65 percent), while just 230 (under 13 percent) had wealth through inheritance. The number of billionaires who inherited a portion but were still working to increase their fortunes is 405.[24]
Bill Gates was named the richest man in the world by Forbes' annual list of the world's billionaires. This was the 16th time that the founder of Microsoftclaimed the top spot. Carlos Slim came in second for the second consecutive time. Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway placed third, while Amancio Ortega of Spain, slipped down a position from the previous year to number four. Larry Ellison, the founder of Oracle, rounded off the top five. Christy Walton was the highest-ranking female at number eight. America's Evan Spiegel, co-founder of photo messaging app Snapchat, became the youngest billionaire this year at age 24. At age 99, David Rockefellermaintained his position as the oldest billionaire included in the list.[25] Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, rose to number 16 with $33.4 billion. Iceland had a billionaire, Thor Bjorgolfsson, in the list after a gap of five years. Guatemala had a billionaire, Mario Lopez Estrada, for the first time in its history.[26]
| No. | Name | Net worth (USD) | Age | Nationality | Source(s) of wealth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bill Gates | $79.2 billion | 59 | United States | Microsoft |
| 2 | Carlos Slim | $77.1 billion | 75 | Mexico | América Móvil, Telmex, Grupo Carso |
| 3 | Warren Buffett | $72.7 billion | 84 | United States | Berkshire Hathaway |
| 4 | Amancio Ortega | $64.5 billion | 78 | Spain | Inditex |
| 5 | Larry Ellison | $54.3 billion | 70 | United States | Oracle Corporation |
| 6 | Charles Koch | $42.9 billion | 79 | United States | Koch Industries |
| 6 | David Koch | $42.9 billion | 74 | United States | Koch Industries |
| 8 | Christy Walton | $41.7 billion | 66 | United States | Walmart |
| 9 | Jim Walton | $40.6 billion | 66 | United States | Walmart |
| 10 | Liliane Bettencourt | $40.1 billion | 92 | France | L'Oreal |
2014[edit]
Gates added $9 billion to his fortune since 2013 and topped the Forbes2014 billionaire list. He had topped the list in 15 of the previous 20 years, but his previous number one ranking was in 2009.[27] Mexican telecommunication mogul Carlos Slimcame in second place after being number one the previous four years. Zara founder Amancio Ortega placed third for the second consecutive year. American investor Warren Buffett was in the top five for the 20th consecutive year, placing fourth.[28] America's Christy Walton was the highest ranking woman, placing ninth overall.[1] Aliko Dangote of Nigeria became the first African to enter the top 25, with an estimated net worth of $25 billion.[3]
A total of 1,645 people made the 2014 billionaire list, representing a combined wealth of $6.4 trillion.[28
No comments:
Post a Comment