It was a record year for the richest people on earth, as the number of billionaires jumped 13% to 2,043 from 1,810 last year, the firs...
It was a record year for the richest people on earth, as the number
of billionaires jumped 13% to 2,043 from 1,810 last year, the first
time ever that Forbes has pinned down more than 2,000
ten-figure-fortunes. Their total net worth rose by 18% to $7.67
trillion, also a record. The change in the number of billionaires -- up
233 since the 2016 list -- was the biggest in the 31 years that Forbes
has been tracking billionaires globally. Gainers since last year’s list
outnumbered losers by more than three to one.
Bill Gates is the number one richest for the
fourth year in a row, and the richest person in the world for 18 out of
the past 23 years. He has a fortune of $86 billion, up from $75 billion
last year. Amazon’s Jeff Bezos had the best year of any
person on the planet, adding $27.6 billion to his fortune; now worth
$72.8 billion, he moved into the top three in the world for the first
time, up from number five a year ago.
Warren Buffett had the second-best year, and the
biggest gain since Donald Trump was elected president in November 2016.
His $14.8 billion jump in 12 months was enough for him to grab back the
number two spot from Amancio Ortega, founder of Spanish
clothing chain Zara. Ortega’s fortune was up $4.3 billion since last
year, but he still fell to fourth in the world, unable to keep up with
the outsize gains of others.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg moved up to number five for the first time, after his fortune rose $11.4 billion in 12 months. Meanwhile Carlos Slim Helu of Mexico, once the world’s richest man, fell to number six, the first time he’s been out of the top five in a dozen years.
There were 195 newcomers. Mainland China had the most new
ten-figure fortunes with 76. The U.S. was second with 25. Notable
newbies include Patagonia sportswear founder Yvon Chouinard; Viking
Cruises founder Torstein Hagen of Norway; U.S. hedge fund tycoon Cliff
Asness and two of his partners; and John and Patrick Collison, Irish
citizens who cofounded San Francisco-based Stripe, which enables online
payments. John Collison, age 26, is now the world’s youngest self-made
billionaire, just two months younger than Snapchat’s Evan Spiegel. The
Collisons are two of just four self-made billionaires in their 20s (the
other two are the Snapchat cofounders). There are 56 billionaires under
age 40, down from 66 last year, after some aged out and others dropped
below the $1 billion mark.
New Australian billionaire Manny Stul may not be a familiar name
yet, but his popular Shopkins, grocery-inspired plastic collectibles
with names like Kris P. Lettuce and Posh Pear, are a huge hit with
American kids.
There are also 15 new self-made women, all but one of whom are from
Asia Pacific. That includes 10 from China and the first ever from
Vietnam, Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, who took her budget airline, VietJet
Air, public in February 2017. The sole American self-made woman newcomer
is Thai Lee, who was born in Thailand but moved to the U.S. as a child
and now runs tech reseller SHI, reportedly the nation’s largest
woman-owned business by sales. Altogether there are 227 women on list,
including 10 who cofounded or own businesses with a spouse or a brother
and thus share the fortune.
The U.S. continues to have more billionaires than any other nation,
with a record 565, up from 540 a year ago. China is catching up with
319. (Hong Kong has another 67, and Macau 1.) Germany has the third most
with 114 and India, with 101, the first time it has had more than 100,
is fourth.
Seventy-eight people fell off the list, including 33 from China, 7
Americans and 9 who are still super wealthy but share their wealth among
extended family members and therefore are not eligible for these ranks.
Additionally, 20 billionaires died in the past year, including
Enterprise car rental founder Jack Taylor and Michael Ilitch, who
launched Little Caesar’s pizza with his wife, Marian.
Top 10 Billionaires in the World
#1. Bill Gates
#2. Warren Buffett
#3. Jeff Bezos
#4. Amancio Ortega
#5. Mark Zuckerberg
#6. Carlos Slim Helu
#7. Larry Ellison
#8. Charles Koch
#8. David Koch
#10. Michael Bloomberg
READ MORE
