The World's Billionaires

Jeff Bezos has been number 1 on the Forbes list as the person with the greatest personal wealth since the beginning of 2018 (picture from 2010)

The list The World's Billionaires is a compilation published annually by the US business magazine Forbes since 1987 , which lists all people worldwide whose estimated personal wealth exceeds one billion US dollars ( trillion in American English means 'billion' in German). Dictators and members of royalty are not included in this list.

overview

Jeff Bezos , founder of Amazon.com , has topped the list since 2018 . Previously, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates held first place from 2014, as has already happened several times before, after Carlos Slim Helú , a Mexican entrepreneur in the telecommunications industry, was at the helm between 2010 and 2013. The members of the royal houses in Saudi Arabia and Brunei are not listed, but are sometimes considered to be richer.

Total assets accumulated by billionaires 2000–2015 in trillions of US dollars

Between 1996 and 2006, according to Forbes, the number of billionaires worldwide rose from 423 to 946. After the cumulative total wealth of all persons named in the list fell from 2001 to 2003, it rose again by 300 billion in 2005 to the sum of 2.2 trillion U.S. dollar. By 2008, total wealth rose to over $ 4 trillion and was distributed among 1,125 people. In the wake of the international financial and economic crisis that began in 2008, the number of dollar billionaires on the list fell to 793 by March 2009 with a total of approximately 2.4 trillion (2,400 billion) US dollars in assets. These remaining people alone lost $ 1,400 billion.

In 2014, 172 of $ 1,645 billionaires were female, most of whom inherited their fortunes. In 2010, of 89 women, only 14 (around 16%) had earned their wealth themselves, while 665 of 922 men were self-made billionaires (around 72%).

As of 2016, most of the 1,810 billionaires on this list are Americans (540 people), followed by Chinese (251 people), Germans (120 people) and Indians (84 people). Germany is listed with 120 billionaires, with Karl Albrecht jr. , Heir of Aldi co- founder Karl Albrecht , in 21st place as the richest. The richest Swiss out of 32 people is in 129th place Ernesto Bertarelli , former Chairman of the Board of Directors of the biotechnology company Serono . The richest Austrian of ten people in 64th place is Dietrich Mateschitz , co-founder of the energy drink manufacturer Red Bull . In 2016, the total wealth of everyone on the Forbes list was $ 6.5 trillion (6.5 trillion) US dollars.

In 2018 there were already 2,208 billionaires worldwide who controlled $ 9.1 trillion in assets. In the same year, a person's net worth exceeded the $ 100 billion mark for the first time (Jeff Bezos).

Timeline of the richest people

The World's Billionaires List 2020

Legend:

position to previous year.

Position (s) gained over the previous year or assets increased.

Position (s) lost to previous year or assets decreased.

rank	billionaire	Net worth in billions of dollars	nationality	Age	Industry
1.	Jeff Bezos	113	United States United States	56	E-commerce ( Amazon.com )
2.	Bill Gates	98	United States United States	64	Software ( Microsoft )
3.	Bernard Arnault	76	France France	71	Luxury goods ( LVMH )
4.	Warren Buffett	67.5	United States United States	89	Investment ( Berkshire Hathaway )
5.	Larry Ellison	59	United States United States	75	Software ( Oracle )
6.	Amancio Ortega	55.1	Spain Spain	84	Fashion ( inditex )
7.	Mark Zuckerberg	54.7	United States United States	36	Social media ( facebook )
8.	Jim Walton	54.6	United States United States	71	Retail ( Walmart )
9.	Alice Walton	54.4	United States United States	70	Retail ( Walmart )
10.	S. Robson Walton	54.1	United States United States	75	Retail ( Walmart )

23.	Karl Albrecht Jr. & Beate Heister	33.3	Germany Germany	72/69	Retail ( Aldi -Süd)
57.	Dietrich Mateschitz	16.5	Austria Austria	75	Beverages ( Red Bull GmbH )
169.	Ernesto Bertarelli	8	Switzerland Switzerland	54	Biotechnology ( Serono )

Former lists

Legend

position to previous year.

Position (s) gained over the previous year or assets increased.

Position (s) lost to previous year or assets decreased.

2005

The 2005 list named 581 billionaires, excluding dictators and royalty.

space	billionaire	Net worth in billions of dollars	nationality	Age	Industry
1.	Bill Gates	46.5	United States United States	49	Software ( Microsoft )
2.	Warren Buffett	44.0	United States United States	74	Investment ( Berkshire Hathaway )
3.	Lakshmi Mittal	25.0	India India	54	Steel production ( Mittal Steel Company )
4.	Carlos Slim Helu	23.8	Mexico Mexico	65	Telecommunications ( Telmex , Telcel , América Móvil )
5.	Prince al-Walid ibn Talal Al Saud	23.7	Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia	49	Investments
6.	Ingvar Kamprad	23.0	Sweden Sweden	79	Furniture trade ( IKEA )
7.	Paul Allen	21.0	United States United States	52	Software ( Microsoft )
8.	Karl Albrecht	18.5	Germany Germany	85	Retail ( Aldi )
9.	Larry Ellison	18.4	United States United States	60	Software ( Oracle )
10.	S. Robson Walton	18.3	United States United States	61	Retail ( Wal-Mart )

2006

rank	billionaire	Net worth in billions of dollars	nationality	Age	Industry
1.	Bill Gates	50.0	United States United States	50	Software ( Microsoft )
2.	Warren Buffett	42.0	United States United States	75	Investment ( Berkshire Hathaway )
3.	Carlos Slim Helu	30.0	Mexico Mexico	66	Telecommunications ( Telmex , Telcel , América Móvil )
4.	Ingvar Kamprad	28.0	Sweden Sweden	79	Furniture trade ( IKEA )
5.	Lakshmi Mittal	23.5	India India	55	Steel production ( Mittal Steel Company )
6.	Paul Allen	22.0	United States United States	53	Software ( Microsoft )
7.	Bernard Arnault	21.5	France France	57	Clothing ( Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA )
8.	Al-Walid ibn Talal	20.0	Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia	49	Investments
9.	Kenneth Thomson & family	19.6	Canada Canada	82	Media ( The Thomson Corporation )
10.	Li Ka-shing	18.8	Hong Kong Hong Kong	77	Conglomerate ( Cheung Kong )

2007

rank	billionaire	Net worth in billions of dollars	nationality	Age	Industry
1.	Bill Gates	56.0	United States United States	51	Software ( Microsoft )
2.	Warren Buffett	52.0	United States United States	76	Investment ( Berkshire Hathaway )
3.	Carlos Slim Helu	49.0	Mexico Mexico	67	Telecommunications ( Telmex , Telcel , América Móvil )
4.	Ingvar Kamprad	33.0	Sweden Sweden	80	Furniture trade ( IKEA )
5.	Lakshmi Mittal	32.0	India India	56	Steel production ( Mittal Steel Company )
6.	Sheldon Adelson	26.5	United States United States	73	Real Estate ( Las Vegas Sands )
7.	Bernard Arnault	26.0	France France	58	Clothing ( Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA )
8.	Amancio Ortega	24.0	Spain Spain	71	Clothing ( Inditex )
9.	Li Ka-shing	23.0	Hong Kong Hong Kong	78	Conglomerate ( Cheung Kong )
10.	David Thomson	22.0	Canada Canada	49	Media ( The Thomson Corporation )

15.	Karl Albrecht	20.0	Germany Germany	87	Retail ( Aldi )
76.	Ernesto Bertarelli	8.8	Switzerland Switzerland	42	Biotechnology ( Serono SA )
249.	Karl Wlaschek	3.5	Austria Austria	90	Retail ( Billa )

2008

rank	billionaire	Net worth in billions of dollars
1.	United States Warren Buffett	62.0
2.	Mexico Carlos Slim Helu	60.0
3.	United States Bill Gates	58.0
4.	India Lakshmi Mittal	45.0
5.	India Mukesh Ambani	43.0
6.	India Anil Ambani	42.0
7.	Sweden Ingvar Kamprad	31.0
8.	India Kushal Pal Singh	30.0
9.	Russia Oleg Deripaska	28.0
10.	Germany Karl Albrecht	27.0

75.	Switzerland Ernesto Bertarelli	10.3
211.	Austria Karl Wlaschek	4.9

2009

rank	billionaire	Net worth in billions of dollars
1.	United States Bill Gates	40.0
2.	United States Warren Buffett	37.0
3.	Mexico Carlos Slim Helu	35.0
4.	United States Larry Ellison	22.5
5.	Sweden Ingvar Kamprad	22.0
6.	Germany Karl Albrecht	21.5
7.	India Mukesh Ambani	19.5
8.	India Lakshmi Mittal	19.3
9.	Germany Theo Albrecht	18.8
10.	Spain Amancio Ortega	18.3

52.	Switzerland Ernesto Bertarelli	8.2
124.	Austria Karl Wlaschek	4.2

2010

rank	billionaire	Net worth in billions of dollars
1.	Mexico Carlos Slim Helu	53.5
2.	United States Bill Gates	53.0
3.	United States Warren Buffett	47.0
4.	India Mukesh Ambani	29.0
5.	India Lakshmi Mittal	28.7
6.	United States Larry Ellison	28.0
7.	France Bernard Arnault	27.5
8.	Brazil Eike Batista	27.0
9.	Spain Amancio Ortega	25.0
10.	Germany Karl Albrecht	23.5

64.	Switzerland Ernesto Bertarelli	10.0
189.	Austria Karl Wlaschek	4.4

2011

rank	billionaire	Net worth in billions of dollars
1.	Mexico Carlos Slim Helu	74.0
2.	United States Bill Gates	56.0
3.	United States Warren Buffett	50.0
4.	France Bernard Arnault	41.0
5.	United States Larry Ellison	39.5
6.	India Lakshmi Mittal	31.1
7.	Spain Amancio Ortega	31.0
8.	Brazil Eike Batista	30.0
9.	India Mukesh Ambani	27.0
10.	United States Christy Walton	26.5

12.	Germany Karl Albrecht	25.5
81.	Switzerland Ernesto Bertarelli	10.0
208.	Austria Dietrich Mateschitz	5.0

2012

rank	billionaire	Net worth in billions of dollars
1.	Mexico Carlos Slim Helu	69.0
2.	United States Bill Gates	61.0
3.	United States Warren Buffett	44.0
4.	France Bernard Arnault	41.0
5.	Spain Amancio Ortega	37.5
6.	United States Larry Ellison	36.0
7.	Brazil Eike Batista	30.0
8.	Sweden Stefan Persson	26.0
9.	Hong Kong Li Ka-shing	25.5
10.	Germany Karl Albrecht	25.4

83.	Switzerland Ernesto Bertarelli	10.6
193.	Austria Johann Graf	5.3
193.	Austria Dietrich Mateschitz	5.3

2013

rank	billionaire	Net worth in billions of dollars
1.	Mexico Carlos Slim Helu	73.0
2.	United States Bill Gates	67.0
3.	Spain Amancio Ortega	57.0
4.	United States Warren Buffett	53.5
5.	United States Larry Ellison	43.0
6.	United States Charles G. Koch	34.0
6.	United States David H. Koch	34.0
8.	Hong Kong Li Ka-shing	31.0
9.	France Liliane Bettencourt	30.0
10.	France Bernard Arnault	29.0

18.	Germany Karl Albrecht	26.0
94.	Switzerland Ernesto Bertarelli	11.0
162.	Austria Dietrich Mateschitz	7.1

2014

Four of the top 5 richest people in the world
Bill Gates (1, United States)
Carlos Slim Helú (2, Mexico)
Warren Buffett (4, United States)
Larry Ellison (5, United States)

rank	billionaire	Net worth in billions of dollars	nationality	Age	Industry
1.	Bill Gates	76.0	United States United States	60	Software ( Microsoft )
2.	Carlos Slim Helu	72.0	Mexico Mexico	74	Telecommunications ( Telmex , Telcel , América Móvil )
3.	Amancio Ortega	64.0	Spain Spain	77	Clothing ( Inditex )
4.	Warren Buffett	58.2	United States United States	83	Investment ( Berkshire Hathaway )
5.	Larry Ellison	48.0	United States United States	69	Software ( Oracle )
6.	Charles G. Koch	40.0	United States United States	78	Oil and Chemistry ( Koch Industries )
6.	David H. Koch	40.0	United States United States	73	Oil and Chemistry ( Koch Industries )
8.	Sheldon Adelson	38.0	United States United States	80	Real Estate Industry ( Las Vegas Sands )
9.	Christy Walton	36.7	United States United States	59	Retail ( Wal-Mart )
10.	Jim Walton	34.7	United States United States	66	Retail ( Wal-Mart )

18.	Karl Albrecht	25.0	Germany Germany	94	Retail ( Aldi )
92.	Ernesto Bertarelli	12.0	Switzerland Switzerland	48	Biotechnology ( Serono SA )
136.	Dietrich Mateschitz	9.2	Austria Austria	69	Beverages ( Red Bull GmbH )

2015

rank	billionaire	Net worth in billions of dollars	nationality	Age	Industry
1.	Bill Gates	79.2	United States United States	61	Software ( Microsoft )
2.	Carlos Slim Helu	77.1	Mexico Mexico	75	Telecommunications ( Telmex , Telcel , América Móvil )
3.	Warren Buffett	72.7	United States United States	84	Investment ( Berkshire Hathaway )
4.	Amancio Ortega	64.5	Spain Spain	78	Clothing ( Inditex )
5.	Larry Ellison	54.3	United States United States	70	Software ( Oracle )
6.	Charles Koch	42.9	United States United States	79	Oil and Chemistry ( Koch Industries )
6.	David H. Koch	42.9	United States United States	74	Oil and Chemistry ( Koch Industries )
8.	Christy Walton	41.7	United States United States	60	Retail ( Wal-Mart )
9.	Jim Walton	40.6	United States United States	66	Retail ( Wal-Mart )
10.	Liliane Bettencourt	40.1	France France	92	L'Oreal

21.	Georg Friedrich Wilhelm Schaeffler	26.9	Germany Germany	50	Mechanical engineering ( Schaeffler Group )
116.	Dietrich Mateschitz	10.8	Austria Austria	70	Beverages ( Red Bull GmbH )

2016

rank	billionaire	Net worth in billions of dollars	nationality	Age	Industry
1.	Bill Gates	75.0	United States United States	61	Software ( Microsoft )
2.	Amancio Ortega	67.0	Spain Spain	79	Clothing ( Inditex )
3.	Warren Buffett	60.8	United States United States	84	Investment ( Berkshire Hathaway )
4.	Carlos Slim Helu	50.0	Mexico Mexico	76	Telecommunications ( Telmex , Telcel , América Móvil )
5.	Jeff Bezos	45.2	United States United States	52	E-commerce ( Amazon.com )
6.	Mark Zuckerberg	44.6	United States United States	31	Software ( facebook )
7.	Larry Ellison	43.6	United States United States	71	Software ( Oracle )
8.	Michael Bloomberg	40.0	United States United States	74	Media ( Bloomberg LP )
9.	Charles G. Koch	39.6	United States United States	80	Oil and Chemistry ( Koch Industries )
9.	David H. Koch	39.6	United States United States	75	Oil and Chemistry ( Koch Industries )
11.	Liliane Bettencourt	36.1	France France	93	L'Oreal

21.	Karl Albrecht Jr. & Beate Heister	25.9	Germany Germany	69 / -	Retail ( Aldi -Süd)
64.	Dietrich Mateschitz	13.2	Austria Austria	71	Beverages ( Red Bull GmbH )
129.	Ernesto Bertarelli	8.6	Switzerland Switzerland	50	Biotechnology ( Serono SA )

2017

rank	billionaire	Net worth in billions of dollars	nationality	Age	Industry
1.	Bill Gates	86.0	United States United States	61	Software ( Microsoft )
2.	Warren Buffett	75.6	United States United States	87	Investment ( Berkshire Hathaway )
3.	Jeff Bezos	72.8	United States United States	53	E-commerce ( Amazon.com )
4.	Amancio Ortega	71.3	Spain Spain	81	Clothing ( Inditex )
5.	Mark Zuckerberg	56.0	United States United States	33	Social media ( facebook )
6.	Carlos Slim Helú & family	54.5	Mexico Mexico	77	Telecommunications ( Telmex , Telcel , América Móvil )
7.	Larry Ellison	52.2	United States United States	73	Software ( Oracle )
8.	Charles G. Koch	48.3	United States United States	81	Oil and Chemistry ( Koch Industries )
8.	David H. Koch	48.3	United States United States	76	Oil and Chemistry ( Koch Industries )
10.	Michael Bloomberg	47.5	United States United States	75	Media ( Bloomberg LP )

24.	Karl Albrecht Jr. & Beate Heister	27.2	Germany Germany	70 / -	Retail ( Aldi -Süd)
86.	Dietrich Mateschitz	13.4	Austria Austria	72	Beverages ( Red Bull GmbH )
151.	Ernesto Bertarelli	8.6	Switzerland Switzerland	51	Biotechnology ( Serono SA )

2018

rank	billionaire	Net worth in billions of dollars	nationality	Age	Industry
1.	Jeff Bezos	112	United States United States	54	E-commerce ( Amazon.com )
2.	Bill Gates	90	United States United States	63	Software ( Microsoft )
3.	Warren Buffett	84	United States United States	88	Investment ( Berkshire Hathaway )
4.	Bernard Arnault	72	France France	69	Luxury goods ( LVMH )
5.	Mark Zuckerberg	71	United States United States	34	Social media ( facebook )
6.	Amancio Ortega	70	Spain Spain	82	Fashion ( inditex )
7.	Carlos Slim Helú & family	67.1	Mexico Mexico	78	Telecommunications ( Telmex , Telcel , América Móvil )
8.	Charles G. Koch	60	United States United States	83	Oil and Chemistry ( Koch Industries )
8.	David H. Koch	60	United States United States	78	Oil and Chemistry ( Koch Industries )
10.	Larry Ellison	58.5	United States United States	74	Software ( Oracle )

27.	Karl Albrecht Jr. & Beate Heister	29.8	Germany Germany	70/67	Retail ( Aldi -Süd)
37.	Dietrich Mateschitz	23	Austria Austria	74	Beverages ( Red Bull GmbH )
174.	Ernesto Bertarelli	8.9	Switzerland Switzerland	53	Biotechnology ( Serono SA )

2019

rank	billionaire	Net worth in billions of dollars	nationality	Age	Industry
1.	Jeff Bezos	131	United States United States	55	E-commerce ( Amazon.com )
2.	Bill Gates	96.5	United States United States	64	Software, hardware ( Microsoft )
3.	Warren Buffett	82.5	United States United States	89	Investment ( Berkshire Hathaway )
4.	Bernard Arnault	76	France France	70	Luxury goods ( LVMH )
5.	Slim Helú family	64	Mexico Mexico	79	Telecommunications ( Telmex , Grupo Carso , América Móvil )
6.	Amancio Ortega	62.7	Spain Spain	83	Fashion ( inditex )
7.	Larry Ellison	62.5	United States United States	74	Software ( Oracle )
8.	Mark Zuckerberg	62.3	United States United States	35	Social media ( facebook )
9.	Michael Bloomberg	55.5	United States United States	77	Media ( Bloomberg LP )
10.	Larry Page	53.5	United States United States	45	Technology ( Alphabet Inc. )

23.	Karl Albrecht Jr. & Beate Heister	36.1	Germany Germany	71/68	Retail ( Aldi -Süd)
53.	Dietrich Mateschitz	18.9	Austria Austria	75	Beverages ( Red Bull GmbH )
133.	Gianluigi Aponte and Rafaela Aponte	10.5	Switzerland Switzerland	78	Shipping ( Mediterranean Shipping Company )

Development of the number of billionaires

Since 2000, the number of billionaires has more than quadrupled. The total wealth of billionaires increased tenfold, from $ 0.9 trillion to $ 9.1 trillion in 2018. However, inflation must be taken into account. The purchasing power of one billion US dollars is only about two thirds compared to the year 2000. Prices rose about 45.82%, suggesting $ 1.46 billion in ownership today, to be comparable to a billionaire in 2000. Around the year 2020, a billion US dollars will only be worth exactly two thirds compared to the year 2000, so that only people with assets of 1.5 billion US dollars or more can be compared. The result is that the number of billionaires grows just because purchasing power falls. The statement of a tenfold increase in wealth must therefore be viewed in a differentiated manner: The 9.1 trillion US dollars around 2020 are worth about as much as 6 trillion US dollars in 2000.

year	Number of billionaires	Total assets in trillion USD
2000	0470	00.898
2001	0538	01.8
2002	0497	01.5
2003	0476	01.4
2004	0587	01.9
2005	0691	02.2
2006	0793	02.6
2007	0946	03.5
2008	1125	04.4
2009	0793	02.4
2010	1011	03.6
2011	1210	04.5
2012	1226	04.6
2013	1426	05.4
2014	1645	06.4
2015	1826	07.1
2016	1810	06.5
2017	2043	07.7
2018	2208	09.1
2019	2153	08.7
2020	2095	08.0

Countries by number of billionaires

Top 25 (as of 2019) source is Forbes

rank	country	Number of billionaires	Total wealth of all billionaires (USD billion)	Richest person
1	United States United States	607	3,111.0	Jeff Bezos
2	China People's Republic People's Republic of China	324	981.7	Ma Huateng
3	Germany Germany	114	500.9	Karl Albrecht Jr . & Beate Heister
4th	India India	106	405.3	Mukesh Ambani
5	Russia Russia	98	421.0	Leonid Viktorovich Michelson
6th	Hong Kong Hong Kong	71	319.8	Li Ka-shing
7th	Brazil Brazil	58	179.1	Joseph Safra
8th	United Kingdom United Kingdom	54	182.0	Hinduja family
9	Canada Canada	45	153.1	David Thomson
10	France France	41	329.9	Bernard Arnault
11	Korea South South Korea	40	103.6	Kun-Hee Lee
11	Taiwan Taiwan	40	85.5	Terry Gou
13	Australia Australia	36	114.4	Gina Rinehart
14th	Italy Italy	35	142.7	Giovanni Ferrero
15th	Switzerland Switzerland	33	106.8	Gianluigi Aponte & Rafaela Aponte
15th	Sweden Sweden	33	124.2	Stefan Persson
17th	Japan Japan	32	127.0	Tadashi Yanai
18th	Thailand Thailand	31	94.8	Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi
19th	Spain Spain	29	119.3	Amancio Ortega
20th	Turkey Turkey	25th	43.1	Erman Ilicak
21st	Singapore Singapore	22nd	71.3	Robert & Philip Ng
22nd	Indonesia Indonesia	21st	78.5	R. Budi Hartono
22nd	Israel Israel	21st	61.2	Eyal Ofer
24	Mexico Mexico	17th	132.5	Carlos Slim Helu
24	Philippines Philippines	17th	47.7	Manuel Villar junior