The 10 Richest People in the World
Below are the 10 wealthiest people on the planet, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. All figures are current as of Jan. 4, 2023, unless otherwise stated.
1. Bernard Arnault
- Age: 73
- Residence: Paris
- CEO and Chair: LVMH (LVMUY)
- Net Worth: $164 billion
- Christian Dior Ownership Stake: 97.5% ($130 billion total)
- Other Assets: Moelis & Company equity ($24.5 billion public asset) and $10.2 billion in cash
French national Bernard Arnault is the chair and CEO of LVMH, the world’s largest luxury goods company. LVMH brands include Louis Vuitton, Hennessey, Marc Jacobs, and Sephora.
Most of Arnault's wealth comes from his massive stake in Christian Dior SE, the holding company that controls 41.2% of LVMH. His shares in Christian Dior SE, plus an additional 6.2% in LVMH, are held through his family-owned holding company, Groupe Familial Arnault.
2. Elon Musk
- Age: 51
- Residence: Texas
- Co-founder and CEO: Tesla
- Net Worth: $128 billion
- Tesla Ownership Stake: 13% ($38.6 billion)
- Other Assets: Space Exploration Technologies ($44.8 billion private asset), The Boring Company ($3.33 billion private asset), Twitter ($20.7 billion private asset)7
Elon Musk is the second-richest man in the world. He was born in South Africa and attended a university in Canada before transferring to the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned bachelor's degrees in physics and economics. Two days after enrolling in a graduate physics program at Stanford University, Musk deferred attendance to launch Zip2, one of the earliest online navigation services. He reinvested a portion of the proceeds from this startup to create X.com, the online payment system that was sold to eBay (EBAY) and ultimately became PayPal Holdings (PYPL).
In 2004, Musk became a major funder of Tesla Motors (now Tesla), which led to his current position as CEO of the electric vehicle company. In addition to its line of electric automobiles, Tesla produces energy storage devices, automobile accessories, and, through its acquisition of SolarCity in 2016, solar power systems. Musk is also CEO and chief engineer of Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX), a developer of space launch rockets.
In 2020, Tesla shares soared 740% to propel Musk up the wealth rankings. In December 2020, Tesla joined the S&P 500, becoming the largest company added. In January 2021, Musk became the richest person in the world—a title he held till December 2022, when his net worth fell due to a decrease in Tesla's share price over the year.
3. Gautam Adani
- Age: 60
- Residence: Gurgaon, India
- Founder and Chair: Adani Group
- Net Worth: $119 billion
- Adani Enterprises, Adani Power, and Adani Transmissions Ownership Stakes: 75% each ($68.91 billion)
- Other Assets: 66% of Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone ($11.3 billion public asset), 61% of Adani Green Energy ($21 billion public asset), 37% of Adani Total Gas ($17.9 billion public asset)
Gautam Adani, the founder of Adani Group, surpassed Mukesh Ambani in March 2022 as the richest person in Asia. Through his ownership of the Adani Group, Adani owns major stakes in six key Indian companies, including a 75% stake in Adani Enterprises, Adani Power, and Adani Transmissions, as well as a 66% stake in Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone, 61% stake in Adani Green Energy, and a 37% stake in Adani Total Gas.
4. Bill Gates
- Age: 67
- Residence: Washington
- Co-founder: Microsoft (MSFT)
- Net Worth: $109 billion
- Microsoft Ownership Stake: 1.4% ($24.7 billion)
- Other Assets: $55 billion in cash and billions over multiple other companies
While attending Harvard University in 1975, Bill Gates went to work alongside his childhood friend Paul Allen to develop new software for the original microcomputers. Following this project’s success, Gates dropped out of Harvard during his junior year and founded Microsoft with Allen.
5. Jeff Bezos
- Age: 58
- Residence: Washington
- Founder and Executive Chair: Amazon (AMZN)
- Net Worth: $109 billion
- Amazon Ownership Stake: 10% ($85.2 billion)
- Other Assets: Blue Origin ($9.15 billion private asset), The Washington Post ($250 million private asset), and $14.2 billion in cash
6. Warren Buffett
- Age: 92
- Residence: Nebraska
- CEO: Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A)
- Net Worth: $108 billion
- Berkshire Hathaway Ownership Stake: 14% ($107 billion)
- Other Assets: $1.10 billion in cash
The most famous living value investor, Warren Buffett filed his first tax return in 1944 at age 14, declaring earnings from his boyhood paper route. He first bought shares in a textile company called Berkshire Hathaway in 1962, becoming the majority shareholder by 1965. Buffett expanded the company's holdings to insurance and other investments in 1967.
7. Larry Ellison
- Age: 78
- Residence: Hawaii
- Co-founder, Chair, and CTO: Oracle (ORCL)
- Net Worth: $92.9 billion
- Oracle Ownership Stake: 40%+ ($70.2 billion)
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Other Assets: Tesla equity ($4.87 billion public asset), $17.2 billion in cash
Larry Ellison was born in New York City to a 19-year-old single mother. After dropping out of the University of Chicago in 1966, Ellison moved to California and worked as a computer programmer. In 1973, he joined the electronics company Ampex, where he met future partners Ed Oates and Bob Miner. Three years later, Ellison moved to Precision Instruments, serving as the company’s vice president of research and development.
8. Mukesh Ambani
- Age: 65
- Residence: Mumbai, India
- Owner: Reliance Industries
- Net Worth: $87.3 billion
- Reliance Ownership Stake: 42% ($87.8 billion total)
- Other Assets: $410 million in real estate
Mukesh Ambani is the chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries, the world's largest oil refiner and one of the world's most valuable companies.
The conglomerate was founded by Ambani's father, Dhirubhai Ambani in 1966 as a textiles company and is now one of the leading segments of India's economy. Reliance's operations include oil and gas, petrochemicals, refining, retail, and media.
9. Steve Ballmer
- Age: 66
- Residence: Washington
- Owner: Los Angeles Clippers
- Net Worth: $85.8 billion
- Microsoft Ownership Stake: 4% ($76.5 billion total)
- Other Assets: Los Angeles Clippers ($3.73 billion private asset), $5.58 billion in cash
Steve Ballmer joined Microsoft in 1980 after Bill Gates convinced him to drop out of Stanford University's MBA program. He was Microsoft's 30th employee. Ballmer went on to succeed Gates as Microsoft CEO in 2000. He held the position until stepping down in 2014. Ballmer oversaw Microsoft's 2011 purchase of Skype for $8.5 billion.
10. Larry Page
- Age: 49
- Residence: California
- Co-founder and Board Member: Alphabet (GOOG)
- Net Worth: $83.7 billion
- Alphabet Ownership Stake: 6% ($69.7 billion total)
- Other Assets: $14 billion in cash
Like several of the tech billionaires on this list, Larry Page embarked on his path to fame and fortune in a college dorm room. While attending Stanford University in 1995, Page and his friend Sergey Brin came up with the idea of improving Internet data extraction. The duo devised a new search engine technology they dubbed Backrub after its ability to assess links to a page.
https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/012715/5-richest-people-world.asp
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