Most of the world’s wealthiest people come from one country, with 9 out of the top 10 richest people located in the United States, according to the latest Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
The Index, which is updated daily, ranks individuals based on Net Worth. Details of the top ten are included below and are accurate as of 18 October 2023.
- Tesla and X owner Elon Musk, with a total net worth of $234bn (US)
- LVMH owner Bernard Arnault, with a total net worth of $156bn ((France)
- Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, with a total net worth of $155bn (US)
- Microsoft founder Bill Gates, with a total net worth of $126bn (US)
- Google co-founder Larry Page, with a total net worth of $125bn (US)
- Oracle Corporation co-founder Larry Ellison, with a total net worth of $124bn (US)
- Google co-founder Sergey Brin, with a total net worth of $118bn (US)
- Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg, with a total net worth of $117bn (US)
- Investor Warren Buffett, with a total net worth of $116bn (US)
- Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, with a total net worth of $116bn (US)
The US is home to around a thousand billionaires in total, reports Visual Capitalist, which account for about $4.6 trillion in collective wealth.
And this correlates to GDP, used to measure the overall economic health of a country, which puts the US at the top with a GDP of 23.3 trillion. China is second, with a GDP of 17.7 trillion, followed by Japan at 4.9 trillion and Germany with a GDP of 4.3 trillion.
However, with more and more people living to 100 than ever before, according to latest ONS figures, and concerns over ageing populations particularly in countries such as Japan, the world watches as the big global superpowers jostle for top positions in the future.
THE WORLD’S WEALTHIEST PEOPLE
When it comes to the world’s richest people, colourful entrepreneur Elon Musk often fluctuates from the top spot, shuffling between Jeff Bezos and Bernard Arnault.
However, 2022 saw him beat all records (and in fact scoop up a Guinness World Record) for the biggest fall in net worth ever recorded. Musk’s net worth is estimated to have fallen by more than $180bn last year, mainly due to the fall of Tesla shares which lost around 65% of value during the firm’s worst year on record.
Guinness World Record noted that although “the exact figure [of Musk’s loss] is almost impossible to ascertain,” with some outlets estimating that he lost more than $200 billion, the Twitter owner demolished the previous record: a $58.6 billion loss by Japanese investor Masayoshi Son in 2000,” reports CNBC.
HOW MUCH DOES ELON MUSK MAKE A SECOND?
Based on a total net worth of $234bn, amassed over a ten-year period since he was first declared a billionaire by Bloomberg in 2013, Elon Musk makes in the region of $800 a second.
FURTHER READING: 5 Things You Didn’t Know About Elon Musk>
WHAT ARE THE TOP INDUSTRIES FOR BILLIONAIRES?
The top ten biggest industries for Billionaires in 2023 are finance and investments, manufacturing, technology, fashion and retail, food & beverage, healthcare, real estate, diversified, energy and media & entertainment, according to Forbes.
But other sectors, such as sports, have produced some very wealthy individuals with many amassing their wealth at a faster pace, due to the short shelf life of international sports players.
RICHEST FOOTBALLER IN THE WORLD 2023
Portuguese Christiano Ronaldo is currently the richest footballer in the world, now captain of Saudi Arabian football club Al Nassr. His club salary is £160m, with £49.5m in off-field earnings. And he “generates more revenue on his own than all but 17 clubs in world football,” reports football news platform 90min.com.
However, this is very far removed from his earlier start in life, where he grew up in relative poverty having to clean streets and beg for food to support his family in Sao Pedro, Madeira.
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