I don’t necessarily equate being rich with success, but I think it’s fair to say that given the choice of being rich or poor, most people would prefer to be rich. While it might be argued that money can’t buy you true happiness, what is undeniable is that it can definitely provide security, opportunity and can remove a lot of stress and worry that many people have, like simply paying the bills.
And I’m willing to bet that the people on this list never have to worry about paying the bills!
These people are SERIOUSLY rich. They are the wealthiest of the wealthy.
But who is the richest person in the world? Keep reading to find out . . .
The world’s richest rankings are changing on a monthly basis, but the players are largely the same.
Every year, Forbes produces a list, and you can keep up to date with who’s where in the table via the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which is a more organic list and is updated regularly.
Many of the same names have appeared in the Top 20 for the last two decades, but we have started to see some newcomers moving up the rankings in the last few years.
Here are the 2019 Top 20 rankings according to Forbes in March.
#20 Ma Huateng
#20 Ma Huateng
Net worth: $38.8B
Country: China
Sector: Technology
Ma Huateng, who is sometimes known as Pony Ma, is the chairman and CEO of technology giant, Tencent Holdings, which he co-founded in 1998. Tencent is the biggest gaming company in the world and one of the largest social media companies. Ma Huateng is a known as a private person and likes to keep quite a low profile.
#19 Steve Ballmer
#19 Steve Ballmer
Net worth: $41.2B
Country: USA
Sector: Technology
Steve Ballmer is the current owner of NBA team, Los Angeles Clippers and the former CEO of Microsoft, a position he held from 2000 to 2014. He is known for his energetic and exhuberent personality and becomes particularly hyper when on stage. He has donated considerable sums of money to educational institutions over the past few years.
#18 Rob Walton
#18 Rob Walton
Net worth: $44.3B
Country: USA
Sector: Retail
Samuel Robson “Rob” Walton is the eldest heir to the fortune of the Walmart empire and brother of Alice (#17) and Jim (#16). He served as Chairman of the company from 1992 when his father died until 2015 and remains a member of the board.
#17 Alice Walton
#17 Alice Walton
Net worth: $44.4B
Country: USA
Sector: Retail
Alice is the only daughter of Walmart founder, Sam Walton, and youngest heir to the family fortune. She has never had an active role in the running of the retail business and has instead focused her attention on art curation. Her personal art collection is said to be valued in the hundreds of millions. Wow, that’s a lot of art!
#16 Jim Walton
#16 Jim Walton
Net worth: $44.6B
Country: USA
Sector: Retail
Jim Walton is the youngest son of Walmart founder, Sam Walton, and heir to the fortune of what is the world’s largest retailer. He joined Walmart in 1972 and spent several years involved in real estate dealing before being appointed as President of Walton Enterprises in 1975. He replaced his deceased brother, John, on the Walmart board of directors in 2005.
#15 Francoise Bettencourt
#15 Francoise Bettencourt
Net worth: $49.3B
Country: France
Sector: Consumer
Reclusive heiress to the world’s largest cosmetics company, L’Oréal, Francoise Bettencourt is the richest woman in the world. She owns a third of the company and serves as a non-executive Chairwoman. L’Oréal owns brands such as Yves Saint Laurent, Garnier, Lâncome and Kiehl’s.
#14 Sergey Brin
#14 Sergey Brin
Net worth: $49.8B
Country: USA
Sector: Technology
The son of Russian immigrants to the USA, Sergey Brin co-founded Google in 1998 with Larry Page, who he met at Stanford University and holds the position of President of its parent company, Alphabet Inc. Beyond Google, he and Page work on a number of philanthropic projects related to solving the world’s energy and climate problems.
#13 Mukesh Ambani
#13 Mukesh Ambani
Net worth: $50.0B
Country: India
Sector: Energy
Mukesh Ambani is a Yemeni-born Indian businessman. He is the current Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries, a company that was founded by his father in 1966 and has grown to become India’s most valuable company today.
#12 David Koch
#12 David Koch
Net worth: $50.5B
Country: USA
Sector: Industrial
David Koch joined the family-run business, Koch Industries, in 1970, and become co-owner with his brother, Charles, in 1983. He served as Executive Vice-Chairman until he retired last year. He is known for his philanthropy to medical institutions and as a major political influencer.
#11 Charles Koch
#11 Charles Koch
Net worth: $50.5B
Country: USA
Sector: Industrial
Brother of David Koch, Charles is the Chairman and CEO of Koch Industries, an American multinational corporation involved in manufacturing, chemicals, energy, finance and various other industries. He keeps a low profile and rarely gives interviews, but is a major political influencer and philanthropist.
#10 Larry Page
#10 Larry Page
Net worth: $50.8B
Country: USA
Sector: Technology
Larry Page is the co-founder of the most successful search engine in the world, Google, and CEO of holding company, Alphabet Inc. More recently, Page has invested in other ventures, such as Tesla and flying car project, Kitty Hawk Flyer. He has also donated significant amounts of money to various causes via his family foundation.
#9 Michael Bloomberg
#9 Michael Bloomberg
Net worth: $55.5B
Country: USA
Sector: Diversified
Michael Bloomberg is the owner of Bloomberg L.P., a financial, software, data and media company he founded in 1981. He has consistently featured in the Forbes Top 20 richest for the past 20 years. He is very active politically and has served as the Mayor of New York.
#8 Mark Zuckerberg
#8 Mark Zuckerberg
Net worth: $62.3B
Country: USA
Sector: Technology
Zuckerberg famously founded Facebook in his dorm room while at Harvard University, before dropping out to concentrate on the venture full-time. It turned out to be a good move as he ended up becoming the world’s youngest self-made billionaire by the age of 23 and has built one of the most valuable social media platforms in the world. He and his wife have pledged to give away 99% of their considerable wealth.
#7 Larry Ellison
#7 Larry Ellison
Net worth: $62.5
Country: USA
Sector: Technology
American businessman and entrepreneur, Larry Ellison, co-founded the programming company, Oracle, in 1977 and although he stepped down from the CEO position in 2004, he remains involved in the business as Executive Chairman and much of his wealth is held in his Oracle stock holdings.
#6 Amancio Ortega
#6 Amancio Ortega
Net worth: $62.7B
Country: Spain
Sector: Retail
Amancio Ortega Gaona is the Spanish co-founder of the Inditex group, which owns the Zara fashion chain and is officially the wealthiest retailer in the world. He is an intensely private individual, maintains a low profile and is known for leading a very simple lifestyle.
#5 Carlos Slim Helú
#5 Carlos Slim Helú
Net worth: $64.0
Country: Mexico
Sector: Diversified
Carlos Slim is the CEO of Telmex, América Móvil and Grupo Carso and owns stakes in various Mexican construction, real estate and mining companies. He is Mexico’s richest man and apparently, his net worth is equivalent to about 6% of the country’s GDP!
#4 Bernard Arnault
#4 Bernard Arnault
Net worth: $76.0B
Country: France
Sector: Consumer
Bernard Arnault is the Chairman and CEO of LVMH Moët Hennessy – Louis Vuitton, the world’s largest luxury products group, which owns brands such as Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, TAG Heuer, Marc Jacobs and Céline. It’s safe to say that there’s probably no shortage of handbags in his wife’s walk-in wardrobe.
#3 Warren Buffett
#3 Warren Buffett
Net worth: 82.5B
Country: USA
Sector: Diversified
Just about everybody in the world has heard of the American entrepreneur and investor, Warren Buffett. He is the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway and arguably one of the greatest investors of all time, earning him the nickname, “The Oracle of Omaha” due to his ability to pick investments so consistently well. His investment philosophy can be summed up by his quote: “It’s far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price.”
#2 Bill Gates
#2 Bill Gates
Net worth: $96.5B
Country: USA
Sector: Technology
Bill Gates was the co-founder of technology giant, Microsoft and was the world’s richest man for several years running, before being knocked off the top spot by Jeff Bezos last year. In recent years he has stepped away from any active involvement with Microsoft and dedicates his life to philanthropic activities through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which is reported to be the largest private foundation in the world.
#1 Jeff Bezos
#1 Jeff Bezos
Net worth: $131B
Country: USA
Sector: Technology
Jeff Bezos is the founder, Chairman, CEO and President of Amazon, one of the biggest and most well-known companies on the web. He first became the world’s wealthiest person in 2017 and was named the wealthiest person in the world by Forbes in 2018. Not bad for a guy who started the business from scratch in his garage back in 1994.
UPDATE:
So, Jeff Bezos tops the Rich List again this year. His feud with President Trump hasn’t affected his position from last year and his divorce settlement didn’t knock him off the top spot either! However, it did create a new entrant into the Top 25, as the 4% stake in Amazon that ex-wife Mackenzie Bezos was awarded made her the world’s third-richest woman with an estimated net worth of $37 billion. Result!
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