Today, the world’s wealthiest people play a significant role in shaping the global economy, technology, politics and more. Forbes magazine estimates the number of billionaires worldwide to be 2,781 by 2024.
Popular publications such as Forbes and Bloomberg update their lists of the world’s wealthiest people not annually, not periodically, not monthly, not even weekly, but daily! Since the world’s richest people still use most of their wealth for the companies they founded, the list fluctuates according to the market valuations of the companies. In addition, the fact that the companies concerned have publicly traded stocks also plays a vital role in the daily changes in the ranking. Let’s look at the list of the wealthiest people in the world according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index!
10.Warren Buffett
One of the world’s most successful investors, Warren Buffet, nicknamed the “Oracle of Omaha”, is the CEO and largest shareholder of Berkshire Hathaway. In addition to his long-term investment strategies, Buffet draws attention to his philanthropic activities.
The famous investor donated 41 billion dollars between 2006 and 2020, mainly to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and his children’s charities. With a net worth of $141 billion, the famous businessman’s portfolio includes insurance, railroads, energy distribution and consumer products.
9.Sergey Brin
Sergey Brin, an American software engineer who founded Google with Larry Page in 1998, is one of the leading entrepreneurs in the technology industry. Google’s product portfolio includes the search engine, Google Workspace online services, Pixel smartphones, computers, and tablets, Nest smart home devices, and the Stadia gaming platform.
In addition, Sergey Brin is known for donating millions of dollars to Parkinson’s disease research in partnership with the Michael J. Fox Foundation. The famous entrepreneur Brin’s fortune is approximately 141 billion dollars.
8.Steve Ballmer
Steve Ballmer is currently the team owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, a National Basketball Association (NBA) team in the United States. Ballmer, a regular on the world’s richest man lists, served as CEO of Microsoft between 2000 and 2014. The American businessman, who lived in the same dormitory and on the same floor as Bill Gates while attending Harvard University, holds an estimated 4 per cent stake in Microsoft and a fortune of $ 147 billion.
7.Larry Page
Google co-founder Larry Page was the company’s CEO from 2011 to 2019. Known for his leadership in technology and innovation, the American businessman remains a board member, employee and controlling shareholder of Alphabet Inc. today. With a fortune of 150 billion dollars, Page is also known for investing in space exploration and asteroid mining.
6.Larry Ellison
Larry Ellison, frequently included in the lists of the world’s wealthiest people, is one of the founders of the software company Oracle. Today, as the company’s chairman of the board and chief technology officer, Ellison stands out, especially in his support of medical research.
In 2016, the American technology visionary donated $200 million to the University of Southern California for a new cancer research centre. Larry Ellison, who also served on Tesla’s board of directors between 2018 and 2022, has a fortune of $155 billion.
5.Bill Gates
Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, the world’s largest software company, has significantly popularised modern computer technology. He is also known for his large-scale philanthropic contributions to global health, education, and poverty alleviation. One of the most important figures of our time, Gates, has a fortune of approximately 160 billion dollars.
4.Mark Zuckerberg
Mark Zuckerberg, who developed Facebook in 2004 at 19, is today CEO and chairman of Meta. The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, which he founded with his wife, Priscilla Chan, in 2015, uses technology to solve problems in education, health, immigration and the justice system. Mark Zuckerberg’s fortune exceeds 190 billion dollars.
3.Bernard Arnault
French businessman Bernard Arnault is President and CEO of LVMH, the world’s largest luxury goods company. LVMH includes over seventy prestigious brands, such as Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs, Christian Dior, Moët & Chandon, Hennessy and Sephora.
Arnault’s shares in LVMH are held through entities associated with Financiere Agache, the investment company that manages his fortune. Bernard Arnault is a leader in a wide range of sectors, from fashion to jewellery, perfume to wine, and his total wealth reaches 200 billion dollars.
2.Jeff Bezos
Jeff Bezos founded Amazon.com in 1994 in a garage in Seattle. Amazon, which started by selling books, is now one of the world’s largest retailers with its vast product range. On July 5, 2021, Bezos resigned as CEO of the e-commerce giant and continued to be among the pioneers of space exploration with his company Blue Origin. In 2013, an American businessman bought The Washington Post newspaper and continued his presence in the media sector.
His inexhaustible innovative vision keeps Bezos in the top five of the world’s wealthiest men lists. Blue Origin, owned by Jeff Bezos, completed its first successful crewed flight on July 20, 2021, and the businessman’s fortune peaked in the same month. In 2023, the American entrepreneur paid 500 million dollars for the superyacht Koru. Jeff Bezos has a fortune of $203 billion today.
1.Elon Musk
Elon Musk is the wealthiest man in the world today. Musk was born in South Africa and received bachelor’s degrees in physics and economics from the University of Pennsylvania. After earning a master’s in physics and materials sciences at Stanford University, Musk gave up his academic career and continued his business life. Zip2, the web software company he founded with his brother Kimbal Musk, was acquired by Compaq in 1999 for 340 million dollars.
In 2002, Musk founded SpaceX space company, where he is still CEO and head of engineering and design offices. Tesla Motors (now Tesla), which he founded in 2004, produces a line of electric cars, energy storage devices, car accessories and solar energy systems. Musk, who also owns the social media platform Twitter, now known as X, is also one of the founders of the artificial intelligence company Open AI. Elon Musk, the wealthiest person in the world, has a fortune of 246 billion dollars.