The 10 Richest People in the World
Billionaires play an outsized role in shaping the global economy, politics, and philanthropy. Forbes puts the number of billionaires in the world at 2,755. The wealthiest among them belong to an even more exclusive club and wield still more power. Many of these billionaires are founders of technology giants, with much of their wealth still invested in the companies they started.
They can, however, still borrow against that wealth to avoid selling stock, deferring (or eliminating for heirs) taxes on unrealized capital gains in the process.Multi-billionaires can also take advantage of a panoply of tax deductions to offset reported income, leaving some on this list paying no income tax in recent years.
With so much of their wealth in publicly traded stocks, the net worth of the richest can fluctuate with market valuations. For example, Elon Musk, founder and CEO of Tesla Inc. (TSLA) and the richest person in the world saw his net worth surge in 2021 thanks to the increase in the share price of Tesla (where he currently owns 17% of the company)—with Tesla shares rising nearly 50% in 2021.
In contrast, Meta Platforms Inc. (FB) founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg fell out of the top 10 in February 2022, when Meta's share price plunged after a disappointing earnings report. Zuckerberg's net worth is down $40 billion in 2022.
1. Elon Musk
Age: 50
Residence: Texas
Co-founder and CEO: Tesla
Net Worth: $273 billion
Tesla Ownership Stake: 17% ($187 billion)
Other Assets: Space Exploration Technologies ($40.3 billion private asset), $5.7 billion in cash.
2. Jeff Bezos
Age: 58
Residence: Washington
Founder and Executive Chair: Amazon (AMZN)
Net Worth: $188 billion
Amazon Ownership Stake: 10% ($163 billion)
Other Assets: Blue Origin ($9.15 billion private company stake), The Washington Post ($250 million private asset), and $15.6 billion in cash
3. Bernard Arnault
Age: 73
Residence: Paris, France
CEO and Chair: LVMH (LVMUY)
Net Worth: $148 billion
Christian Dior Ownership Stake: 97.5% ($120 billion total)
Other Assets: Moelis & Company equity ($22.6 billion public asset), Hermès equity (undisclosed stake), and $10.7 billion in cash
4. Bill Gates
Age: 66
Residence: Washington
Co-founder: Microsoft Corp. (MSFT)
Net Worth: $133 billion
Microsoft Ownership Stake: 1.3% ($31.9 billion)
Other Assets: Cascade Investment LLC ($59.2 billion public assets), $56.9 billion in cash
5. Warren Buffett
Age: 91
Residence: Nebraska
CEO: Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A)
Net Worth: $127 billion
Berkshire Hathaway Ownership Stake: 16% ($126 billion)
Other Assets: $1.15 billion in cash
6. Larry Page
Age: 48
Residence: California
Co-founder and Board Member: Alphabet (GOOG)
Net Worth: $125 billion
Alphabet Ownership Stake: 6% ($109.6 billion total)
Other Assets: $14.9 billion in cash
7. Sergey Brin
Age: 48
Residence: California
Co-founder and Board Member: Alphabet (GOOG)
Net Worth: $119 billion
Alphabet Ownership Stake: 6% ($104.4 billion total)
Other Assets: $15 billion in cash
8. Steve Ballmer
Age: 66
Residence: Washington
Owner: Los Angeles Clippers
Net Worth: $108 billion
Microsoft Ownership Stake: 4% ($98.8 billion total)
Other Assets: Los Angeles Clippers ($3.16 billion private asset), $5.93 billion in cash
9. Larry Ellison
Age: 77
Residence: Hawaii
Co-founder, Chair and CTO: Oracle (ORCL)
Net Worth: $103 billion
Oracle Ownership Stake: 40% ($68.4 billion)
Other Assets: Tesla equity ($16.3 billion public asset), $17.6 billion in cash and real estate
10. Gautam Adani
Age: 59
Residence: Gurgaon, India
Founder and Chair: Adani Group
Net Worth: $100 billion
Adani Enterprises, Power. and Transmissions Ownership Stakes: 75% each ($51.3 billion)
Other Assets: 65% of Adani Green Energy ($23.4 billion public asset), 61% of Adani Green Energy ($24.3 billion public asset), 37% of Adani Total Gas ($12.2 billion public asset)
