In 2018 the Oxfam report concluded that the top eight wealthiest people on the planet have as much combined capital as the poorest half of the world’s population. Great wealth has come to these men–for there are no women on the list this year–through advances in technology, retailing, internet sales, and a diverse portfolio of investments. The most recent Forbes listing of the world’s wealthiest people included 2,208 billionaires, a record, with the total wealth estimated at $9.1 trillion.
1. Jeff Bezos
Not only is the 54-year old Jeff Preston Bezos the wealthiest person on earth, but he is also the wealthiest person in modern history by Forbes magazine. Bezos net worth is more than $112 billion. Bezos created a modest company in 1994 called Amazon to sell books on-line that has grown into the world’s largest online retailer. Not only is Amazon the world’s largest internet sales company, but it also is the largest provider of cloud infrastructure services on the planet.
2. Bill Gates
In 1975 William Henry Gates, 62, along with Paul Allen, launched a company called Microsoft, which would become the world’s largest and most valued PC software provider. Bill Gates was the company’s main shareholder until 2014 when he stepped away from company leadership to helm the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which carries on charitable activities around the world. Gates is estimated to be worth $90 billion today. At various times since 1987, when he first made the Forbes list of wealthiest people, Gates has been cited as being the richest man in the world.
f3. Warren Buffett
Alternately called the “Wizard,” the “Oracle” or the “Sage” of Omaha, Warren Edward Buffett has been the chairman and largest shareholder of Berkshire Hathaway since 1970. At 87 years of age, Buffet is worth $84 billion due to his successful investing. His investment strategy is called “value investing” and that, along with his frugal lifestyle, has propelled him to immense wealth. Buffet has pledged to give away 99 percent of his fortune to charitable causes. He started The Giving Pledge in 2009, a foundation where billionaires agree to give away at least half of their fortunes to philanthropic causes.
4. Bernard Arnault
Bernard Jean Étienne Arnault is the 69-year old French business magnate who, as chairman of the world’s largest luxury goods company, has accumulated more than $72 billion. Arnault is the chairman and CEO of LVMH, as well as being a shrewd investor in other enterprises. Arnault is the richest person in France and an avid art collector.
5. Mark Zuckerberg
At 33, Mark Elliott Zuckerberg is the youngest person on this list with $71 billion in his bank account. While attending Harvard in 2004, he created Facebook, the online site originally intended to be used only by college students. Within eight years the site had one billion users. Zuckerberg took Facebook public in 2012 while he retained the majority of stock. When the stock price fell 19 percent in one day in 2018, it cost Zuckerberg an estimated $15 billion.
6. Amancio Ortega
Amancio Ortega created the chain of Zara clothing and accessories shops that have made him the wealthiest retailer in the world. The 81-year-old Spaniard founded the Inditex fashion group, which operates over 7,200 stores in 93 markets around the globe. Ortega’s wealth is estimated to be $70 billion, which makes him the second-wealthiest person in Europe.
7. Carlos Slim Helu
Carlos Slim Helu is a 78-year-old Mexican who established Grupo Carso, a conglomerate with holdings that include education, healthcare, industrial manufacturing, transportation, real estate, media, energy, hospitality, entertainment, high-technology, retail, sports, and financial services. Helu is worth some $67.1 billion, and his net worth is said to be about six percent of Mexico’s gross domestic product. As Honorary Chairman of America Movil, his vast holdings account for 40% of the Mexican Stock Exchange listings.
8. The Koch Brothers
The Koch brothers are technically in a tie for this position on the list because they are both worth $60 billion each. Charles, 82, is the CEO of Koch Industries while David, 77, serves as the company’s Executive Vice President. Koch Industries was founded by their father, Fred C. Koch, who developed a cracking method for refining gasoline from crude oil. The company is the second-largest privately owned company in America. The Koch brothers are well known for their conservative Koch Family foundations that funnel contributions from conservative donors to create television and other media advertising to promote their conservative agenda.
9. Larry Ellison
Lawrence Joseph Ellison, 73, founded what was to become Oracle in 1977 despite not earning a college degree. Today he is worth around $58.5 billion. Oracle is the main database vendor to firms with mid- to low-range systems. Ellison serves as executive chairman and chief technology officer of the company.
10. Michael Bloomberg
Michael Rubens Bloomberg is a businessman and politician who has amassed a fortune of $50 billion as founder and CEO of Bloomberg L.P., a global financial services, mass media, and software company that offers the Bloomberg Terminal, a software package that provides financial data and is widely used in the financial industry. The 76-year-old Bloomberg served three terms as the mayor of New York City starting in 2001.
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