Billionaire

A billionaire is a person with a net worth of at least one billion (1,000,000,000, i.e. a thousand million) units of a given currency, usually strongest currencies such as the Canadian dollar, United States dollar, the euro, Kuwaiti Dinar, Jordanian Dinar, Bahrain Dinar, Pound sterling and the Australian Dollar. A centibillionaire has more than one hundred billion. The American business magazine Forbes produces a global list of known U.S. dollar billionaires every year and updates an Internet version of this list in real time.[1] The American oil magnate John D. Rockefeller became the world's first confirmed U.S. dollar billionaire in 1916, and still holds the title of history's second wealthiest individual.[2]

For other uses, see Billionaire (disambiguation).

As of 2018, there are over 2,200 U.S. dollar billionaires worldwide, with a combined wealth of over US$9.1 trillion ,[3] up from US$7.67 trillion in 2017.[4][5] According to a 2017 Oxfam report, the top eight richest billionaires own as much combined wealth as "half the human race".[6][7]

Current U.S. dollar billionaires
See also: The World's Billionaires
Global share of wealth by wealth group, Credit Suisse, 2017

According to the UBS/PwC Billionaires Report 2019 report released in November 2019, there are currently 2,101 U.S. dollar billionaires worldwide, from 66 countries, with a combined net worth of $8.5 trillion.[8][9] The majority of billionaires are male, as fewer than 11% (197 of 1,826) on the 2015 list were female billionaires.[10] The United States has the largest number of billionaires of any country, with 536 as of 2015,[10] while China, India and Russia are home to 213, 90 and 88 billionaires, respectively.[11][12] As of 2015, only 46 billionaires were under the age of 40,[10] while the list of American-only billionaires, as of 2010, had an average age of 66.[13]

In 2019 there were a record 607 billionaires in the U.S. This group includes 14 of the world's 20 richest people. Jeff Bezos was number 1 in the world, followed by Elon Musk, and Bernard Arnault and family at number 3.[14] In January 2021, Musk ascended to the top of the list.

Inequality
See also: Ultra high-net-worth individual
The number of billionaires that, with assets combined, would own as much money as half the world population, and what transport they would fit on, between years 2010 to 2016[15]

According to a 2016 Oxfam report, the wealth of the poorest 95% dropped by 38% between 2010 and 2015, thanks to an increase in the global population of 400 million.[15] In the same period, the wealth of the richest 62 people between the World's Billionaires increased by $500bn (£350bn) to $1.76tn. This number has fallen dramatically from 388 as recently as 2010. More recently, in 2017 an Oxfam report noted that just eight billionaires have as much net worth as "half the human race".[6][7] However, the Oxfam report has been criticized for considering debt as negative wealth, which leads to wealthy people with large amounts of debt to be considered poor or not wealthy.[16]

Rise of new members

In 2019, 19 people became billionaires. Four of the members joined as a result of death or divorce, including Julia Koch and Jeff Bezos's ex-wife Mackenzie Bezos.[17]

New members now also include more and more women. In the last five years, the number of female billionaires has grown by 46 percent, that is more than the number of male billionaires in the same period (39 percent). There are now 233 female billionaires in the world, a steep growth from 160 in 2013.[8]

Statistics

The table below lists numerous statistics relating to billionaires, including the total number of known billionaires and the net worth of the world's wealthiest individual for each year since 2008. Data for each year is from the annual Forbes list of billionaires, with currency figures given in U.S. dollars. Data since 2018 also includes the Wealth-X billionaire census which typically finds higher numbers than Forbes.

YearTotal number of
billionaires		Combined wealth of
known billionaires		Number of billionairesWorld's wealthiest
individual		Wealthiest
individual's
net worth
U.S.ChineseRussianIndian
2019[18][19]2,153-2,604$8.6-$8.7 trillion609-705285-32498-10282-106Jeff Bezos $131 billion
2018[4][3]2,208-2,754$9.1-$9.2 trillion585-680338-37296-111117-119Jeff Bezos$133 billion
2017[5]2,043$7.71 trillion565319106101Jeff Bezos $99.6 billion
20161,810$6.48 trillion5402517590 Bill Gates $75 billion
2015[11]1,826$7.05 trillion5362138888Bill Gates$79.2 billion
2014[20]1,645$6.4 trillion49215211156[21]Bill Gates$78 billion
2013[22]1,426$5.4 trillion442122110–Carlos Slim$73 billion
2012[23]1,226$4.6 trillion4259596–Carlos Slim$73 billion
2011[24]1,210$4.5 trillion413115101–Carlos Slim$74 billion
2010[25]1,011$3.6 trillion4048962–Carlos Slim$53.5 billion
2009[26]793$2.4 trillion3592832–Bill Gates$40 billion
2008[27]1,125$4.4 trillion470–87–Warren Buffett$62 billion

See also

References
  1. Miller, Matthew; Kroll, Luisa (10 March 2010). "Bill Gates No Longer World's Richest Man". Forbes. Retrieved 7 June 2010.
  2. O'Donnell, Carl (11 July 2014). "The Rockefellers: The Legacy Of History's Richest Man". Forbes. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  3. "Number of billionaires worldwide surged to 2,754 in 2017". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  4. Kroll, Luisa (6 March 2018). "Forbes Billionaires 2018: Meet The Richest People On The Planet". Forbes. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
  5. Kroll, Luisa; Dolan, Kerry A. "Forbes 2017 billionaires list: Meet the richest people on the planet". Forbes. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  6. Ratcliff, Anna (16 January 2017). "Just 8 men own same wealth as half the world". Oxfam. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
  7. Mullany, Gerry (16 January 2017). "World's 8 Richest Have as Much Wealth as Bottom Half of Global Population". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  8. "UBS/PwC Billionaires Report 2019". UBS.com. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  9. "Billionaires insights 2018". Billionaires insights. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  10. "Behind the Numbers in Forbes' Billionaires List". U.S. News & World Report. 2 March 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  11. "Inside The 2015 Forbes Billionaires List: Facts And Figures". Forbes. 2 March 2015. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  12. "A Record 90 Indians On Forbes Billionaires List 2015". Forbes. 3 March 2015. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  13. Rappeport, Alan (9 March 2011). "Brics becoming billionaire factory". Financial Times. Retrieved 20 May 2011.
  14. "Real Time Billionaires". Forbes. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  15. "62 people own same as half world – Oxfam". Oxfam. Archived from the original on 29 October 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
  16. "Are 26 billionaires worth more than half the planet? The debate, explained".
  17. "Newcomers: These 19 Billionaires Join the Forbes 400 List in 2019". Forbes. 3 October 2019. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
  18. "Billionaires 2019". Forbes. 5 March 2019. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
  19. Dhiraj, Amarendra (16 May 2019). "Top 15 countries with the most billionaires, ranked". Business Insider. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  20. "Billionaires". Forbes. 3 March 2014. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
  21. "Indian Billionaires 2014: Big Winners, Big Losers". Forbes. 3 March 2014. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  22. "Inside The 2013 Billionaires List". Forbes. 25 March 2013. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
  23. "Forbes World's Billionaires 2012". Forbes. 7 March 2012. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
  24. "World's Billionaires 2011: A Record Year In Numbers, Money And Impact". Forbes. 9 March 2011. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  25. "Bill Gates No Longer World's Richest Man". Forbes. 10 March 2010. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  26. "The World's Billionaires". Forbes. 11 March 2009. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  27. "World's Billionaires". Forbes. 5 March 2008. Retrieved 1 April 2012.

Further reading
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