Posted on 12/05/2022 9:42:41 PM PST by SeekAndFind
The last decade has seen a number of changes in the world’s richest billionaires list.
For one, there are new faces at the top of the leaderboard that were never there before. One of the most obvious changes though, is that the richest billionaires have accumulated a lot more wealth in recent years.
Using annual data from Forbes on the richest billionaires, we’ve visualized the wealth and ranking of the top 10 billionaires over the past decade.
While the pecking order has fluctuated, the leaderboard remains very exclusive. Out of a possible 10 spots, there are only 19 individuals that have made the list over the last decade.
Here’s the current list of richest billionaires in 2022, including when they first made the list (if in the last decade):
| Rank | Name | Country | Net Worth (2022) | First Year on List* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Elon Musk | 🇺🇸 U.S. | $219 billion | 2021 |
| #2 | Jeff Bezos | 🇺🇸 U.S. | $171 billion | 2016 |
| #3 | Bernard Arnault | 🇫🇷 France | $158 billion | - |
| #4 | Bill Gates | 🇺🇸 U.S. | $129 billion | - |
| #5 | Warren Buffett | 🇺🇸 U.S. | $118 billion | - |
| #6 | Larry Page | 🇺🇸 U.S. | $111 billion | 2019 |
| #7 | Sergey Brin | 🇺🇸 U.S. | $107 billion | 2021 |
| #8 | Larry Ellison | 🇺🇸 U.S. | $106 billion | - |
| #9 | Steve Ballmer | 🇺🇸 U.S. | $91 billion | 2020 |
| #10 | Mukesh Ambani | 🇮🇳 India | $91 billion | - |
*Billionaires with “-” first made the list at an earlier date. Example: Mukesh Ambani made the 2008 list.
Microsoft co-founder turned philanthropist, Bill Gates, is a perennial presence at the top of these lists. Gates is currently at his lowest rank over this time period, but is still in fourth spot. The billionaire has pledged to give away nearly all of his fortune to the eponymously named Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
From 2018 to 2021, Jeff Bezos sat at the top of the world’s richest people ranking, only to be bumped out by Elon Musk. In 2020, Bezos became the first person to amass a $200 billion fortune after Amazon’s stock price surged during the pandemic. In recent months, Bezos’ net worth has taken a hit as Amazon’s share price has fallen back down to Earth.
Today, Elon Musk is the world’s richest person.
Over time, the median net worth of the richest billionaires has grown significantly.
| Year | Median Net Worth of Top 10 Billionaires |
|---|---|
| 2013 | $39 billion |
| 2014 | $44 billion |
| 2015 | $49 billion |
| 2016 | $45 billion |
| 2017 | $56 billion |
| 2018 | $71 billion |
| 2019 | $64 billion |
| 2020 | $68 billion |
| 2021 | $97 billion |
| 2022 | $115 billion |
Most fortunes are held in the form of business equity, real estate, and publicly-traded stocks—all asset classes that have benefited from the era of cheap money and ultra-low interest rates.
Over the decade period, the median net worth of the top 10 billionaires has nearly tripled from $39 billion to $115 billion.
In fact, the first billionaire to pass the $100 billion threshold was Jeff Bezos in 2018, when he took the top spot on the list from Bill Gates. However, now all but two on the top 10 wealthiest list are centibillionaires.
No mention of Adnani ?
Adani
I'd rather read an article about the world's poorest billionaires.
Regards,
a lot of churn ... the richest of one generation are usually new people ... some but only a few sons or daughters of the prior richest ... and, even after adjusting for inflation, the current richest eclipse the wealth of the prior richest
Musk wasn’t even in the Top 10 at ALL prior to 2021. Incredible ascent. But what happened to Mr. Slim? Dropped off completely after 2019.
Larry Ellison was born in New York City, to an unwed Jewish mother. His biological father was an Italian-American United States Army Air Corps pilot. After Ellison contracted pneumonia at the age of nine months, his mother gave him to her aunt and uncle for adoption. He did not meet his biological mother again until he was 48.
And his involvement in support of Trump was MAXIMUM, to the extent that the January 6th cabal would have subpoenaed his testimony if the Democrats had retained the House:
The Washington Post reported in May 2022 that Ellison participated in a conference call days after the 2020 presidential election that focused on strategies for challenging the legitimacy of the vote. Other participants on the call included Fox News host Sean Hannity, senator Lindsey Graham, Trump personal attorney Jay Sekulow and James Bopp, an attorney for True the Vote.
“Cabal?”
Carlos Slim Helu lost 8 billion dollars in the stock market the morning Hillary lost.. she wasn’t supposed to lose. Slim has been out to get Trump ever since. He is underestimated for the power he has over our politicians.. the Bushes, Clintons and too many more including Hunter and Joe Biden.
Man that’s a lot of money. Heck, I don’t even have ONE BILLION yet....
I feel that I’m one of the world’s richest hundredaires!
An observation:
Many of these pose as if "philanthropists," and yet their wealth does not diminish significantly. The "giving" by many is aimed at political ends in many cases, and in others in propping up those businesses from which they derive their wealth (often with their political involvement in government playing a role).
So the next time one reads of any of these and their ilk being "philanthropists," the correct reflection is that the word is marketing of their own image. None decrease their wealth markedly through philanthropic activities which do not benefit themselves financially.
Notice additionally that all those "oligarchs" one reads about in the Western press didn;'t make the cut. The conclusion is that THESE oligarchs are mostly our US oligarchs, and most of them fund Democrat Party politics and policies.
Cui bono?
Much of the Democrat (and RINO) policy making feeds back to them, one may also conclude.
After your first one, the rest are free.
RE: No mention of Adnani ?
I think you misspelled his name. He’s there. See the figure shown above.
RE: I’d rather read an article about the world’s poorest billionaires.
I guess if you barely made it to the $1 billion mark, that makes you the poorest.
Off the top of my head, I have Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg on the list. But that could have changed even as I write this.
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