
<p><strong>Despite the pandemic, it was a record-setting year for the world’s wealthiest—with a $5 trillion surge in wealth and an unprecedented number of new billionaires.</strong></p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



<p class="has-drop-cap">It’s been a year like no other, and we aren’t talking about the pandemic. There were rapid-fire public offerings, surging cryptocurrencies and skyrocketing stock prices. The number of billionaires on&nbsp;<em>Forbes’</em>&nbsp;35th annual list of the world’s wealthiest exploded to an unprecedented&nbsp;<strong>2,755</strong>—660 more than a year ago. Altogether they are worth&nbsp;<strong>$13.1 trillion</strong>, up from $8 trillion on the 2020 list.&nbsp;</p>



<p>There are a record high&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/chasewithorn/2021/04/06/nearly-500-people-have-become-billionaires-during-the-pandemic-year/?sh=386c528125c0"><strong>493 newcomers</strong></a>&nbsp;to the list—roughly one new billionaire every 17 hours, including 210 from China and Hong Kong and 98 from the U.S. The richest newcomer, at $38.2 billion, is&nbsp;<strong>Miriam Adelson</strong>&nbsp;of Nevada, who inherited her husband Sheldon Adelson’s casino empire following his death in January. Other notable new entrants include movie and TV producer&nbsp;<strong>Tyler Perry</strong>, Bumble dating app cofounder&nbsp;<strong>Whitney Wolfe Herd</strong>—the world’s youngest self-made woman billionaire, and Europe’s&nbsp;<strong>Guillaume Pousaz</strong>, founder of payments firm Checkout.com. Another 250 people who’d fallen off the billionaires’ list in the past came roaring back. Altogether, a staggering 86% of all billionaires are richer than a year ago.https://embedly.forbes.com/widgets/media.html?src=https%3A%2F%2Fe.infogram.com%2F203c82a4-0962-4ff3-b2f9-883366e688b1%3Fsrc%3Dembed&amp;display_name=Infogram&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Finfogram.com%2Fdesktop-2021-billionaires-recirc-1ho16vojl5w8x4n&amp;image=https%3A%2F%2Finfogram-thumbs-1024.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com%2Fd1c81d9b-cd07-4ed9-ae1f-456751923c71.jpg&amp;key=3ce26dc7e3454db5820ba084d28b4935&amp;type=text%2Fhtml&amp;schema=infogram</p>



<p><strong>Jeff Bezos</strong>&nbsp;is the world’s richest person for the fourth year running, worth $177 billion, up $64 billion from a year ago as a result of surging Amazon shares.&nbsp;<strong>Elon Musk</strong>—the biggest gainer in dollar terms—rocketed into the No. 2 spot with a $151 billion fortune, a whopping $126.4 billion more than a year ago, when he ranked No. 31 and was worth $24.6 billion. The main reason: a 705% climb in Tesla shares. French luxury goods tycoon&nbsp;<strong>Bernard Arnault</strong>&nbsp;holds onto his spot at No. 3 but his fortune nearly doubled to $150 billion, from $76 billion, due to an 86% rise in the shares of LVMH, owner of brands including Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior and cosmetics retailer Sephora.&nbsp;<strong>The top ten richest are worth $1.15 trillion, up by two-thirds from $686 billion last year</strong>. Altogether,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/daviddawkins/2021/04/06/europes-billionaires-are-1-trillion-richer-than-a-year-ago/?sh=623d979f76e5">Europe’s billionaires</a>&nbsp;are $1 trillion richer than a year ago.</p>



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<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-net-worth-of-the-world-s-richest-person"><strong>Net Worth of the World’s Richest Person</strong></h3>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/606b6013b0a2afc5b16302b6/0x0.png?fit=scale" alt="Richest person net worth"/></figure>



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



<p>This year there are four people worth $100 billion or more—up from just one (Bezos) on last year’s list. Besides Bezos, Musk and Arnault, there’s&nbsp;<strong>Bill Gates</strong>, who ranks No. 4 at $124 billion, buoyed by the strength of shares he owns in Microsoft, Canadian National Railway and tractor maker Deere &amp; Company.</p>



<p>Rounding out the top five is Facebook founder&nbsp;<strong>Mark Zuckerberg</strong>, at $97 billion. He’s worth an eye-popping $42.3 billion more than a year ago; Facebook’s shares have risen 80% in the past year as people around the world used its social media platforms to stay in touch. (For more on the richest tech billionaires, see&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrickcai/2021/04/06/here-are-the-richest-tech-billionaires-in-2021/?sh=691f42bb4d70">here</a>; and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/mominakhan/2021/04/06/the-10-richest-american-billionaires-2021/?sh=7e747aa4d981">here</a>&nbsp;for the richest Americans.) The richest woman this year is cosmetics heir Francoise Bettencourt Meyers of France; see here for the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/denizcam/2021/04/06/the-top-richest-women-in-the-world-in-2021/?sh=59cfe7094598">richest women</a>.</p>



<p><strong>Warren Buffett&nbsp;</strong>is the world’s sixth richest person, worth $96 billion. It’s the first year since 1993 that the revered investor running Berkshire Hathaway has not appeared in the top five. Not that the 90-year-old Oracle of Omaha had a bad year—he’s still worth $28.5 billion more than he was on the 2020 list.</p>



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<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-number-of-billionaires-worldwide-and-combined-net-worth"><strong>Number of Billionaires Worldwide and Combined Net Worth</strong></h3>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/606b5e244876c7b64f423816/0x0.png?fit=scale" alt="Number of Billionaires and combined net worth"/><figcaption>Forbs.com</figcaption></figure>



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<p>The<strong>&nbsp;U.S.</strong>&nbsp;still has more billionaires than any other country, with 724 (up from 614 last year), but China is closing the gap with 698 (including 71 from&nbsp;<strong>Hong Kong</strong>&nbsp;and 1 from&nbsp;<strong>Macao</strong>). Last year the U.S. had 614 billionaires and China had 456 (including 66 from Hong Kong and 1 Macao).&nbsp;<strong>India</strong>&nbsp;has the third highest number of billionaires, with 140. Altogether, the 1,149 billionaires from Asia-Pacific countries are worth $4.7 trillion, while the U.S. billionaires are worth a total $4.4 trillion.&nbsp; (For more on the countries with the most billionaires, see&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/giacomotognini/2021/04/06/the-countries-with-the-most-billionaires-2021/?sh=42c017c0379b">here</a>. Plus&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jenniferwang/2021/04/06/the-10-richest-chinese-billionaires-in-2021/?sh=7e5164685ca2">China’s richest</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jenniferwang/2021/04/06/asia-ascendant-the-richest-new-chinese-billionaires-in-2021/?sh=3361ff131a1a">China’s newcomers</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/naazneenkarmali/2021/04/06/indias-10-richest-billionaires-2021/?sh=2922cf8359b7">India’s richest</a>.)&nbsp;</p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-countries-with-the-most-billionaires"><strong>The Countries With The Most Billionaires</strong></h3>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/606b7cca1391bb569e6302b6/0x0.png?fit=scale" alt="Countries With The Most Billionaires"/><figcaption>Forbes.com</figcaption></figure>



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



<p>A record 1,975 billionaires are self-made, up from 1,457 last year. That equates to 72% of the list (vs. about 70% in 2020). It’s a marked change from the 2001 list of billionaires, when 49% of the total 565 billionaires were self-made.&nbsp;<em>Forbes</em>&nbsp;uses the term “self-made” as a contrast to “inherited” and “inherited &amp; growing;” it’s not meant to indicate that someone created a billion-dollar fortune all on their own. To achieve such a feat takes teamwork.</p>



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<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-total-number-of-billionaires-and-self-made-status"><strong>Total Number of Billionaires and Self-Made Status</strong></h3>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/606c413115a36070b1428bf7/0x0.png?fit=scale" alt="Self-Made Status"/><figcaption>Forbes .com</figcaption></figure>



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



<p>One hundred and five of the list members are under 40, two-thirds of whom are self-made. The new youngest self-made billionaire is 26-year-old American&nbsp;<strong>Austin Russell,</strong>&nbsp;who dropped out of Stanford to found automotive sensor firm Luminar Technologies; he is worth $2.4 billion and ranked No. 1299. There’s a new youngest billionaire as well: 18-year-old&nbsp;<strong>Kevin David Lehmann</strong>&nbsp;of Germany, whose father Guenther Lehmann transferred his stake in drugstore chain dm-drogerie mkt to him; he’s worth $3.3 billion and ranks No. 925. (Read more about the youngest billionaires&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/arielshapiro/2021/04/06/the-worlds-youngest-billionaires-2021-include-a-teenager-from-germany-a-crytpo-magnate-and-a-stanford-dropout/?sh=5e87182a509d">here</a>.). At the other end of the spectrum,&nbsp;the oldest billionaire, at age 99, is U.S. insurance tycoon&nbsp;<strong>George Joseph</strong>.&nbsp;</p>



<p><strong>Mukesh Ambani</strong>&nbsp;of India has become the richest person in Asia, ranked No. 10 and worth an estimated $84.5 billion. He nudges out&nbsp;<strong>Jack Ma</strong>&nbsp;of China, Asia’s richest person a year ago, whose rank dropped to No. 26 (from No. 17 last year) despite a nearly $10 billion jump in his fortune to $48.4 billion. The biggest gainer in percentage terms this year is from China:&nbsp;<strong>Zhong Shanshan</strong>&nbsp;took his bottled water company Nongfu Spring public last fall on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and shares soared, lifting his net worth to $68.9 billion, up 3,345% from $2 billion a year ago.</p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-total-new-billionaires-and-combined-net-worth"><strong>Total New Billionaires and Combined Net Worth</strong></h3>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/606b5ea2affa9dd12fb89021/0x0.png?fit=scale" alt="Total Newcomers over the years"/><figcaption>Forbes.com</figcaption></figure>



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>#1 | Jeff Bezos</strong></h2>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">NET WORTH:&nbsp;<strong>$177 BILLION</strong></h4>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">SOURCE OF WEALTH:&nbsp;<strong>AMAZON</strong></h4>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">RESIDENCE: <strong>SEATTLE</strong></h4>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>#2 | Elon Musk</strong></h2>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">NET WORTH:&nbsp;<strong>$151 BILLION</strong></h4>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">SOURCE OF WEALTH:&nbsp;<strong>TESLA, SPACEX</strong></h4>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">RESIDENCE: <strong>AUSTIN, TEXAS</strong></h4>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>#3 | Bernard Arnault</strong></h2>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">NET WORTH:&nbsp;<strong>$150 BILLION</strong></h4>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">SOURCE OF WEALTH:&nbsp;<strong>LUXURY GOODS</strong></h4>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">RESIDENCE:&nbsp;<strong>PARIS</strong></h4>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>#4 | Bill Gates</strong></h2>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">NET WORTH:&nbsp;<strong>$124 BILLION</strong></h4>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">SOURCE OF WEALTH:&nbsp;<strong>MICROSOFT</strong></h4>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">RESIDENCE:&nbsp;<strong>MEDINA, WASHINGTON</strong></h4>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>#5 | Mark Zuckerberg</strong></h2>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">NET WORTH:&nbsp;<strong>$97 BILLION</strong></h4>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">SOURCE OF WEALTH:&nbsp;<strong>FACEBOOK</strong></h4>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">RESIDENCE:&nbsp;<strong>PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA</strong></h4>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>#6 | Warren Buffett</strong></h2>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">NET WORTH:&nbsp;<strong>$96 BILLION</strong></h4>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">SOURCE OF WEALTH:&nbsp;<strong>BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY</strong></h4>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">RESIDENCE:&nbsp;<strong>OMAHA, NEBRASKA</strong></h4>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>#7 | Larry Ellison</strong></h2>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">NET WORTH:&nbsp;<strong>$93 BILLION</strong></h4>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">SOURCE OF WEALTH:&nbsp;<strong>SOFTWARE</strong></h4>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">RESIDENCE:&nbsp;<strong>LANAI, HAWAII</strong></h4>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>#8 | Larry Page</strong></h2>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">NET WORTH:&nbsp;<strong>$91.5 BILLION</strong></h4>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">SOURCE OF WEALTH:&nbsp;<strong>GOOGLE</strong></h4>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">RESIDENCE:&nbsp;<strong>PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA</strong></h4>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>#9 | Sergey Brin</strong></h2>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">NET WORTH:&nbsp;<strong>$89 BILLION</strong></h4>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">SOURCE OF WEALTH:&nbsp;<strong>GOOGLE</strong></h4>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">RESIDENCE:&nbsp;<strong>LOS ALTOS, CALIFORNIA</strong></h4>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>#10 | Mukesh Ambani</strong></h2>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">NET WORTH:&nbsp;<strong>$84.5 BILLION</strong></h4>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">SOURCE OF WEALTH:&nbsp;<strong>DIVERSIFIED</strong></h4>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">RESIDENCE:&nbsp;<strong>MUMBAI, INDIA</strong></h4>



<p><em><strong>By Kerry A. Dolan, Forbes Staff</strong></em></p>


Billionaire Elon Musk Receives Axel Springer Award

Forbes’ 35th Annual World’s Billionaires List: Facts And Figures 2021


<p><strong>Elon Musk&#8217;s meteoric rise up the <em>Forbes</em> Billionaire List has continued this month, as he’s ascended past luminaries such as Warren Buffett and Steve Ballmer. As of Monday afternoon, Musk&#8217;s net worth surpassed <a href="https://www.forbes.com/real-time-billionaires/#11a0831e3d78">$74 billion</a>, meaning he is now the fifth-richest person on the planet.</strong></p>



<p><strong>KEY FACTS</strong></p>



<ul><li>Musk, 49, is the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, the electric vehicle company whose stock price has soared since March.</li></ul>



<ul><li>Tesla shares gained another 9.5% in Monday&#8217;s trading to $1,643.00, giving it a <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/20/cramer-says-moves-in-tech-stocks-are-truly-insane-as-amazon-and-tesla-climb.html" target="_blank">60%</a> rise in just three weeks since June 29, and a nearly 300% increase in 2020 alone.</li></ul>



<ul><li>Tesla is now not only the <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/sergeiklebnikov/2020/07/01/tesla-is-now-the-worlds-most-valuable-car-company-with-a-valuation-of-208-billion/#64a2c1d05334">world&#8217;s most valuable car company</a>, with a market cap of $304.5 billion, it’s worth more than Ford, Ferrari, General Motors and BMW <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/sergeiklebnikov/2020/07/01/tesla-is-now-the-worlds-most-valuable-car-company-with-a-valuation-of-208-billion/#64a2c1d05334">combined</a>.</li></ul>



<ul><li>Musk was ranked <a href="https://www.forbes.com/billionaires/"> No. 31</a> on Forbes&#8217; Billionaires List as recently as mid-March, with a net worth just under $25 billion.</li></ul>



<ul><li>His fortune has nearly tripled since then, skyrocketing to $74.2 billion at the close of trading Monday, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/real-time-billionaires/#11a0831e3d78"><em>Forbes </em>calculates.</a></li></ul>



<ul><li>Musk owns 21% of Tesla but has pledged more than half his stake as collateral for loans; Forbes has discounted his stake to take the loans into account.</li></ul>



<p><strong>KEY BACKGROUND: </strong></p>



<p>Musk first debuted on Forbes’ 400 Wealthiest Americans List in 2012 in 190th place with a net worth of $2.4 billion. On January 1 this year, he was the 37th richest person on earth. However, Tesla&#8217;s sudden and spectacular rise has propelled him near the very top of the world&#8217;s wealthiest humans. Tesla&#8217;s surge has confounded some investors, considering it’s far smaller than its competitors and only recently began to log quarterly profits. Tesla produced&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/sergeiklebnikov/2020/07/01/tesla-is-now-the-worlds-most-valuable-car-company-with-a-valuation-of-208-billion/#64a2c1d05334">103,000 vehicles</a>&nbsp;in the first quarter; Toyota produced&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/sergeiklebnikov/2020/07/01/tesla-is-now-the-worlds-most-valuable-car-company-with-a-valuation-of-208-billion/#64a2c1d05334">2.4 million vehicles</a>&nbsp;during that same period. In 2019, American automakers General Motors and Ford generated&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/danrunkevicius/2020/07/20/tesla-stock-may-be-rallying-for-this-absurd-reasonand-this-wont-end-well/#794f313f67a6">ten times</a>&nbsp;more sales than Tesla. Late last month, analysts from Morgan Stanley warned that Tesla stock, which was trading at roughly $1,000 per share at that time, was &#8220;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/sergeiklebnikov/2020/06/23/tesla-is-overvalued-investors-are-treating-it-too-much-like-a-tech-company-says-morgan-stanley/#15e075f96c74">grossly overvalued</a>&nbsp;and set to plunge.&#8221; Earlier this month, Musk said that Tesla would produce virtually fully autonomous&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnkoetsier/2020/07/09/elon-musk-tesla-will-have-level-5-self-driving-cars-this-year/#1942918a2d1d">self-driving vehicles</a>&nbsp;by the end of 2020, a claim that was met with skepticism by an auto industry accustomed to a heaping of hype from Musk on the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/14/business/tesla-autopilot-germany.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">capabilities of self-driving technology</a>. Musk has not sold shares of Tesla&nbsp;<a href="http://sites/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">since 2010</a>.</p>



<p><strong>CRITICAL QUOTES:</strong></p>



<p>&#8220;I really couldn&#8217;t care less,&#8221; Musk emailed Forbes about his net worth earlier this month. &#8220;These numbers rise and fall, but what really matters is making great products that people love.&#8221;</p>



<p>&#8220;Moves like we are seeing in Microsoft and Tesla and Amazon are truly insane and unlike any i have ever seen in my life,&#8221;&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/jimcramer/status/1285293615019888640?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweeted</a>&nbsp;analyst Jim Cramer on Monday afternoon. When asked if Tesla was a &#8216;Covid Stock,&#8217; Cramer&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/jimcramer/status/1285310934114861057?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">replied</a>, &#8220;i don&#8217;t even know if it is a stock. it is something else entirely, like a new species discovered in the wild.&#8221;&nbsp;</p>



<p><strong>TANGENT:</strong></p>



<p>When Kanye West<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/randalllane/2020/07/08/kanye-west-says-hes-done-with-trump-opens-up-about-white-house-bid-damaging-biden-and-everything-in-between/#4597b0a647aa"> initially announced</a> that he was running for president, he said he had the &#8220;full support&#8221; of Musk, a longtime close friend. In a <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://pagesix.com/2020/07/11/elon-musk-backpedals-on-support-of-kanye-wests-presidential-bid/" target="_blank">since-deleted tweet</a>, Musk responded, &#8220;We may have more differences of opinion than I anticipated.&#8221; However, Musk later told <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://pagesix.com/2020/07/13/elon-musk-on-why-hes-still-backing-kanye-west-for-president/" target="_blank">Page Six</a>, &#8220;Kanye explained afterward some of the reasoning behind why he said what he said. It makes more sense than many people, including me, realized.&#8221; On July Fourth, Musk <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://pagesix.com/2020/07/13/elon-musk-on-why-hes-still-backing-kanye-west-for-president/" target="_blank">tweeted</a>, &#8220;You have my full support!&#8221;</p>



<p><em>&#8211;  <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/tommybeer/">Tommy Beer</a>, Forbes Staff, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/business">Business</a> </em></p>


gettyimages-1130598362-594×594

Elon Musk Is Now The Fifth Richest Person In The World

<p>Amancio Ortega, billionaire cofounder of Spanish retailer Inditex, best known for its Zara brand, became the world’s wealthiest person <a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/billionaires/2017/08/31/spanish-retailer-just-became-richest-person-world/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">on Wednesday</a>. Less than a day later, he was overtaken by Bill Gates.</p>
<p>Wednesday’s ascent marked the fourth time he had reigned as world’s richest. In each case, he has lost his spot to Gates within 48 hours.</p>
<p>Ortega, 81, was worth $82.4 billion as of 10:30 am Eastern Time on Thursday, according to <em>Forbes</em>’ <a href="https://www.forbes.com/billionaires/list/#version:realtime" target="_blank" rel="noopener">real-time</a> rankings of the world’s billionaires. That represented a $2.6 billion decline over his net worth a day earlier, thanks to a more than 3% fall in Inditex’ share price on Spain&#8217;s BME stock exchange.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/billionaires/2017/07/31/besides-jeff-bezos-6-people-whove-also-worlds-richest/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Besides Jeff Bezos: 6 People Who&#8217;ve Also Been The World&#8217;s Richest</a></p>
<p>He is now the third-richest person in the world, trailing Gates ($85.1 billion) and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos ($83.4 billion). Bezos&#8217; net worth jumped $2 billion in the 24 hours through 10:30 am Eastern Time on Thursday; Gates&#8217; swelled about $500 million. Both Gates and Bezos have held the top spot on <em>Forbes</em>’ billionaires list at some point this summer.</p>
<p>Ortega’s first stint atop the <em>Forbes </em>real-time<em> </em>list came in <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/danalexander/2015/10/23/amancio-ortega-briefly-passes-bill-gates-to-become-worlds-richest-man/#7e0b839f5e4b" target="_blank" rel="noopener">October 2015</a>, after Inditex’ stock rallied to an all-time high. He next took the lead in <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/danalexander/2016/09/08/amancio-ortega-richest-bill-gates-world-spain-inditex-microsoft-zara/#351ee552389d" target="_blank" rel="noopener">September 2016</a>, but he lost his spot two days later. <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/katevinton/2017/08/29/spains-amancio-ortega-briefly-overtakes-gates-as-no-1-richest-falls-back-to-no-2/#548464bc67be" target="_blank" rel="noopener">On Tuesday</a> of this week, he held the title for a few hours. Wednesday’s rally was the fourth, and latest, instance he has ranked as first.</p>
<p>More than 80% of Ortega&#8217;s fortune is tied up in Inditex shares, making his net worth particularly susceptible to stock market fluctuations. Jeff Bezos also holds the vast majority of his fortune in a public company, Amazon, which has resulted in major swings to his net worth as well, and to the <em>Forbes </em>billionaire rankings.</p>
<p>The son of a railway worker, Ortega cofounded Inditex—parent company to fashion chain Zara—with his late ex-wife, Rosalia Mera. They steadily grew the business into a global operation that now boasts a market capitalization north of $100 billion. &#8211; Written by <span class="fs-author-name contrib-byline-author"><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/noahkirsch/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-ga-track="contrib block byline">Noah Kirsch</a></span><span class="comma">, </span><span class="contrib-byline-type"><span class="fs-text-s forbes-staff">FORBES STAFF</span></span></p>


This Spanish Billionaire Keeps Losing His Spot As World’s Richest Person

<p>Move aside, Bill Gates.</p>
<p>Amancio Ortega, cofounder of Spanish retailing giant Inditex, is now the richest person on the planet, with a $200 million edge over previous leader Bill Gates.</p>
<p>Ortega has held the top position three other times, but he has always relinquished the lead within a day. Most recently, he surpassed Gates <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/katevinton/2017/08/29/spains-amancio-ortega-briefly-overtakes-gates-as-no-1-richest-falls-back-to-no-2/#2d46323067be" target="_blank" rel="noopener">on Tuesday</a>, after shares of Inditex—the parent company to fashion chain Zara—rose just over 1%. But by the end of the afternoon he was $100 million behind the Microsoft cofounder.</p>
<p>Then, on Wednesday, Ortega regained the top spot. As of 12:05 pm Eastern Time, he was richer than Gates by a modest margin of $200 million.</p>
<p>Ortega, 81, is now worth an estimated $85 billion, according to <em>Forbes</em>’ <a href="https://www.forbes.com/billionaires/list/#version:realtime" target="_blank" rel="noopener">real-time</a> rankings of the world’s billionaires. His net worth is up $1.2 billion in the last month, but his ascent has also been aided by declines to the fortunes of Gates and Jeff Bezos, who have each held the title of world’s richest at some point this summer.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/billionaires/2017/07/28/amazon-ceo-jeff-bezos-reign-worlds-richest-lasted-just-hours/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ Reign As World’s Richest Lasted Just A Few Hours</a></p>
<p>Bezos’ net worth has dropped by more than $4 billion in the last month as Amazon shares have fallen from a record high. Gates’ fortune declined earlier this month after a filing with the SEC revealed that he donated $4.6 billion worth of Microsoft stock to his foundation <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/noahkirsch/2017/08/15/philanthropy-king-bill-gates-gives-away-4-6-billion-unveils-new-campaign-to-combat-malaria/#6cac3f7730d3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in June</a>. That gift was first reported by <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-08-14/gates-makes-largest-donation-since-2000-with-4-6-billion-pledge" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>Bloomberg</em></a>.</p>
<p>Ortega became the richest person in the world for the first time in October 2015, but he lost his spot to Gates in less than 24 hours. He regained the lead in September 2016, but was quickly overtaken by Gates once again.</p>
<p>A former store clerk, Ortega founded Inditex with his late ex-wife, Rosalia Mera, in 1975. They grew the business into an international powerhouse that now has a market capitalization of more than $100 billion.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/billionaires/2017/07/31/besides-jeff-bezos-6-people-whove-also-worlds-richest/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Besides Jeff Bezos: 6 People Who&#8217;ve Also Been The World&#8217;s Richest</a></p>
<p>A resident of Spain, Ortega no longer has a day-to-day role at the company. He has recently focused on diversifying his fortune with a host of global investments, and he has poured huge sums into international real estate. He typically collects over $400 million in dividends from Inditex every year. Much of that cash is spent on property investments in New York, Madrid, London and elsewhere.</p>
<p>Despite that diversification, Ortega still holds more than 80% of his wealth in Inditex shares. As the stock has ticked up over the years, his net worth has followed suit. &#8211; Written by <span class="fs-author-name contrib-byline-author"><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/noahkirsch/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-ga-track="contrib block byline">Noah Kirsch</a></span><span class="comma">, </span><span class="contrib-byline-type"><span class="fs-text-s forbes-staff">FORBES STAFF</span></span></p>


This Spanish Retailer Just Became The Richest Person In The World

<p>For the 30 years FORBES has been tracking global wealth, only five people have ranked on our annual compendium of wealth as the richest person on the planet. In between those annual lists, at least two people have briefly become the world&#8217;s richest, the most recent of whom was Jeff Bezos, who overtook Bill Gates as No. 1 on July 27 as Amazon stock surged.</p>
<p>Gates has held the title for 18 of the past 23 years. So who were the other richest people in the world in the three decades FORBES has been tracking wealth?</p>
<p><a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/billionaires/2017/07/28/amazon-ceo-jeff-bezos-reign-worlds-richest-lasted-just-hours/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ Reign As World’s Richest Lasted Just A Few Hours</a></p>
<p>Amazon founder and CEO Bezos<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/katevinton/2017/07/27/jeff-bezos-overtakes-bill-gates-to-become-worlds-richest-man/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> overtook Bill Gates</a> to become the richest person in the world on Thursday morning July 27, with a fortune topping $90 billion for the first time ever.When markets opened Thursday, Bezos had a net worth of $90.6 billion, putting him $500 million ahead of Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates.</p>
<p>Gates was previously surpassed on <a href="https://www.forbes.com/billionaires/list/#version:realtime" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Forbes’ real-time rankings</a> for just two days nearly a year ago by Spanish clothing retail tycoon <a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/amancio-ortega/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Amancio Ortega</a>. Forbes started tracking billionaires around the globe in 1987.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/richlist/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">African Billionaires</a></p>
<p>Bezos became the seventh person to hold the title of the world’s richest person and the third American to top the global ranks besides Gates and Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett.</p>
<p>The founder of Spanish clothing retailer Inditex (known in the U.S. for its Zara stores), topped Gates as the richest on Forbes&#8217; real-time rankings for a few hours in Oct. 2015 and for two days in Sept. 2016 but just as quickly fell out of the top rank. Ortega, the world&#8217;s wealthiest retailer, typically earns more than $400 million in dividends a year.</p>
<p>When shares of Ortega’s business Inditex ticked up 2.5% in 2016, his fortune <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/danalexander/2016/09/08/amancio-ortega-richest-bill-gates-world-spain-inditex-microsoft-zara/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">was boosted by $1.7 billion</a>, then fell 2.8% two days later.</p>
<p>The son of a railway worker from La Coruña, Spain, Ortega is as reclusive as he is rich. He started his career as a store clerk in his hometown before opening his own business. Beginning with less than $100, he and his then-wife Rosalia Mera began making lingerie, pajamas and nightgowns in their living room.</p>
<p>In 2010, a billionaire from a country other than the U.S. or Japan topped the list for the first time: telecom tycoon <a href="https://www.forbes.com/2010/03/09/worlds-richest-people-slim-gates-buffett-billionaires-2010-intro.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Carlos Slim Helu</a>. Riding the surging stock price of his telecom firm America Movil, the Mexican tycoon beat out Bill Gates and Warren Buffett to become the world&#8217;s richest. He held onto the top spot for four years.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.forbes.com/profile/warren-buffett/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Warren Buffett</a> rose to the top in 2008. Gates&#8217; fortune had tumbled after Microsoft&#8217;s failed attempt to merge with Yahoo. That was also the year Gates stepped down as Microsoft chairman to focus on the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation. He reclaimed the top ranking in 2009 with a much smaller fortune of $40 billion.</p>
<p>An American first took the top spot on Forbes annual World&#8217;s Billionaires list in 1995. That was the year Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates climbed to number one with a net worth of $12.5 billion. He was one of just 365 billionaires that year and has held the title of world&#8217;s richest for 18 of the past 23 years.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/chasewithorn/2016/03/05/the-four-people-besides-bill-gates-whove-been-the-worlds-richest-person-in-the-past-30-years/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Gates&#8217; rise</a>, though meteoric, was not instant. He cofounded Microsoft in 1975 but didn’t top our list for another two decades. In 1995, Microsoft stock was rising as tech firm valuations skyrocketed. Gates&#8217; net worth was $12.9 billion, and it continued to grow astronomically over the next four years.</p>
<p>At its height, in 1999 near the peak of the Internet-fueled boom, Gates’ fortune reached $90 billion. Today, he remains a board member of Microsoft, the software firm he founded with Paul Allen.</p>
<p>In 1991, Taikichiro Mori became the world’s richest person with a $15 billion fortune. <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/chasewithorn/2016/03/05/the-four-people-besides-bill-gates-whove-been-the-worlds-richest-person-in-the-past-30-years/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">An economics professor</a>, he quit the university in 1959 and went into business, constructing office buildings in Tokyo’s Minato ward. He had 65 office buildings with 7.7 million square feet of floor space when Forbes first named his fortune the world’s largest.</p>
<p>The richest person on FORBES&#8217; very first World Billionaires List in 1987 was Japanese billionaire Yoshiaki Tsutsumi, who had a $20 billion net worth at the time. Tsutsumi was one of 140 billionaires around the world on that first ranking of the world&#8217;s 10-figure fortunes, worth a combined $295 billion.</p>
<p>Tsutsumi&#8217;s wealth came from real estate and retail through his Seibu Group at the height of the Japanese real estate bubble. After being beaten out by Mori in 1991, Tsutsumi was back on top two years later with a $9 billion fortune and was also the richest person the next year for the last time.</p>
<p>A decade later, Tsutsumi had a fall from grace: His Seibu Group was delisted in 2004 due to years of reporting errors. He was arrested the next year, fined $42,000 and received a four-year suspended prison sentence. Tsutsumi fell off of the Billionaires List entirely in 2007. &#8211; Written by <span class="fs-author-name contrib-byline-author"><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/katevinton/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Kate Vinton</a></span><span class="comma">, </span><span class="contrib-byline-type"><span class="fs-text-s forbes-staff">FORBES STAFF</span></span></p>


Besides Jeff Bezos: 6 People Who’ve Also Been The World’s Richest

<p>Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos’ reign on the top of the Forbes’ Real Time Billionaires List only lasted a morning.</p>
<p>Bezos became the richest person in the world for the first time with a $90.6 billion net worth when markets opened on Thursday. But while Amazon stock climbed another 1.3% to an intraday high of $1,083.31, it then dropped down to $1,046 by the time markets closed, knocking Bezos out of the top spot. He ended the day with an $88.7 billion fortune, down $540 million from late Wednesday. Bill Gates is once again the richest person in the world with an estimated $89.8 billion fortune, down $240 million from yesterday.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/billionaires/2017/07/27/amazon-ceo-jeff-bezos-now-less-1-billion-richest-person-world/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos Is Now Less Than $1 Billion From being The Richest Person In The World</a></p>
<p>Despite the drop, this is likely not Bezos’ last time at the top of Forbes’ real-time ranking. Because he owns nearly 17% of Amazon stock, small fluctuations in Amazon’s stock have billion-dollar consequences for Bezos’ net worth. As of the close of markets Thursday, Bezos was only $1.1 billion behind Gates.</p>
<p>Bezos’ net worth took a further hit in after hours trading Thursday when Amazon reported its second quarter earnings and had a big miss on earnings. Amazon reported earnings per share of $0.40, lower than the $1.42 per share analysts had estimated. Amazon stock dropped more than 2% in after hours trading as of 4:45 p.m. Eastern, which further reduced Bezos’ fortune by $1.8 billion. He is now worth $86.9 billion, which means the gap between Gates and Bezos is now $2.9 billion.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/richlist/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">African Billionaires</a></p>
<p>Bezos joined Forbes ranking of the 400 richest Americans in 1998, one year after Amazon went public, with a $1.6 billion fortune. He started the online retail giant in a garage in Seattle before his 30<sup>th</sup> birthday. &#8211; Written by <span class="fs-author-name contrib-byline-author"><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/katevinton/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Kate Vinton</a></span><span class="comma">, </span><span class="contrib-byline-type"><span class="fs-text-s forbes-staff">FORBES STAFF</span></span></p>


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