Nowadays, there are more and more billionaires around the world. Especially in the tech industry. Are they also the richest people of all time? Who is on this list and how big must your fortune be to be included?
The list below reveals the 20 richest people of all time. It’s not just about dollar billionaires. Wealth has been measured in different ways over the centuries. There is for example the financial wealth but also the fortune of the landowners. The latter is difficult to convert but Time Magazine still managed to compile a list of the 20 richest personalities of all time.
It is important to say that the fortunes of personalities who are among the richest in the world are often indexed to the price of the stock market. The top 20 members all have shares in companies that they have very often founded or taken over.
The most richest men in the world
The rankings follow and resemble each other. The Top 20 richest people have remained roughly the same for several years. Jeff Bezos, the boss of Amazon, stole the first place from Bill Gates, long overbearing among billionaires. Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla and SpaceX, plays the spoiler.
Elon Musk
The founder of PayPal, Tesla and SpaceX now has a fortune of $ 288 billion. It should be noted how quickly Elon Musk’s wealth has soared in recent months. Indeed, according to Forbes, his fortune was estimated at 72 billion dollars in 2020. It would have exceeded 100 billion dollars in August 2020. He is also involved in development of cryptocurrencies and had shown an interest in crypto marketing.
Tesla and SpaceX aren’t Elon Musk’s only activities. Indeed, the entrepreneur has developed the highly anticipated Hyperloop. This new kind of transport consists of making people travel in high-speed tubes, promising to connect San Francisco to Los Angeles in less than 30 minutes, compared to 1:10 by plane. Today, Elon Musk is no longer directly involved in the development of the Hyperloop, but his company SpaceX continues to organize competitions to allow the best startups to address the subject.
Jeff Bezos
If he will hand over to Andy Jassy in August, Jeff Bezos will still hold a position at Amazon where he will remain executive chairman. The end of the year 2021 is complicated for Jeff Bezos who loses his place as the richest man in the world.
It must be said that Amazon is the big winner of the coronavirus crisis since consumers have largely turned to online sites during the two lockdowns put in place.
In February 2021, Jeff Bezos’ fortune is estimated at $ 183 billion. At the beginning of May 2021, Jeff Bezos remained the richest man in the world with a constantly increasing fortune and today estimated at 206 billion dollars.
Today, Jeff Bezos does not only derive his fortune from his shares in Amazon, although that is his main source of income. Indeed, the entrepreneur has other activities. He also owns the Washington Post.
Bernard Arnault
Bernard Arnault is the only personality of the top 5 who does not evolve in a company of the world of technologies. He is also the only Frenchman in the top 10. There is no need to introduce this man who is today the CEO of LVMH. When he was 3 th richest man in the world in 2020, he was 4th in this beginning of year 2021. However, it has just taken the place of Bill Gates, who was in the top 3 during the first third of the year 2021. Indeed, the fortune of Bernard Arnault, estimated 124 billion dollars in March 2021, is now estimated at 173 billion dollars.
Bill Gates
Bill Gates is the co-founder and largest shareholder of Microsoft. He studied at Lakeside School (Seattle), where he learned about computers. There he meets Paul Allen, who will also be at the origin of Microsoft. He then took courses at Harvard before dropping out in 1975. He was then CEO of Microsoft from 1975 to 2000.
In 2021, Bill Gates was the 3th richest man in the world throughout the first third of the year. His fortune was then estimated at 139 billion dollars. Now, in November 2021, his fortune would be 138 billion, a slight drop which unfortunately does not allow him to get ahead of Bernard Arnault.
If Bill Gates is very involved in the world of philanthropy, the recent announcement of his divorce from his wife could greatly impact the commitment of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Larry Page
Larry Page is the other founder of Google. He studied at the University of Michigan from where he graduated in 1995. He also did a doctorate at Stanford, where he met Sergey Brin with whom he founded the iconic company! Until 2019, Larry Page was CEO of Alphabet, Inc. Larry Page’s fortune stood at $ 132 billion in November 2021. It was “only” $ 66.8 billion in 2020.
Sergey Brin
Sergey Brin is the co-founder of Google, along with Larry Page. He was born in 1973 in Moscow and emigrated to the United States with his family in 1979. He studied at the University of Maryland where he engaged in various activities, such as sailing or the circus. After a doctorate at Stanford, he met Larry Page and created the Google search engine in 1998. The company was extremely successful. Today, Sergey Brin is the president of Alphabet, inc., The parent company of Google. His fortune is estimated at $ 127 billion. It was $ 64.6 billion in 2020.
Mark Zuckerberg
Mark Zuckerberg is the first in the ranking whose wealth exceeds 100 billion dollars. Indeed, in 2021, it reached 125 billion dollars, against 76.7 billion dollars in 2020. Note that, during the last quarter, this fortune decreased, since it amounted to 105 billion dollars. We no longer present the career of Mark Zuckerberg who studied at Harvard where he created Facebook which he still runs today. The entrepreneur owns 24% of the shares of his company. Facebook becoming a social media platform for people to promote their business and for meeting new people.
Steve Ballmer
Steve Ballmer was born in 1956 in the city of Detroit, United States. After studying mathematics and economics at Harvard, he began his professional career at Procter & Gamble (P&G), then went to the Standford Graduate School of Business. This is where he will meet Bill Gates, the man who will convince him to drop out of school. It was in 2000 that Steve Ballmer became CEO of Microsoft. He will keep this post until 2014. In 2011, he was knighted in the Legion of Honor by Nicolas Sarkozy, then president.
In 2020, Steve Ballmer’s fortune was estimated to be around $ 62.4 billion. He was then out of the top 10. It had also fallen, reaching 50 billion, at its lowest, in March 2020. In 2021, he is the 8th richest man in the world with a fortune rising to $ 119 billion.
Larry Ellison
Out of the top 10 a few weeks ago, Larry Ellison was now the 10th wealthiest man in the world in March 2021. In November 2021, he won two places with a fortune amounting to $ 132 billion. He is known to be the co-founder of Oracle. He still runs the company today and received $ 1.1 billion in dividends in 2020.
Warren Buffett
Warren Buffet is a renowned investor who experienced wealth by carefully choosing the companies in which he wanted to inject money. He has made many investments through his company Berkshire Hathaway, in which he is the majority shareholder. This entity owns shares in very large companies such as American Express or Coca-Cola Company. In March 2021, Buffett was the 6 th World fortune. Today he is 10th. Warren Buffet’s fortune peaks at $ 104 billion. It’s important to note that Warren Buffett’s fortune has seen its ups and downs in 2020, as it fell to $ 63.6 billion in March.
Mukesh Ambani
Mukesh Ambani is of Indian descent and is the head of RIL (Reliance Industries Limited), which is one of the largest conglomerates in the world. It brings together players from the oil, textile and chemical industries, among others. In addition, RIL is also active in the retail and telecommunications sectors. Mukesh Ambani’s fortune is estimated at $ 96.3 billion.
Gautam Adani
Gautam Shantilal Adani was born on June 24, 1962. He is an Indian businessman, president and founder of the Adani group, a multinational conglomerate based in Ahmedabad and involved in the development and operation of ports in India. Adani is the chairman of the Adani Foundation, which is mainly run by his wife, Priti Adani. His fortune now stands at $ 84.4 billion.
Amancio Ortega
If you don’t know Amancio Ortega, you certainly know the brand he created: Zara. He is also the founder of Inditex, a textile group that owns brands like Zara, Zara HOME, Stradivarius and Pull and Bear. Today, Amancio Ortega’s fortune is estimated at 78.4 billion dollars, which makes him the 13th richest person in the world, behind Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, whom you can find in the ranking of the most rich people of the world.
Jim Walton
Jim Walton was born in 1948. He is the youngest son of Sam Walton, founder of Wal-Mart, and one of his heirs with his brothers S. Robson Walton, John Walton, his sister Alice and his mother Helen. The family shares a fortune of $ 130 billion and manages the multinational. He is the head of a fortune of $ 66.7 billion.
Rob Walton
While Ma Huateng, who founded Chinese company Tencent, was the 15th richest man in the world in March 2021, he is now overtaken by Rob Walton. Rob Walton is an heir, son of Sam Walton who founded the very popular American chain Walmart. Rob Walton’s fortune is estimated at $ 66.3 billion. It is important to note that just behind Rob, in the ranking of the richest men in the world, is Jim Walton, his brother, also heir.
Zhong Shanshan
Zhong Shanshan is the richest man in China. His fortune was “only” $ 16.9 billion in 2020. It skyrocketed on September 8, reaching $ 50.9 billion. As of February 23, 2021, Zhong Shanshan’s fortune is estimated at $ 87.4 billion, as of March 23, his fortune is estimated at $ 66 billion. He therefore lost 11.4 billion in one month. Since then, Zhong Shanshan never regained his fortune since February has now reached $ 65.6 billion in November 2021. It is thus the 17th richest person in the world and 16th in the ranking of the men richest people in the world.
Who is Zhong Shanshan? This businessman has created his own company specializing in the production of bottled water, Nongfu Spring. This company has been listed in China since April 2020 and completed its IPO in Hong Kong in September 2020. The share price exploded on the day it was floated, thus boosting the company’s capitalization (estimated at $ 301 billion) and Zhong Shanshan’s fortune. The entrepreneur would in fact own 84.4% of the business.
Carlos Slim
Carlos Slim was born on January 28, 1940 in Mexico. He is a Lebanese-Mexican billionaire businessman. He is at the origin of Grupo Carso, and through it many other companies, including América Móvil and its subsidiary Telmex. He is also a major shareholder of the New York Times Company. He is at the head of a fortune of 65.3 billion dollars.
Phil Knight
Originally from Portland, Oregon, Phil Knight was born February 24, 1938 in the United States. He is the son of William Hampson, lawyer and editor of the Oregon newspaper. He completed his high school education at Cleveland School before enrolling at the University of Oregon where he obtained a bachelor’s degree in accounting and a diploma in journalism in 1959.
Phil Knight is a true sports enthusiast and he spent most of his time in athletics stadiums where he practiced distance running. It is there where he meets the trainer Bill Bowerman who will become a few years later his partner. He is also keen on jogging, an activity that he practices regularly and which will be the origin of the idea of Nike. In terms of studies, in 1962 he obtained an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business in California. His fortune is now estimated at $ 64.9 billion.
Charles Koch
Charles Koch is the CEO of Koch Industries, Inc. which is the second largest unlisted company in the United States. Here again, it is a conglomerate that brings together entities from several sectors: textiles, petroleum, energy, chemicals. Charles Koch’s fortune is estimated at $ 60.3 billion as of November 2021. As of May 2021, he was the 14th richest man in the world and the 15th wealthiest person.
Zeng Yuqun
Zeng Yuqun, also known as Robin Zeng, is a Chinese billionaire entrepreneur. He is the founder and president of Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) battery manufacturer. In 2005, the company was acquired by the Japanese company TDK, but Zeng remained at the head of ATL. In 2017, the company went public in Shenzhen. As of November 2021, his fortune was estimated at $ 59.6 billion, making him one of the richest people in China and Hong Kong.