Top 10 Richest People in the World

Bernard Arnault, the French billionaire behind the world’s largest luxury goods empire, LVMH, ranks fourth with a fortune of $76 billion, up by $4 billion from 2018. LVMH owns 70 iconic fashion brands like Louis Vuitton, Sephora, Givenchy, and Hublot.

Mexican telecom mogul Carlos Slim Helu, ranked fifth, saw his wealth drop by $3.1 billion over the past year but still climbed two spots in the rankings. At 79, Slim controls America Movil, the largest mobile telecommunications company in Latin America, and holds shares in construction, consumer goods, mining, and real estate companies across Mexico. He also owns 17% of The New York Times Company.

Spanish magnate Amancio Ortega, Europe’s second richest person, owns the global retail giant Zara and other brands under Inditex. Ortega, who has held the sixth spot in Forbes’ 2018 list, is a pioneer of fast fashion. He co-founded Inditex with his ex-wife Rosalia Mera in 1975. Ortega holds around 60% of Inditex, which is listed on the Madrid Stock Exchange, operates eight brands, including Massimo Dutti and Pull & Bear, and owns 7,500 stores worldwide.

• Ortega earns over $400 million in dividends annually.
• He has reinvested his earnings primarily in prime real estate in cities like Madrid, Barcelona, London, Chicago, Miami, and New York.

Oracle founder Larry Ellison saw his wealth grow by $4 billion last year, propelling him up three spots in the rankings. In 1977, Ellison founded Oracle, which is now one of the world’s largest software companies providing enterprise software solutions. He stepped down as CEO in 2014 but remains chairman and chief technology officer. In 2018, he joined Tesla’s board after purchasing 3 million shares in the company.

Facebook had a turbulent year, causing Mark Zuckerberg’s net worth to drop by $8.7 billion and his ranking to slip by four positions. In April 2018, Zuckerberg testified before the U.S. Congress over a user data breach scandal that led to a $120 billion drop in Facebook’s market value. The 34-year-old Zuckerberg owns 17% of Facebook and, in 2015, pledged to give away 99% of his Facebook stock, alongside his wife, Priscilla Chan, for charitable causes.

Michael Bloomberg moved up from 11th place last year to claim a spot in the top 10 after the Koch brothers, Charles and David, dropped out. In 1981, he founded Bloomberg LP, a financial, data, software, and media company that generates about $9 billion in annual revenue. Bloomberg holds 88% of the company and has expanded beyond business into politics, having served as New York City mayor and now preparing to spend at least $500 million on his 2020 presidential bid.

One of the two new faces in the top 10 this year, Larry Page co-founded Google with his Stanford University PhD classmate Sergey Brin in 1998. He served as Google’s first CEO until 2001, returned to the role in 2011, and four years later became CEO of Alphabet, Google’s parent company.

For the second consecutive year, Jeff Bezos, the founder of e-commerce giant Amazon, claims the top spot on the world’s richest list. His fortune grew by $19 billion over the past year.

Despite his January divorce from MacKenzie Bezos after 25 years of marriage, the details of their asset split remain undisclosed, so Jeff remains the world’s wealthiest individual. His wealth is primarily tied to his 16% stake in Amazon, as well as other assets such as The Washington Post and his aerospace company, Blue Origin.

Microsoft’s co-founder Bill Gates holds on to the second spot, maintaining his position from last year. Here are some key details about Bill Gates’ achievements according to Forbes:

• Along with his wife Melinda, Bill co-chairs the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the largest private charity in the world.
• The foundation works to save lives and improve global health, collaborating with Rotary International to eradicate polio.
• Gates has sold or donated most of his Microsoft shares (holding just over 1%) and invested in a mix of stocks and other assets.
• He remains a member of Microsoft’s board, the software company he co-founded with Paul Allen in 1975.
• In late 2016, Gates launched a $1 billion Breakthrough Energy Fund with 20 other investors.
• So far, he has donated $35.8 billion worth of Microsoft stock to the Gates Foundation.

Warren Buffett, at 88, continues to hold the third spot despite his net worth dropping by $1.5 billion compared to 2018. He still runs Berkshire Hathaway, the investment conglomerate that owns over 60 companies. In 2010, along with Bill and Melinda Gates, Buffett co-founded The Giving Pledge, which encourages billionaires to donate the majority of their wealth to charity. Buffett himself has pledged to give away 99% of his fortune. In 2018, he donated $3.4 billion, mostly to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.