The world’s wealthiest people have several things in common, but one of the most prominent is that the 10 richest have more than $100 billion to their name. The very top have more than $200 billion. These amounts don’t consist of cash sitting in a bank but are mainly investments, often of some of the largest publicly traded companies, which even the general public can invest in.
These billionaires reached their lofty heights through hard work, great ideas, serendipity and plenty of careful planning with wise financial advisers along the way.
Here are the world’s 10 richest people and some of their key investments, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, as of Nov. 13, 2024.
The world’s 10 wealthiest individuals
1. Elon Musk: $320 billion
Elon Musk is one of the most controversial business figures, but what’s not under dispute is his wealth. Born in South Africa, Musk built Tesla into a leading player in the electric vehicle market, and is pushing space travel with his SpaceX venture.
Musk made a small fortune as an early shareholder of PayPal, and more recently purchased Twitter, which he renamed X. Musk has courted controversy in recent years, using drugs during a broadcast interview with top podcaster Joe Rogan and becoming more active politically, besides a range of other political pronouncements on X.
2. Jeff Bezos: $235 billion
As the founder of Amazon, Jeff Bezos became something of a household name in the dot-com boom of 1999-2000, but his wealth really took off after the 2008-2009 financial crisis. In the decade that followed, Amazon expanded into web services, logistics and shipping and more.
Bezos purchased the Washington Post in 2013 for $250 million and founded Blue Origin, an aerospace company that is commercializing space travel. He’s also a noted philanthropist, founding the Bezos Earth Fund in 2020 with a donation of $10 billion and has said that he will give away most of his fortune.
3. Mark Zuckerberg: $205 billion
Mark Zuckerberg is the founder of Meta Platforms, the company previously known as Facebook. The youngest member of this list, Zuckerberg began Facebook out of his dorm room at Harvard and quickly expanded it over the ensuing years.
4. Larry Ellison: $203 billion
Larry Ellison co-founded software company Oracle and ran it for decades before becoming its chief technology officer and executive chairman. Ellison also owns nearly all of the Hawaiian island of Lana’i.
5. Bernard Arnault: $164 billion
Bernard Arnault founded LVMH, a company that acquired various French fashion brands such as Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton, Moët and Hennessy. The luxury conglomerate acquired Tiffany more recently, and is among the largest companies in Europe by market capitalization.
6. Bill Gates: $162 billion
Bill Gates is the co-founder of Microsoft and has long been among the wealthiest people as his software company continued to expand over decades. Gates is also known for his philanthropic endeavors, namely at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, a private charitable foundation.
7. Larry Page: $161 billion
Larry Page co-founded Google — subsequently renamed Alphabet — with another member of this list (No. 8). He headed up the company from 1997 to 2001 and then again from 2011 to 2019.
8. Sergey Brin: $151 billion
Along with Page, Sergey Brin co-founded Google and served as the company’s president for many years until stepping down in 2019. He and Page literally developed Google in a Silicon Valley garage.
9. Warren Buffett: $148 billion
Warren Buffett, long known as the Oracle of Omaha for his prophetic investment acumen, has been investing since he was a boy. He has been the head of Berkshire Hathaway, an investing conglomerate, for nearly 60 years.
Berkshire owns massive stakes in a number of America’s largest businesses, including Apple, Coca-Cola and many more. His company’s annual meeting attracts tens of thousands of investors and has been called the “Woodstock of Capitalism.”
10. Steve Ballmer: $148 billion
Steve Ballmer also made his fortune through Microsoft and was one of the company’s earliest executives. He eventually led the company from 2000 to 2014, and subsequently co-purchased the Los Angeles Clippers, a pro basketball franchise of the National Basketball Association.
How can you build your fortune?
This list offers a handful of takeaways for people who are looking to build their own wealth.
First, all these individuals own stock. Their immense wealth is built upon owning massively successful companies that are among the leaders in their respective industries. They have significant ownership stakes in these businesses. While they’ve generally worked in their businesses, their real wealth comes from the ownership of those companies.
Second, because these companies are publicly traded, individual investors — anyone in the general public — can also take a stake in them. Many people have become millionaires and multi-millionaires by riding the coattails of these individuals and owning stock in their companies. It’s easy to get started with one of the best brokers for beginners, and if you’re looking for strong investments, a financial adviser can also help you find those that meet your needs.
Third, these billionaires have built their wealth over decades; they’re not overnight lottery winners. Unquestionably they had some advantages — some were in the right place at the right time — but they all owned growing assets and then used time to compound their returns. And time is something that individuals have whether they’re rich or poor, well-placed or not.
