2017 TOP 10 WORLD RICHEST PEOPLES
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1.
JEFF BEZOS
HISTRY: This
man is responsible for the growth of online shopping and e-commerce, Jeff Bezos
made his fortune by founding Amazon.com.
The 53-year-old CEO of Amazon launched the
retail giant in 1994 after leaving his New York hedge fund job. Initially an
online book retailer operated out of Bezos’s garage in Seattle, Amazon.com grew to become the world’s largest online shopping
retailer, now worth over $430 billion, according to CNBC.
Bezos also owns
a private space company Blue Origin and purchased The Washington Post in
2013 for $250 million. Amazon bought the upscale grocery chain Whole
Foods in June for an estimated $13.7
billion.
Bezos’s
parents, Jackie and Mike Bezos, operate the Bezos Family Foundation,
which supports youth education.
Industry: Technology
Net
worth: $90.6
billion.
2.
BILL GATES
HISTRY:
Born in Seattle, Gates used his
first computer in 1967 while a kid in school. And about a decade later, he and
his childhood friend Paul Allen, who also developed an interest in computers at
their school, co-founded Microsoft together in 1975.
He was
Microsoft’s CEO until 2000, and was the company’s chairman and largest
shareholder until 2014. Gates is still a member of the board and serves as a
technology adviser for the company.
Gates and his
wife, Melinda, co-chair the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which is the
world’s largest private charity. The foundation, launched in 1999, focuses on
ending infectious diseases around the world, including HIV and malaria.
Outside of
Microsoft, Gates is a public figure who, along with Warren Buffett and Mark
Zuckerberg, founded "The Giving Pledge" to encourage other
billionaires to donate a hefty amount of their wealth to charity. His
charitable foundation focuses on health and development issues across the
world.
INDUSTRY: Technology
NET WORTH: $90
billion
3.
AMANCIO ORTEGA
HISTRY:
Amancio Ortega is a Spanish
self-made billionaire best known for founding Inditex fashion group, which
includes Zara clothing stores. The richest man in Europe, Ortega co-founded
Inditex in 1975 with his ex-wife Rosalia Mera, who passed away in 2013.
Ortega, 81, is
also the wealthiest retailer in the world and owns 59% of Inditex, which
operates 7,000 stores worldwide. He stepped down as chairman of the company in
2011.
His approach to
his company’s success can be attributed to two factors: speed and customers.
Oretga’s “fast fashion” philosophy included refreshing the stock at Zara stores
twice a week, CNBC reported.
And instead of focusing on what’s in at fashion shows, the company follows
bloggers and customers for what they’re wearing to inform what is sold, Fortune reported.
Unlike other
billionaires, Ortega has stayed out of the public eye. In fact, no photograph
of him was ever published until 1999.
INDUSTRY: Retail
NET WORTH: $83.2
billion
4.
WARREN BUFFETT
HISTORY: Berkshire
Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett is an iconic figure and investment genius who
bought his first stock when he was just 11 years old and filed his first taxes
at age 13. Nicknamed the Oracle of Omaha, Buffett owns more than 60 companies.
One of the
world’s best investors, Warren is also known for his cheap spending habits. In
the recently released HBO documentary Becoming Warren Buffett, the
86-year-old billionaire said he typically pays
under $4 for breakfast
from McDonald’s each morning.
Like his peers,
Buffett is a philanthropist and has vowed to give away 99% of his wealth.
INDUSTRY: Finance
and investments
NET WORTH: $74.3
billion
5.
MARK ZUCKERBERG
HISTORY:
Mark Zuckerberg was only a sophomore at Harvard University when he created the
first version of Facebook in 2004. The social media powerhouse, which first
began on college campuses, now has more than 1.2 billion users and dozens of
offices located around the world. The company is now worth $400 billion.
Zuckerberg, the
youngest of the world’s top billionaires at 33, is the chairman and CEO of
Facebook in addition to being its co-founder. The 2011 award-winning film The
Social Network was based off of Zuckerberg's founding of Facebook while in
school, and the subsequent drama that came as a result.
Like other
billionaires, Zuckerberg is a philanthropist who has donated millions to
charitable causes. He and his wife, Priscilla Chan, have pledged to donate 99%
of their wealth through the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.
INDUSTRY: Technology
NET WORTH: $72.2
billion
6.
CARLOS SLIM HELU
HISTORY:
Mexican business tycoon Carlos Slim
Helú is the richest person in Mexico, and owns
more than 200 companies in
industries ranging from banking to retail to telecommunications. The
81-year-old owns America Movil, the largest mobile phone company in Latin
America, as well as the Grupo Carso conglomerate company, which includes a host
of retailers and restaurants, among other companies.
Slim’s father
immigrated to Mexico from Lebanon with his family before Slim was born and had
several successful retail and real estate businesses, Business Insider reported. Slim inherited the businesses after his father’s death in
1953, and founded his his first company, insurance company Inversora Bursatil,
after he graduated from college in the early 1960s.
His influence
extends outside of Mexico as well. He now owns 17% of the New York Times
— the largest individual shareholder of The Grey Lady.
Slim is a
philanthropist, but has criticized other billionaires for giving their money to
charity. Instead, Slim has
said company leaders need to “create
companies” rather than “give away companies.”
INDUSTRY: Telecommunications,
banking, retail
NET WORTH: $69.7
billion
7.
LARRY ELLISON
HISTORY:
Larry Ellison, the founder, chairman
and former CEO of software company Oracle, came from humble beginnings.
The 72-year-old
billionaire founded his company in 1977, having never taken a computer science
class in his life, according to the Smithsonian. He moved from Chicago to California after dropping out of
college (twice), and worked several jobs where he learned about computer
programming, including one where he helped build a database for the CIA.
H e and two
co-workers left the company to found Oracle, which became the world’s most
popular database. He was the highest-paid executive in the United States before
he stepped down as CEO in 2014, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Ellison has
already given millions to charity and education, and plans to give away
billions.
But he’s also
spent his wealth in more luxurious ways as well. He has millions of dollars’
worth of real estate around the world, including the entire island of Lanai in
Hawaii.
INDUSTRY: Software
NET WORTH: $62.1 billion
8.
MICHAEL BLOOMBERG
HISTORY:
Michael Bloomberg wears many hats:
CEO, philanthropist and politician.
In 1981, he
launched Bloomberg L.P., an information technology and media company that has
now grown to be worth $45 billion with more than 100 offices worldwide. He was
a partner at Salomon Brothers, a Wall Street investment bank, before he started
his own company.
As a
philanthropist, Bloomberg has donated $5 billion of his wealth to contribute to
certain causes that align with his political interests, including gun control
and climate change.
And Bloomberg
is an experienced politician. He served three terms as mayor of New York City
from 2002 to 2013. During his tenure as mayor, he commuted to work at City Hall
from his home on the Upper West Side by taking the New York City subway every
day.
He also
considered running as an independent in the 2016 presidential election, and has
said he does not plan to run for the highest U.S. office in the future.
INDUSTRY: Media
NET WORTH: $53.3
billion
8.
BERNARD ARNAULT
HISTORY:
Bernard Arnault is responsible for many of the world's most fashionable brands,
including Bulgari, Louis Vuitton, Dom Perignon and Sephora. The French
billionaire is the chairman and CEO of LVMH, which is the largest luxury goods
company in the world.
The 68-year-old
began his career as a civil engineer and gained control of his family parent
company, Groupe Arnault. In the 1980s, he bought fashion brand Christian Dior —
a move that avoided bankruptcy for the brand.
Though he
hasn't cracked the top 10 in several other rankings, Arnault's wealth grew by
more than $5 billion in late April 2017 when he announced he would take full
control of Christian Dior, Forbes reported.
Arnault is an
art collector and created the Paris-based Foundation Louis Vuitton, which
supports artistic creation in France.
INDUSTRY: Retail
NET WORTH: $53 billion
NET WORTH: $53 billion
10.
CHARLES AND DAVID KOCH (TIED)
Charles Koch,
81, is the CEO, chairman and co-owner of Koch Industries, the second-largest
private company in the United States.
Both he and his
brother, 77-year-old David — the company’s executive vice president — each own
42% of the conglomerate, which produces brands like Dixie Cup, Quilted Northern
paper towels and Stainmaster carpet cleaner. The two brothers inherited the
Wichita, Kansas-based company from their father.
The
conservative Koch brothers use their deep pockets to influence politics and
public policy through an expansive network. Koch-aligned networks like
Americans for Prosperity gave rise to the libertarian movement, and the
brothers have spent hundreds of millions backing politicians and influencing
policy.
In fact, their
network planned to spend $889 million just on the 2016 election, the New York Times reported. In 2012, the network spent under $400 million.
INDUSTRY: Conglomerate
NET WORTH: $48.5
billion
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