Ten Key Facts about Billionaires (2024)

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Ten Key Facts about Billionaires (3)“It is possible to admire individual billionaires but also fear their overall influence on elections, governance, and public policy,” writes Darrell West in his forthcoming book, Billionaires: Reflections on the Upper Crust (Brookings Institution Press, 2014). The book, available on September 18, is full of fascinating analysis and facts about the men and women worldwide who control a massive share of global assets, and theirextraordinary influence over elections, public policy, and governance.Here is just a sample of them:

  1. The 1,645 billionaires in the world control about $6.4 trillion in assets
  2. There are 492 billionaires in the United States
  3. China, Russia, Germany, and Brazil have the next highest number of billionaires
  4. 90 percent of billionaires are male; 65 percent are white; 60 percent are 60 years old or older
  5. In 2012, Sheldon Adelson spent $93 million in political activities opposing President Obama; in the same year, Oprah Winfrey donated $76,000 to Obama’s Victory Fund
  6. Mark Zuckerberg has given $990 million to the Silicon Valley Community Foundations
  7. There are seven openly gay or transgender billionaires; Jennifer Pritzker, (formerly known as James) is the first transgender billionaire. In 2013, she donated $1.35 million to support the Transgender Military Service Initiative
  8. If Bill Gates, the richest person in the world, were a country, he would be 65th richest in the world
  9. The richest woman in the world is Christy Walton, part of the Wal-Mart family
  10. 42 percent of billionaires who earned their fortune before the age of 40 did it in technology fields

West—the vice president and director of Governance Studies at Brookings, the founding director of the Center for Technology Innovation, and the Douglas Dillon Chair—examines the “wealthification” of politics and society and offers ideas for improving opportunities and fairness.

Learn more about the book and get additional materials here.

Ten Key Facts about Billionaires (2024)

FAQs

Did you know facts about billionaires? ›

There are currently 2,640 billionaires in the world, worth a collective wealth of US$12.2 trillion, according to Forbes' 2023 World's Billionaires list. While only a small fraction of our population, the top billionaires in the world have reached levels of wealth most of us can only dream of.

Who is the youngest billionaire? ›

Selena Gomez has joined the youngest billionaires club with an estimated net worth of USD 1.3 billion, largely due to her beauty brand Rare Beauty, launched in 2019. Here's a list of her investments that enabled her to achieve this financial feat.

How many billionaires actually exist? ›

Wealth distribution

While there were a total of 3,194 billionaires worldwide in 2022, a high number of the world's population owns less than 10,000 U.S. dollars. As a result, nearly half of the world's wealth is owned by the richest percent, highlighting the issue of global inequality.

Are there billionaires no one knows about? ›

Meet the world's secretive billionaires who give stealth wealth a whole new meaning, from Ike Perlmutter to Philip Anschutz. Stealth wealth is all the rage when it comes to fashion, but for some billionaires, it's a way of life. These mega-rich personalities are notorious for avoiding the public eye.

What do most billionaires have in common? ›

The most common traits among billionaires are work ethic and refusal to give up.

Why are billionaires important? ›

Many of them have set up businesses or corporations which employ thousands of people and sell goods or services to millions of people.

Who is the oldest billionaire? ›

The average age of a billionaire is 66. The oldest list member is 102-year-old insurance tycoon George Joseph ($1.7 billion), one of 425 people who are 80 or older.

Who is the 19 year old billionaire? ›

Synopsis. A 19-year-old Brazilian student, Livia Voigt, claims the title of the world's youngest billionaire, surpassing Italian teen Clemente Del Vecchio. Voigt, heiress to a major electrical motors manufacturer, holds a net worth of $1.1 billion.

Who is a trillionaire in real life? ›

Elon Musk is on pace to become the world's first trillionaire. And that club could grow quickly over the next 10 years. There are, at present, no trillionaires on planet Earth, but that could change in the next two years, according to a new report from wealth-tracking service Informa Connect.

Are there female billionaires? ›

According to a 2021 billionaire census, women make up 11.9% of the billionaire cohort, and "just over half of all female billionaires are heiresses, with an additional 30% having a combination of inherited and created wealth." In the overall female billionaire cohort, 16.9% of billionaires are "self-made" and 53.5% ...

Can you become a trillionaire? ›

While there are a select number of billionaires on Earth, there are presently no trillionaires. However, Informa Connect recently reported that Musk has the highest odds of becoming a trillionaire in the not-so-distant future. It's indicated that his average net worth typically grows at a rate of 109.88% every year.

How intelligent are billionaires? ›

Millionaire IQ is 118 and Billionaire IQ is 133. Average for +10b is 151. Average for every one else is 100. So, if you inherent it, you won't have a high iq guaranteed.

Which billionaire came from nothing? ›

FRANCOIS PINAULT, LUXURY GOOD ENTREPRENEUR , Net worth: $15 billion, , Earlier in his lifetime, Pinault dropped out of high school due to receiving abuse for being poor. He would later go on to form PPR, a luxury brand that owns the likes of Gucci, Alexander McQueen, Yves Saint Laurent and Stella McCartney.

Who is the least known billionaire? ›

Discover the wealthiest people you've never heard of by continuing to read.
  • Amancio Ortega.
  • Net worth: $99.2 billion.
  • Gina Rinehart.
  • Net worth: $30.2 billion.
  • Susan Klatten.
  • Net worth: $23.4 billion.
  • Qin Yinglin.
  • Net worth: $14.3 billion.
Feb 10, 2024

Who was the first known billionaire? ›

John D. Rockefeller is often cited as the world's first billionaire, achieving that status in 1916 through his ownership of Standard Oil.

What is the most famous billionaire? ›

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, is the richest person and the richest man in the world with a net worth of $239 billion. After Musk is Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon. Other billionaires with some of the largest net worths include LVMH's Arnault, Microsoft's Bill Gates, and Oracle's Larry Ellison.

Who is the no. 1 richest person in the world? ›

2022
No.NameNet worth (USD)
1Elon Musk$219 billion
2Jeff Bezos$177 billion
3Bernard Arnault & family$158 billion
4Bill Gates$129 billion
6 more rows

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