By Kerry A. Dolan and Luisa Kroll
(see more credits and acknowledgments below)
Volatile stock markets, cratering oil prices and a stronger dollar led to a dynamic reshuffling of wealth
around the globe and a drop in ten-figure fortunes for the first time since 2009. For our 30th annual guide to the world’s richest, we found 1,810 billionaires, down from a record 1,826 a year ago. Their aggregate net worth was $6.48 trillion, $570 billion less than last year. It was also the first time since 2010 that the average net worth of a billionaire dropped – it is now $3.6 billion, $300 million less than last year.
(see more credits and acknowledgments below)
Volatile stock markets, cratering oil prices and a stronger dollar led to a dynamic reshuffling of wealth
around the globe and a drop in ten-figure fortunes for the first time since 2009. For our 30th annual guide to the world’s richest, we found 1,810 billionaires, down from a record 1,826 a year ago. Their aggregate net worth was $6.48 trillion, $570 billion less than last year. It was also the first time since 2010 that the average net worth of a billionaire dropped – it is now $3.6 billion, $300 million less than last year.
The reshuffling starts at the top. Only 2 people in the top 20 managed to hold onto their ranks. Bill Gates remains the richest person in the world with a net worth of $75 billion, despite being $4.2 billion poorer than a year ago. He has been No. 1 one for 3 years in a row and topped the list 17 out of 22 years. (In the 30 years FORBES has tracked global wealth, only 5 people have held the title of richest person on planet; 3 of those 5 still rank among the 4 richest in the world including Warren Buffett and Carlos Slim.) Also holding steady is Buffett at No. 3. Zara ’s Amancio Ortega moves up to No. 2 for the first time, displacing Mexico’s Carlos Slim, who slips to No. 4. Slim’s fortune fell $27.1 billion to $50 billion in the past year, as shares of his telecom business América Móvil tumbled.
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View the full list of 2016 billionaire rankings here.
Among the most notable newcomers are Cameron Mackintosh, the first theater producer to make the billionaire ranks; WeWork’s Adam Neumann and Miguel McKelvey and Pinterest’s Ben Silbermann and Evan Sharp. Neumann, Silbermann and Sharp are 3 of a record 66 billionaires under the age of 40. The youngest billionaire in the world is a 19-year-old Norwegain heiress, Alexandra Andresen, who has a 42% stake in her family’s business. Her sister Katharina is second youngest, just 20.
Another new entrant worth mentioning is Zhou Qunfei, whose $5.9 billion fortune from smartphone screens is enough to make her the richest self-made woman in the world. She is one of 190 women in the list, down from 197 last year. Among the notable drop-offs are fashion designer Tory Burch, Sam Adams chief Jim Koch and Dick’s Sporting Goods head Edward Stack.
The U.S. has 540 billionaires, more than any other country in the world. It’s followed by mainland China with 251 (Hong Kong has another 69) and Germany with 120. Russia has 77, ten-figure fortunes, 11 fewer than last year, while Brazil is down 23 to 31.
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