The life of rich people causes, at a minimum, curiosity, and more often even hot (almost aggressive) envy. According to Forbes magazine, today there is the following interesting trend: the highest positions among the richest people in the world are held by self-made man - not hereditary billionaires who inherited wealth, but talented businessmen and entrepreneurs who earned their first capital and increased it only by their personal efforts .
In 2018, there are already 67% of those on the Forbes list (or 1,490 people out of 2208, that is, two-thirds). Another trend: the general list of billionaires is constantly growing, and fast enough, - so, compared to 2017, in 2018 there were 165 more people; their total capital is also growing at a rapid pace: in 2017 - $ 7.7 trillion, and in 2018 - already 9.1 trillion (an average of $ 4.1 billion for each, more than the GDP of some countries).
The latest ranking of the wealthiest people on the planet Forbes presented March 6, 2018. Let's get acquainted with the top ten coolest businessmen in the world who have earned the most impressive amounts - you need to know these people by sight.
10. Larry Allison
The state of this talented businessman in the field of IT-technologies is estimated at 58.5 billion dollars. A guy from New York (born in 1944), brought up by foster parents, completely made himself. Back in school, Larry showed a clear calling for programming. He very quickly caught the latest trends in this new discipline, and also presented his (and very interesting) ideas. Larry Ellison entered two universities (Illinois and Chicago), but never completed a single one. However, he was taken to Ampex Corporation by a programmer. And soon, fate gave the guy “that chance” - Ampex received an order from the CIA to develop a very specific database, and Larry Ellison brilliantly dealt with it. In 1977, Larry (with Ampex colleague Robert Miner), founded Oracle - his own IT company engaged in the development of various software. Over the next 10 years, Oracle has grown into a huge corporation. In 2014, Larry Ellison stepped down as its CEO (remaining a member of the board of directors and technical director) and took up other things: now he is focused on the development of cloud technologies, which brought his corporation an 18% share growth in just one year. Allison does not refuse help to those who need it: for example, in 2016, he donated $ 200 million for research on creating a cancer drug to the University of Southern California.
9. David Koch
David Koch (born in 1940) has a capital of $ 60 billion and is vice president and co-owner (with brother Charles) of Koch Industries, an international corporation founded by Fred Koch in 1940 (the second largest private company in the United States). A diversified holding company oversees several areas at once: it produces both everyday goods (paper cups and towels) and polymers, fertilizers, and other chemical products, manages oil and gas refineries, builds pipelines, etc. In addition, at the end of 2017, the corporation bought Time for one of the most influential magazines in the world for $ 2.8 billion. David Koch is a "stubborn" Republican, he is a generous sponsor of the American "party of elephants." Also, the billionaire willingly donates to education and science: allocated $ 25 million for scholarships to gifted African-American students; previously donated $ 1.2 billion to a cancer program, etc.
8. Charles Koch
The elder brother of David Koch, Charles (born in 1935), is precisely the person to whom Koch Industries owes mainly prosperity. Good half a century - since 1967 - he is its permanent head. Charles Koch (whose fortune, like that of his brother, is estimated at $ 60 billion) is one of the most influential people in the United States. He takes an active part in many political events in the country, supports interaction with other major American businessmen, etc. In addition, Charles Koch is known as a man who does not stop at anything in achieving his goals: for example, he and David have been suing his other brothers for 12 years in order to completely redeem their shares in his father’s business (and got their own). The head of Koch Industries also participates in charity events and programs: for example, he established a personal fund to support humanitarian, social and economic research.
7. Carlos Slim Elu
Born in Mexico in 1940 in a realtor's family, this ingenious investor earned his first million by 17 years. Today he has a capital of $ 67.1 billion and is the richest man in his country (and until recently, he was one of the top five richest people on the planet). His father was a good businessman, - in 1950 he opened a department store in Mexico City and actively introduced his children to the business: for example, Carlos was obliged to keep profit and expense records in a special notebook and evaluate the success of employees. So the future billionaire received the first training. After graduating from the National University, Carlos Elu made a successful investment in the insurance business, and also bought a chain of hotels and shops Sunborns. Now the main source of his considerable income is the "number 1 mobile operator" in Latin America - America Movil. In addition, Carlos Slim Elu owns shares in mining companies, construction and real estate companies, banks, manufacturers of everyday goods, has a 17% stake in the New York Times, etc. As a recognized philanthropist, he pays impressive sums to support education and medicine, as well as poverty reduction in Mexico and neighboring countries. By the way, Carlos Slim Elu is an ardent opponent of Donald Trump as a politician (and as the president of the United States).
6. Amancio Ortega
Amancio Ortega (born in 1936) - the main rich man in Europe and the most successful retailer in the world, has a fortune of 70 billion. He grew up in Leon (Spain) in the family of a railwayman and a servant. Trying to help parents make ends meet, Amancio, from the age of 13, served as a messenger in a clothing store. At the next place of work, he mastered cutting and sewing, became an assistant to one of the Italian fashion designers, and a little later - the manager of a clothing store. There he came up with the idea of his own business. Starting with the manufacture of a batch of costumes for his patterns and its successful sale, Ortega earned his first capital. In 1975, he founded the first Zara brand store. His company first specialized in the production of underwear and bathrobes. Now Zara has more than 200 stores in 48 countries offering casual clothing (the company is especially known for managing to completely change its product line more than once in a year). In addition, Amancio Ortega owns the brands Bershka, Massimo Dutti and 6 other brands of fashionable clothes (in total, he has more than 7000 outlets around the world). Now he is investing in luxury real estate in Spain, the UK, USA, etc., which also brings him considerable income.
5. Mark Zuckerberg
At 34, this most tastelessly dressed (from the point of view of GQ magazine) resident of Silicon Valley is one of the youngest billionaires: his “savings” today are estimated at more than 71 billion. The future founder of the world's most popular social network grew up in a family of doctors . Zuckerberg was seriously interested in programming as a child: in high school, he developed an online version of a well-known computer game. After two years of study at the Department of Psychology at Harvard, Mark realized that his passion for computers and everything connected with them was much stronger. At this time, he was first noticed by Microsoft (Zuckerberg created a program that independently composed a music playlist for its owner, based on his preferences). In 2004, at the age of 19, Mark came up with Facebook, which still brings him the main income. In addition, today he owns the popular WhatsApp messenger, an application with the elements of the social network Instagram, the company Oculus VR (engaged in the production of virtual reality helmets), etc. Mark Zuckerberg became one of the three most generous philanthropists in the world (after Warren Buffett and Bill Gates): for example, in 2015 he gave $ 25 million to develop a cure for the Ebola virus.
4. Bernard Arnault
The future French billionaire Bernard Arnault (born in 1949) was supposed to take control of his father's small construction business. But the guy decided differently: he sold his father’s company and left for the United States in order to master the basic details of doing business. After returning to his native land, Bernard bought out the freshly bankrupt company Boussac and since then has been increasing its capital by actively buying up shares of luxury goods companies (now its fortune is $ 72 billion). In 2018, Arnaud made a huge leap, breaking into the top five richest people in the world from the top ten: the main reason for this achievement was the fact that he, in addition to the already owned companies LVMH, Moët, Hennessy, Louis Vuitton, etc. (more than 70 luxury brands in total ) recently “bought” Christian Dior, which sharply increased the value of its shares and the total amount of capital.
3. Warren Buffett
Today, the fortune of the most famous investor in the world - 87-year-old Warren Buffet - is 84 billion. Since childhood, Warren has had high hopes - he graduated from high school, at 11 he received the first profit from three purchased shares sold at $ 5 more, from this of age worked as a peddler of newspapers. Buffett also graduated from the University of Nebraska as an external student, then also studied at Columbia University, eventually becoming the most successful financier in the world (for his excellent intuition, Buffett is often called the “Omaha oracle”). His investment holding Berkshire Hathaway holds stakes in 60+ large and well-known companies (including Geico, IBM, Fruit of the Loom, Coca-Cola, Dairy Queen, Bank of America and others). At the same time, Buffett is a co-founder of the “Oath of Gift”, a philanthropic club whose members swear to spend at least 50% of their personal capital on charity. Buffett fulfills his oath - he has already donated more than 30 billion.
2. Bill Gates
This person does not need a special introduction: the 63-year-old “father” of Microsoft (1975), the most famous computer software company in the world, now owns only 3% of the shares of his brainchild. The remaining considerable revenues (the total amount of which has already reached $ 90 billion) are brought to him by investments in shares of other companies - Deere (mechanical engineering), Republic Services (waste disposal), AutoNation (car dealership), Ecolab (cosmetics), Redmond (household appliances) , Canadian National Railways, etc. Together with his friend and business partner at Berkshire Hathaway Investment Holding Company Warren Buffett, Bill Gates is a co-founder of the Gift Vow - he has already spent more than $ 30 billion on school education, research, healthcare and poverty alleviation.
1. Jeff Bezos
Bill Gates received the title of the richest man in the world 18 times in 23 years, but in 2018 he was decisively squeezed on the podium by Jeff Bezos, who founded Amazon.com in 1994, one of the world's first (and currently largest) online store. All this time, Bezos, of course, is its CEO. This year, Jeff Bezos’s fortune reached a crazy 12-digit figure - 112 billion dollars (and he was the first person in the world to earn SUCH money). A triumphant climb to the top provided him with an almost 60% increase in the stock of his “brainchild” - in just 1 year Amazon became more expensive by 39.2 billion. In addition, recently Bezos has been passionately carried away by potential space travel: his second company, Blue Origin - produces expensive scientific research on the development of reusable passenger ships. Bezos finances NASA projects: for example, it helps to get parts of fallen space modules from the bottom of the ocean.