The World's Billionaires 2015

The World's Billionaires 2015 edition was the 29th annual ranking of The World's Billionaires by Forbes magazine. The list estimated the net worth of the world's richest people. The new list was released online on March 2, 2015. As of 2015, Bill Gates had been placed at the top of this list 16 times.

Annual list

Bill Gates was again named the richest person in the world in Forbes Magazine's annual list of the world's billionaires. This is the 16th time that the founder of Microsoft has claimed the top spot. Carlos Slim, Mexican business magnate, came in second as he had in 2014. Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway placed third while the founder of Zara, Amancio Ortega of Spain, slipped down a position from last year to number four. Larry Ellison, the founder of Oracle rounded off the top five. Christy Walton was the highest ranking female at number eight. America's Evan Spiegel, co-founder of photo messaging app Snapchat, became the youngest billionaire this year at the age of 24. At age 99, David Rockefeller maintained his position as the oldest billionaire to make the list.[1]

In the 29th annual list of global billionaires, ist.cord 1,826 billionaires were named with an aggregated net worth of $7.05 trillion, up from $6.4 trillion in 2014. 46 of the billionaires on the list are under the age of 40. A record number of 290 people joined the list for the first time, of whom 25% hail from China, which produced a world-leading 71 newcomers. The United States came in second, with 57, followed by India, with 28, and Germany, with 23.[2] Mark Zuckerberg, the social media magnate and founder of Facebook, was placed at number 16 with $33.4 billion. Self-made billionaires made up the largest number of people on the list with 1,191 positions while just 230 came into their wealth through inheritance. The number of billionaires who inherited a portion but are still working to increase their fortunes is 405.[3]

The United States has the largest number of billionaires. The number of Russian billionaires declined the most; being down to 76 billionaires from 111 of 2014. Russia is now placed behind China, Germany and India. Iceland again has a billionaire in the list after a gap of five years with the entry of Björgólfur Thor Björgólfsson. Guatemala has a billionaire, Mario Lopez Estrada, for the first time in history.

Monarchs and other royalty are not included in the list.

Wealth rankings

Legend
Icon Description
Steady Has not changed from the previous year's list
Increase Has increased from the previous year's list
Decrease Has decreased from the previous year's list
No. name Net worth (USD) Age Citizenship Source(s) of wealth Image
1 Steady Bill Gates $79.2 billion Increase 60 United States Microsoft
2 Steady Carlos Slim $77.1 billion Increase 75 Mexico Telmex
3 Increase Warren Buffett $72.7 billion Increase 84 United States Berkshire Hathaway
4 Decrease Amancio Ortega $64.5 billion Increase 78 Spain Inditex Group
5 Steady Larry Ellison $54.3 billion Increase 70 United States Oracle Corporation
6 Steady Charles Koch $42.9 billion Increase 79 United States Koch Industries
6 Steady David Koch $42.9 billion Increase 74 United States Koch Industries
8 Increase Christy Walton $41.7 billion Increase 60 United States Wal-Mart
9 Increase Jim Walton $40.6 billion Increase 66 United States Wal-Mart
10 Increase Liliane Bettencourt $40.1 billion Increase 92 France L'Oreal

Top 100[1]

No. Name Citizenship Age Net Worth USD billion Source(s) of wealth
1 Bill Gates United States 59 79.20 Microsoft
2 Carlos Slim Helu Mexico 75 77.10 Telecom
3 Warren Buffett United States 84 72.70 Berkshire Hathaway
4 Amancio Ortega Spain 78 64.50 Zara
5 Larry Ellison United States 70 54.30 Oracle
6 Charles Koch United States 79 42.90 Diversified
6 David Koch United States 74 42.90 Diversified
8 Christy Walton United States 60 41.70 Wal-Mart
9 Jim Walton United States 67 40.60 Wal-Mart
10 Liliane Bettencourt France 92 40.10 L'Oréal
11 Alice Walton United States 65 39.40 Wal-Mart
12 S. Robson Walton United States 71 39.10 Wal-Mart
13 Bernard Arnault France 66 37.20 LVMH
14 Michael Bloomberg United States 73 35.50 Bloomberg LP
15 Jeff Bezos United States 51 34.80 Amazon.com
16 Mark Zuckerberg United States 30 33.40 Facebook
17 Li Ka-shing Hong Kong 86 33.30 Diversified
18 Sheldon Adelson United States 81 31.40 Casinos
19 Larry Page United States 41 29.70 Google
20 Sergey Brin United States 41 29.20 Google
21 Georg Schaeffler Germany 50 26.90 Ball bearings
22 Forrest Mars, Jr. United States 83 26.60 Food
22 Jacqueline Mars United States 75 26.60 Food
22 John Franklyn Mars United States 78 26.60 Food
25 David Thomson Canada 57 25.50 Media
26 Jorge Paulo Lemann Brazil 75 25.00 Beer
27 Lee Shau Kee Hong Kong 87 24.80 Real estate
28 Stefan Persson Sweden 67 24.50 H&M
29 George Soros United States 84 24.20 Hedge funds
29 Wang Jianlin China 60 24.20 Real Estate
31 Carl Icahn United States 79 23.50 Investments
32 Maria Franca Fissolo Italy 97 23.40 Nutella, chocolates
33 Jack Ma China 50 22.70 E-commerce
34 Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud Saudi Arabia 59 22.60 Investments
35 Steve Ballmer United States 58 21.50 Microsoft
35 Phil Knight United States 77 21.50 Nike
37 Beate Heister & Karl Albrecht Jr. Germany n/a 21.30 Supermarkets
38 Li Hejun China 47 21.10 Solar power equipment
39 Mukesh Ambani India 57 21.00 Petrochemicals, oil & gas
40 Leonardo Del Vecchio Italy 79 20.40 Eyeglasses
41 Len Blavatnik United States 57 20.20 Diversified
41 Tadashi Yanai Japan 66 20.20 Retail
43 Charles Ergen United States 62 20.10 Dish Network
44 Dilip Shanghvi India 59 20.00 Pharmaceuticals
45 Laurene Powell Jobs United States 51 19.50 Apple, Disney
46 Dieter Schwarz Germany 75 19.40 Retail
47 Michael Dell United States 50 19.20 Dell
48 Azim Premji India 69 19.10 Software
49 Theo Albrecht, Jr. Germany 64 19.00 Aldi, Trader Joe's
50 Michael Otto Germany 71 18.10 Retail, real estate
51 Paul Allen United States 62 17.50 Microsoft, investments
52 Joseph Safra Brazil 76 17.30 Banking
53 Anne Cox Chambers United States 95 17.00 Media
54 Susanne Klatten Germany 52 16.80 BMW, pharmaceuticals
55 Pallonji Mistry Ireland 85 16.30 Construction
56 Ma Huateng China 43 16.10 Internet media
57 Patrick Drahi France 51 16.00 Telecom
58 Thomas & Raymond Kwok Hong Kong n/a 15.90 Real estate
59 Stefan Quandt Germany 48 15.60 BMW
60 Ray Dalio United States 65 15.40 Hedge funds
60 Vladimir Potanin Russia 54 15.40 Metals
62 Serge Dassault France 89 15.30 Aviation
62 Robin Li China 46 15.30 Internet search
64 Donald Bren United States 82 15.20 Real estate
65 Francois Pinault France 78 14.90 Retail
66 Shiv Nadar India 69 14.80 Information technology
67 Aliko Dangote Nigeria 57 14.70 Cement, sugar, flour
68 Mikhail Fridman Russia 50 14.60 Oil, banking, telecom
69 Hinduja brothers United Kingdom n/a 14.50 Diversified
69 Ronald Perelman United States 72 14.50 Leveraged buyouts
71 Cheng Yu-tung Hong Kong 89 14.40 Diversified
71 Alisher Usmanov Russia 61 14.40 Steel & mining, telecom, investments
73 Henry Sy Philippines 90 14.20 Diversified
73 Viktor Vekselberg Russia 57 14.20 Metals, energy
75 Masayoshi Son Japan 57 14.10 Internet, telecom
76 James Simons United States 76 14.00 Hedge funds
77 German Larrea Mota Velasco Mexico 61 13.90 Mining
77 Rupert Murdoch United States 83 13.90 Media
77 Johanna Quandt Germany 88 13.90 BMW
80 David & Simon Reuben United Kingdom 72 13.70 Investments, real estate
81 Dhanin Chearavanont Thailand 75 13.60 Food
82 Iris Fontbona Chile 72 13.50 Mining
82 Lui Che Woo Hong Kong 85 13.50 Casinos
82 Lakshmi Mittal India 64 13.50 Steel
85 Abigail Johnson United States 53 13.40 Money management
85 Luis Carlos Sarmiento Colombia 82 13.40 Banking
87 Lei Jun China 45 13.20 Smartphones
87 Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi Thailand 70 13.20 Beverages
89 Alexey Mordashov Russia 49 13.00 Steel, investments
89 Marcel Herrmann Telles Brazil 65 13.00 Beer
91 Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor United Kingdom 63 12.60 Real estate
92 Hans Rausing Sweden 88 12.50 Packaging
92 Jack Taylor United States 92 12.50 Enterprise Rent-A-Car
94 Charles Butt United States 77 12.30 Supermarkets
94 Gina Rinehart Australia 61 12.30 Mining
96 Vagit Alekperov Russia 64 12.20 Lukoil
96 Harold Hamm United States 69 12.20 Oil & gas
96 Patrick Soon-Shiong United States 63 12.20 Pharmaceuticals
99 Stefano Pessina Italy 73 12.10 Drugstores
100 Richard Kinder United States 70 12.00 Pipelines
100 Elon Musk United States 43 12.00 Tesla Motors
100 Stephen Schwarzman United States 68 12.00 Investments

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "The World's Billionaires". Forbes.com. March 3, 2015. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
  2. ^ Alexander, Dan (2 March 2015). "Record 290 Newcomers Join Forbes Billionaires List, Including Michael Jordan". Forbes.com.
  3. ^ Kerry A. Dolan (March 2, 2015). "The World's Billionaires". Forbes.com. Retrieved March 2, 2015.