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Mapping Out the Richest Billionaires in Each Country

by Carmen Ang
This post is by Carmen Ang from Visual Capitalist

Map of the richest billionaires in each country

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Mapping Out The Richest Billionaires in Each Country

While there are nearly 8 billion people in the world, just over 3,000 are billionaires as of November 2022. This tiny group of people is worth nearly $11.8 trillion—Equivalent to about 11.8% of global GDP.

Where do these billionaires live? This graphic by Truman Du uses data from Forbes to map out the richest billionaires around the world.

The Full List

As it turns out, billionaires are a lot more geographically concentrated than you might think.

In fact, of the 195 officially recognized countries around the world, only 76 are home to billionaires. And even within these countries, there’s vast disparities between the quantity of billionaires.

Here’s a breakdown of all the countries that have at least one billionaire. For countries with more than one, we’ve highlighted the billionaire with the highest net worth as of November 28, 2022:

Country/territoryNameNet worth ($B)Main source of wealth (sector)
🇩🇿 AlgeriaIssad Rebrab5.1food
🇦🇷 ArgentinaMarcos Galperin4.0e-commerce
🇦🇲 ArmeniaRuben Vardanyan1.3investment banking
🇦🇺 AustraliaGina Rinehart27.9mining
🇦🇹 AustriaGeorg Stumpf7.9real estate, construction
🇧🇩 BangladeshMuhammed Aziz Khan1.0power
🇧🇧 BarbadosRihanna1.4music, cosmetics
🇧🇪 BelgiumEric Wittouck9.0investments
🇧🇿 BelizeKenneth Dart4.0investments
🇧🇷 BrazilJorge Paulo Lemann15.6beer
🇧🇬 BulgariaGeorgi & Kiril Domuschiev1.9animal health, investments
🇨🇦 CanadaDavid Thomson53.2media
🇨🇱 ChileIris Fontbona19.6mining
🇨🇳 ChinaZhong Shanshan66.7beverages, pharmaceuticals
🇨🇴 ColombiaLuis Carlos (Read more...)

Ranked: The World’s Richest Billionaires Over the Past 10 Years

by Nick Routley
This post is by Nick Routley from Visual Capitalist

Infographic showing the richest billionaires of the past 10 years

Can I share this graphic?
Yes. Visualizations are free to share and post in their original form across the web—even for publishers. Please link back to this page and attribute Visual Capitalist.
When do I need a license?
Licenses are required for some commercial uses, translations, or layout modifications. You can even whitelabel our visualizations. Explore your options.
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Ranked: The World’s Richest Billionaires Over the Past 10 Years

The last decade has seen a number of changes in the world’s richest billionaires list.

For one, there are new faces at the top of the leaderboard that were never there before. One of the most obvious changes though, is that the richest billionaires have accumulated a lot more wealth in recent years.

Using annual data from Forbes on the richest billionaires, we’ve visualized the wealth and ranking of the top 10 billionaires over the past decade.

Who are the World’s Richest Billionaires?

While the pecking order has fluctuated, the leaderboard remains very exclusive. Out of a possible 10 spots, there are only 19 individuals that have made the list over the last decade.

Here’s the current list of richest billionaires in 2022, including when they first made the list (if in the last decade):

RankNameCountryNet Worth (2022)First Year on List*
#1Elon Musk🇺🇸 U.S.$219 billion2021
#2Jeff Bezos🇺🇸 U.S.$171 billion2016
#3Bernard Arnault🇫🇷 France$158 billion-
(Read more...)

Mapped: The Wealthiest Billionaire in Each U.S. State in 2022

by Aran Ali
This post is by Aran Ali from Visual Capitalist

View a higher resolution version of this map.

Graphic that shows the richest U.S. billionaire by each state in 2022

Mapped: The Wealthiest Billionaire in Each U.S. State in 2022

The U.S. is home to over a quarter of the world’s billionaires, representing about 720 of the roughly 2,700 that exist globally.

While the country has more billionaires than any other, the U.S. share of global billionaires has actually been shrinking in recent decades. In 2010, about 40% of the world’s billionaire population lived in America⁠—and today, that number is closer to 27%.

But who is the richest billionaire in every American state in 2022? This graphic uses data from Forbes to find out.

The Richest of the Rich

The billionaires on this list have made their fortune in a wide range of industries, including tech, automobiles, asset management, and video games.

Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk have had their relative fortunes fluctuate in tandem with Amazon and Tesla stock prices in recent years. The volatility in share prices has meant they’ve each carried the title of the world’s wealthiest person at varying points.

RankNameNet Worth
($B)		Residence (State)
#1Elon Musk272.0Texas
#2Jeff Bezos167.6Washington
#3Larry Ellison109.5Hawaii
#4Warren Buffett105.2Nebraska
#5Larry Page103.8California
#6Michael Bloomberg76.8New York
#7Jim Walton62.7Arkansas
#8Charles Koch57.9Kansas
#9Phil Knight & Family44.8Oregon
#10Jacqueline Mars33.4Virginia
#11John Mars33.4Wyoming
#12Miriam Adelson28.5Nevada
#13Ken Griffin27.3Illinois
#14Ray Dalio (Read more...)

The Richest People in Human History, to the Industrial Revolution

by Jeff Desjardins
This post is by Jeff Desjardins from Visual Capitalist

Click here or on the graphic to view the full-screen version.

The Richest People in Human History - Part 1

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The Richest People in Human History, to the Industrial Revolution

Click here for a larger, more legible version of the infographic that you can explore in-depth.

When we think of wealth today, we often think of the massive personal fortunes of business magnates like Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, or Warren Buffett. However, it is only since the Industrial Revolution that measuring wealth by one’s bank account has been a norm for the world’s richest.

For most of recorded human history, in fact, the lines around wealth were quite blurred. Leaders like Augustus Caesar or Emperor Shenzong had absolute control of their empires—while bankers like Jakob Fogger and Cosimo de Medici were often found pulling the strings from behind.

This infographic we created with Texas Precious Metals focuses on the richest people in history up until the Industrial Revolution, and it highlights key facts and anecdotes on how they created their wealth.

Is This List of People Definitive?

While it is certainly fun to speculate on the wealth of people from centuries past, putting together this list is exceptionally difficult and certainly not definitive.

Here’s why:

Firstly, much wealth in early periods is tied to land (Genghis Khan) or entire empires (Augustus, Akbar), which makes calculations extremely subjective. What is most of Asia’s land worth in the year 1219? What separates personal fortune from the riches of an empire that one has full control of? There are a (Read more...)

Ranked: The Top 10 Richest People on the Planet

by Carmen Ang
This post is by Carmen Ang from Visual Capitalist

Ranked: The Top 10 Richest People on the Planet

The Briefing

  • Elon Musk is currently the richest person in the world, with a total net worth of $198 billion as of Sept 21, 2021
  • Jeff Bezos comes in second place, with a net worth of $194 billion

Ranked: The Top 10 Richest People on the Planet

The top 10 richest people on the planet have a combined net worth of $1.4 trillion. For some context, that’s roughly the same size as Australia’s GDP.

Who are these ultra-wealthy individuals, and what’s the source of their wealth? Here’s a look at the top 10 richest people on the planet, and how they’ve made their billions.

Who’s in the $100 Billion Club?

Elon Musk is currently the richest of them all, with a total net worth of $198 billion. That’s $60 billion more than the entire group’s average of $138 billion.

RankNameTotal Net WorthCountryIndustrySource of Wealth
1Elon Musk$198 BU.S.TechnologyTesla, Space X
2Jeff Bezos$194 BU.S.TechnologyAmazon
3Bernard Arnault$157 BFranceConsumerLVMH
4Bill Gates$149 BU.S.TechnologyMicrosoft
5Mark Zuckerberg$132 BU.S.TechnologyFacebook
6Larry Page$124 BU.S.TechnologyGoogle
7Sergey Brin$119 BU.S.TechnologyGoogle
8Steve Ballmer$105 BU.S.TechnologyMicrosoft
9Larry Ellison$100 BU.S.TechnologyOracle
10Warren Buffett$100 BU.S.DiversifiedBerkshire Hathaway

This is fairly unsurprising considering how well Tesla stock has been performing over recent years. (Read more...)

France’s Bernard Arnault Becomes the World’s Richest Person

by Nick Routley
This post is by Nick Routley from Visual Capitalist

bernard arnault world's richest person

The Briefing

  • French billionaire, Bernard Arnault, became the world’s richest person with a net worth surpassing $186B
  • Arnault, whose fortunes are largely tied to luxury conglomerate LVMH, has seen a staggering 145% increase in his net worth since the beginning of the pandemic

France’s Bernard Arnault Becomes the World’s Richest Person

This week, French billionaire, Bernard Arnault, became the world’s richest person.

Arnault’s rise into top spot is particularly noteworthy since American billionaires – particularly in the technology sector – have dominated the world’s richest people ranking for a number of years. Amazon’s Jeff Bezos remains neck-and-neck with Arnault, with Elon Musk still within striking distance.

RankNameCountryNet Worth (May 24, 2021)
1Bernard Arnault?? France$186.3 billion
2Jeff Bezos?? United States$186.0 billion
3Elon Musk?? United States$147.3 billion

Jeff Bezos began 2021 in top spot, but has been challenged by both Elon Musk and Bernard Arnault. The former took a hit after Tesla’s stock began to cool off after hitting a record high in Q1 2021.

Arnault’s name may be new to some, but he has been on of the top five richest people globally since 2018, and has been a billionaire for well over a decade. The French tycoon got his start in the fashion space by parlaying a fortune made in construction into the purchase of Christian Dior in 1985.

Vive la France

Bernard Arnault oversees an empire that includes many iconic French luxury brands, including; Louis Vuitton, Dom Pérignon, and Christian (Read more...)

Mapped: The Top 10 Billionaire Cities

by Avery Koop
This post is by Avery Koop from Visual Capitalist

top 10 cities for billionaires

Can I share this graphic?
Yes. Visualizations are free to share and post in their original form across the web—even for publishers. Please link back to this page and attribute Visual Capitalist.
When do I need a license?
Licenses are required for some commercial uses, translations, or layout modifications. You can even whitelabel our visualizations. Explore your options.
Interested in this piece?
Click here to license this visualization.

Mapped: The Top 10 Billionaire Cities in 2020

In 2020, the world gained 493 new billionaires—that’s one every 17 hours.

For the last seven years, New York City has been home to more billionaires than any other city in the world. However, last year marked a monumental shift in the status quo.

Beijing has unseated the Big Apple, and is now home to 100 billionaires. That’s one more billionaire than the 99 living in New York City.

Today’s map uses data from Forbes to display the top 10 cities that house the most billionaires.

Where do the Most Billionaires Live?

The richest of the rich are quite concentrated in cities, but some cities seem to best suit the billionaire lifestyle. Here’s a breakdown of the top 10 billionaire capitals and the collective net worth of all the ultra wealthy that live there.

RankCityRegionNumber of BillionairesNet Worth of the City's Billionaires
#1Beijing?? Asia100$484.3B
#2New York City?? North America99$560.5B
#3Hong Kong?? Asia80$448.4B
#4Moscow?? Europe (Read more...)

Visualized: The Richest Families in America

by Avery Koop
This post is by Avery Koop from Visual Capitalist

Top 50 Richest Families in America

Visualizing the Richest Families in America

When we think about the richest people in America, individual names often come to mind like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Bill Gates. But often, it’s the the richest families in America that hold a deeper legacy, and sometimes, even deeper pockets.

The country’s 50 richest families hold a collective wealth of $1.2 trillion. This ranking goes beyond nuclear family units and self-made fortunes, and it instead measures the wealth of multi-generational or extended families.

Our visualization, which leverages the latest data from Forbes, reveals the wealthiest families in America and the enterprises that helped them earn their billions.

Editor’s note on methodology: in this ranking, Forbes leaves out self-made entrepreneurs that appear with their nuclear families on the billionaires list. For example, Jeff Bezos founded Amazon and Rupert Murdoch founded News Corp, but these successes did not come from family wealth that was passed down to them.

Family Matters

Say the name Rockefeller or Vanderbilt, and everyone knows who you’re talking about—but how do these household names hold up in the modern rankings?

Below are the 50 richest families in America, based on net worth:

RankFamilyNet WorthOrigin of Wealth 
#1Walton Family$247.0BWalmart
#2Koch Family$100.0BKoch Industries 
#3Mars Family$94.0BMars Inc. 
#4Cargill-MacMillan Family$47.0BCargill Inc. 
#5Lauder Family$40.0BEstee Lauder 
#6S.C. Johnson Family$37.0BSC Johnson
#7Edward Johnson Family$36.0BFidelity
#8Cox Family$34.5BCox Enterprises
(Read more...)