The 34th annual Forbes’ World’s Billionaires List was released recently. And no surprises for guessing who topped the list for the third time in a row!
Founder of the e-commerce behemoth, Jeff Bezos topped the list for the third consecutive time with a net worth of $113 billion. This is despite the fact that he handed over $36 billion worth of his Amazon shares to his ex-wife MacKenzie Bezos as part of their divorce settlement.
Which billionaires were among the top 5?
He was followed by philanthropist and entrepreneur Bill Gates of Microsoft, who has now stepped down from his positions in the organization to focus on philanthropy full time. French entrepreneur and owner of the luxury goods conglomerate LVHM, Bernard Arnault was listed third on the list with a net worth of $76 billion. He was followed by Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway, whose net worth is $67.5 billion. In the fifth spot was Larry Ellison, the founder, Chairman and Chief Technology officer of Oracle Corporation, with a net worth of $59 billion.
The first 10 on the list were all from the United States except for Bernard Arnault of France and Amancio Ortega of Spain – the owner of the retail brand Zara – who was listed on number 6 with a net worth of $55.1 billion.
The highest ranked woman on the list was Alice Walton of Walmart, with a net worth of $54.4 billion, who was listed on number 9.
Newcomers on the list
There were some notable newcomers on the list, which include Julia Koch with a net worth of $38.2 billion, who inherited a 42 per cent stake in Koch Industries after her husband David Koch passed away last year. Meanwhile, MacKenzie Bezos, the former wife of the richest man Jeff Bezos of Amazon, also found a place on the list with a net worth of $36 billion.
Here is a list of the top 10 billionaires for 2020:
| Name of billionaire | Net Worth | Country | Organization | Sector |
| Jeff Bezos | $113 billion | United States | Amazon | Technology |
| Bill Gates | $98 billion | United States | Microsoft | Technology |
| Bernard Arnault and Family | $76 billion | France | LVHM | Fashion & Retail |
| Warren Buffett | $67.5 billion | United States | Berkshire Hathaway | Finance |
| Larry Ellison | $59 billion | United States | Oracle | Technology |
| Amancio Ortega | $55.1 billion | Spain | Zara | Fashion & Retail |
| Mark Zuckerberg | $54.7 billion | United States | Technology | |
| Jim Walton | $54.6 billion | United States | Walmart | Retail |
| Alice Walton | $54.4 billion | United States | Walmart | Retail |
| Rob Walton | $54.1 billion | United States | Walmart | Retail |
On the whole, a total of 2,095 billionaires found their names on the 2020 list. This number, however, is lesser than the 2,153 from the previous year. Also, the total combined net worth of this year’s billionaires has also reduced to $8 trillion this year from the $8.7 trillion last year.
In terms of the region, the Asia-Pacific region had the most number of billionaires with a total of 778. This was followed by the United States, which boasts of 614 billionaires, followed by Europe with a total of 511.
To read the entire list, click here.
