Forbes magazine, which annually publishes the world ranking of billionaires, has published the thirtieth anniversary edition of the ranking. As noted in the publication itself, the new rating reflects the relatively difficult situation in the global economy.
In total, the fortune of the billionaires from the list is estimated at 6.48 trillion dollars - this figure is less than last year by 570 billion. In addition, the average fortune of billionaires has fallen since last year - by 300 million dollars to 3.6 billion.
All this, the compilers of the list write, has led to noticeable changes in its composition, which can already be seen in the example of the top ten.
New Forbes ranking: top ten
| Name | A country | Business | State |
| 1. Bill Gates | USA | Software, investments | $75 billion |
| 2. Amancio Ortega | Spain | Textile, clothing | $67 billion |
| 3. Warren Buffett | USA | Investments | $60.8 billion |
| 4. Carlos Slim | Mexico | Telecom, media, investments | $53.2 billion |
| 5. Jeff Bezos | USA | Internet trading, investments | $45.2 billion |
| 6. Mark Zuckerberg | USA | Social media | $44.6 billion |
| 7. Larry Ellison | USA | Software | $43.6 billion |
| 8. Michael Bloomberg | USA | mass media | $40 billion |
| 9. Charles Coke | USA | Oil, minerals, investments | $41 billion |
| 10. David Coke | USA | Oil, minerals, investments | $41 billion |
First place, like last year, is occupied by Microsoft founder Bill Gates. His fortune over the past year has decreased by 4.2 billion dollars.
Gates has long expanded his investment portfolio, acquiring stakes in Canada's national railroad operator, farm equipment manufacturer Deere and Company, and a number of environmental firms. As a result, Microsoft, in which Gates now owns a stake of less than 3%, has ceased to be the main source of his income: the company, according to Forbes authors, brings Gates only 20% of his income.
Image copyright getty Image caption Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has become one of the most successful billionaires this year, earning about $11 billion.Spaniard Amancio Ortega, the founder of Zara, came in second on the list, making him the world's richest retail chain owner.
Ortega owns the brands Zara, Massimo Dutti and Pull&Bear. Last year, the Spaniard, whom competitors call the most innovative and dangerous retailer in the world, ranked 4th in the ranking.
Separately, Forbes notes the steady growth in the fortune of Internet billionaires - the creator of the social network Facebook Mark Zuckerberg and the founder of the Amazon.com online store Joseph Bezos. Zuckerberg, in particular, climbed up the list by 10 positions at once, increasing his fortune by $ 11 billion in a year.
Rich Russians
Changes have also taken place in the list of the richest citizens of Russia over the past year. It has a new leader - Leonid Mikhelson, co-owner of SIBUR and Novatek, who last year ranked only seventh in the ranking of the richest Russians.
In the global list of billionaires, Michelson, with a fortune of $ 14.4 billion, appears in 60th place.
Mikhail Fridman, the main owner of the Alfa Group consortium, follows Mikhelson at 63rd place in the global ranking. The fortune of the businessman, who, in addition to Alfa-Bank, owns the Perekrestok, Pyaterochka and Beeline brands is estimated at $13.3 billion.
Last year, Fridman ranked second in the ranking of Russian billionaires.
New Forbes rating: Russians
| Name | Business | State | Place in the global ranking |
| Leonid Mikhelson | Oil and gas | $14.4 billion | 60 |
| Mikhail Fridman | Oil and gas, banks, telecom | $13.3 billion | 63 |
| Alisher Usmanov | Metals, telecom | $13.3 billion | 73 |
| Vladimir Potanin | Metals | $12.1 billion | 78 |
| Gennady Timchenko | Oil and gas | $11.4 billion | 85 |
| Alexey Mordashov | Investments, metals | $10.9 billion | 93 |
| Viktor Vekselberg | Metals, investments | $13.3 billion | 98 |
| Vladimir Lisin | Metals, logistics | $9.3 billion | 116 |
| Vagit Alekperov | Oil and gas | $8.9 billion | 124 |
| German Khan | Banks, investments | $8.7 billion | 128 |
The new leader of the Russian list Leonid Mikhelson over the past year has risen from seventh place immediately to first. According to analysts, his companies - Novatek and SIBUR - showed good results for the year.
According to Mikhail Krutikhin, a partner at the Rusenergy consulting company, the growth in the capitalization of Michelson's companies over the past year can be called organic. “The Novatek company itself is doing very well. It has actually monopolized the export of gas condensate from Russia and has a very good business in this direction,” says Krutikhin.
However, as the analyst points out, there are two projects in the company's portfolio with a certain political component: Yamal LNG and the Amur gas processing plant project.
"Here it is undeniable that there are factors that can be called the Russian word" protection ", that is, the political leadership of the country is sensitive to the well-being of such projects in which close friends and relatives are tied," says Krutikhin.
Image copyright RIA Novosti Image caption Leonid Mikhelson at a meeting with President Vladimir Putin, January 18, 2016SIBUR is also linked to an anti-corruption lawsuit filed by opposition leader Alexei Navalny against President Vladimir Putin.
According to Navalny, based on an investigation published by Reuters in November, Kirill Shamalov, a member of the SIBUR board of directors, is the spouse of the alleged Katerina Tikhonova and in this case should be the son-in-law of the president.
Who are they - people whose names do not leave the pages of Forbes, and whose rapid career is admired by millions? Who this year promises to break records in terms of well-being and who should we, “mere mortals”, be equal to? We bring to your attention the TOP 10 richest people in the world 2018 of the year.
10 Michael Bloomberg
Opens the ranking of the richest people in the world in 2018, the former mayor of New York, American Michael Bloomberg with a fortune of 47.5 billion dollars. The main source of his income is the Bloomberg LP corporation, which provides information services. Like the vast majority of the world's richest people, Bloomberg is actively involved in charity work and donates funds to various causes.
9
The brother of a person who is one step higher in our rating. The amount of capital of a 76-year-old man is 48.3 billion dollars. The main source of profit is the same Koch Industries holding, established in 1940.
Both brothers are members of the Republican Party, which they actively sponsor. They do not spare money for education, in every possible way supporting gifted students who come from poor families.
8
The eighth place in the list of the richest people in the world in 2017 according to Forbes is the American Charles Koch, whose fortune was estimated at 48.3 billion. Together with his brother, this 81-year-old man owns Koch Industries, a diversified holding company that has grown into a tiny oil refinery founded by his father. In addition to business interests, the billionaire, despite his advanced age, is interested in politics and regularly donates funds to charity.
7 Larry Ellison
The 72-year-old American has multiplied his wealth by $13.3 billion over the past year, bringing his net worth to $61 billion.
Mr. Ellison is a well-known software developer who, despite his talent, never managed to graduate from university. He was made a billionaire by Oracle, which is now focused on improving cloud services.
Ellison's hobby is sailing, in which the richest man on the planet willingly invests money. He does not spare money for charity: last year, the businessman promised the University of California $ 200 million for the creation of an effective cure for cancer.
6
Another representative of the ranking of the richest people in the world in 2017 is a Mexican billionaire with a capital of $65.1 billion. The main source of income for this 77-year-old man is Telecom. In addition, Mr. Slim invests in Mexican development, mining, and consumer goods. He also owns a 17 percent stake in The New York Times.
5 Mark Zuckerberg
One of the youngest billionaires in the world, whose net worth is $72.9 billion. The source of such an impressive amount is the world famous social network Facebook, which Mark created at the age of 19, almost 13 years ago.
Today, the billionaire is actively involved in the management of his offspring and oversees major acquisitions of other Internet giants. Not so long ago, the Zuckerberg couple became parents, in connection with which they promised to donate 99 percent of their wealth to charity.
4
The 80-year-old Spaniard boasts a fortune of $76.4 billion, which has increased by $4.3 billion in the last year alone. Retail has brought serious prosperity to this man, and he receives the lion's share of his capital thanks to his ownership of shares in Zara, which he, together with his late wife, established back in 1975.
From dividends alone, Ortega makes $400 million a year, successfully investing the money he earns in real estate.
3
The third position in the list of the richest people in the world in 2018, according to Forbes magazine, belongs to businessman Warren Buffett with a fortune of $ 85.6 billion. The source of the billions of the 86-year-old man is Berkshire Hathaway. Buffett Holding owns a certain percentage of the shares of more than 60 companies. The billionaire, who made his first investment at the age of 11, invests in companies such as IBM, Wells Fargo, Coca-Cola and others. Together with Bill Gates, the man founded the Giving Pledge company, to which he promised to donate 99 percent of his capital.
2
By the end of 2017, Bill Gates, for the first time in 4 years, lost the title of the richest man on the planet, taking second place in the Forbes ranking. His fortune is estimated at more than 90.8 billion dollars. The 61-year-old owner of the IT giant Microsoft created his offspring 40 years ago, and today he owns 3 percent of the shares of his native corporation. His other investments include the Canadian Railroad, a well-known American engineering company, Republic Services (a waste management company), and the famous car dealer AutoNation. However, Mr. Gates considers the work of a charitable foundation to improve the state of affairs in the healthcare system and help overcome hunger in third world countries as a priority for his activities.
The Forbes ranking of the richest people in the world was first published in 1918. Then the American businessman John Rockefeller became the leader with an indicator of 1.2 billion dollars. Since then, the American publication has regularly introduced its readers to its own analytical materials, which assess the fortunes of leading businessmen, industrialists, investors, bankers, as well as their heirs. The Forbes list is often called one of the most objective, suggesting that the journalists of the publication constantly monitor the activities of the owners of the largest fortunes.
Who is the richest person in the world today? According to the journalists of the well-known American financial and economic magazine Forbes, in 2017 the list of 100 richest people in the world is headed by the founder of Microsoft, 61-year-old Bill Gates. Interestingly, it was he who led the ratings in the periods from 1996 to 2007 and from 2009 to 2015, i.e., in fact, remained the richest man on the planet for the past two decades and at the same time systematically increased his capital. The full list of dollar billionaires of the 2017 version can be downloaded from the link below.
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List of the 100 richest people in the world according to Forbes in 2017
| No. p / p | Name | Field of activity | fortune, in billion dollars |
| 1 | Bill Gates | Microsoft founder | 86,0 |
| 2 | Warren Buffett | institutional investor | 75,6 |
| 3 | Jeff Bezos | Amazon founder | 72,8 |
| 4 | Amancio Ortega | owner of textile group Inditex | 71,3 |
| 5 | Mark Zuckerberg | Facebook owner | 56,0 |
| 6 | Carlos Slim Elu and family | holdings of Grupo Carso, America Movil and Carso Global Telecom | 54,5 |
| 7 | Larry Ellison | software giant | 52,2 |
| 8 | David Koch | Koch Industries | 48,3 |
| 9 | Charles Koch | Koch Industries | 48,3 |
| 10 | Michael Bloomberg | founder and main owner (88% stake) of the Bloomberg news agency | 47,5 |
| 11 | Bernard Arnault | collector | 41,5 |
| 12 | Larry Page | co-owner of Google | 40,7 |
| 13 | Sergey Brin | co-owner of Google | 39,8 |
| 14 | Liliane Bettencourt | heir to the L`Oreal empire and co-owner of the Nestle concern | 39,5 |
| 15 | Samuel Robson Walton | former President of Walmart | 34,1 |
| 16 | Jim Walton | younger son of Sam Walton, co-owner of Wal-Mart | 34,0 |
| 17 | Alice Walton | founder of investment bank Llama Company | 33,8 |
| 18 | Wang Jianlin | owner of the Wanda conglomerate | 31,3 |
| 19 | Lee Ka Shin | container shipping business Hutchinson Whampoa Limited | 31,2 |
| 20 | Sheldon Adelson | gambling tycoon | 30,4 |
| 21 | Steve Ballmer | Microsoft | 30,0 |
| 22 | Jorge Paulo Leman | beer | 29,2 |
| 23 | Jack Ma | Alibaba | 28,3 |
| 24 | David Thomson | mass media | 27,2 |
| 25 | Carl Albrech and Beata Heister | Aldi grocery store chain | 27,2 |
| 26 | Jacqueline Mars | 27,0 | |
| 27 | John Mars | sweets, pet food, Mars | 27,0 |
| 28 | Phil Knight | Nike | 26,2 |
| 29 | George Soros | hedge fund | 25,2 |
| 30 | Maria Franca Fissolo | Ferrero SPA, sweets and food | 25,2 |
| 31 | Ma Huateng | Tencent, the largest software developer in China | 24,9 |
| 32 | Lee Shau Kee | real estate | 24,4 |
| 33 | Mukesh Ambani | oil and gas | 23,2 |
| 34 | Masayoshi Son | Softbank | 21,2 |
| 35 | Kjeld Kirk Christiansen | Lego | 21,1 |
| 36 | George Schaffler | production of ball bearings | 20,7 |
| 37 | Joseph Safra | banking business | 20,5 |
| 38 | Michael Dell | Dell computers | 20,4 |
| 39 | Susan Klatten | BMW and pharmaceuticals | 20,4 |
| 40 | Lauryn Paul Jobs and family | widow of Steve Jobs, stakes in Apple and Pixar | 20,0 |
| 41 | Len Blavatnik | Access Industries | 20,0 |
| 42 | Paul Allen | software | 19,9 |
| 43 | Stefan Persson | chain of clothing stores H&M | 19,6 |
| 44 | Theo Albrecht Jr. | chain stores ALDI and Trader Joes | 18,8 |
| 45 | Al-Waleed bin Talal Alsaoud | investment activities | 18,7 |
| 46 | Leonid Mikhelson | gas | 18,4 |
| 47 | Stefan Quandt | bmw | 18,3 |
| 48 | Charles Yergen | EchoStar, telecommunications | 18,3 |
| 49 | James Simons | hedge fund | 18,0 |
| 50 | Leonardo del Veccio | production of branded glasses | 17,9 |
| 51 | Alexey Mordashov | ferrous metals, Severstal | 17,5 |
| 52 | William Ding | Online Games | 17,3 |
| 53 | Dieter Schwartz | retail | 17,0 |
| 54 | Ray Dalio | hedge fund | 16,8 |
| 55 | Carl Icahn | land redemption | 16,6 |
| 56 | Lakshmi Mittal | black metals | 16,4 |
| 57 | Vladimir Lisin | black metals | 16,1 |
| 58 | Dassault | aircraft construction | 16,1 |
| 59 | Gennady Timchenko | oil, trade | 16,0 |
| 60 | Van Wei | delivery service | 15,9 |
| 61 | Tadashi Yanai | retail | 15,9 |
| 62 | Charen Sirivadhanabhakdi | beverages | 15,8 |
| 63 | François Pinault | retail | 15,7 |
| 64 | Srichand and Golichand Hinduja | diversified income | 15,4 |
| 65 | David and Simon Reiben | real estate | 15,3 |
| 66 | Alisher Usmanov | investment entrepreneur from Russia: ferrous metals, telecommunications, numerous Russian-language IT services | 15,2 |
| 67 | Donald Bren | real estate | 15,2 |
| 68 | Lee Gun Hee | President of Samsung | 15,1 |
| 69 | Georgina Rinehart | minerals | 15,0 |
| 70 | Joseph Lau | real estate | 15,0 |
| 71 | Thomas and Raymond Kwok | real estate | 15,0 |
| 72 | Azim Permzhi | software | 14,9 |
| 73 | Marcel Hermann Telles | beer | 14,8 |
| 74 | Vagit Alekperov | oil and oil products | 14,5 |
| 75 | Mikhail Fridman | Alfa Group — banks, investments, telecommunications | 14,4 |
| 76 | Abigail Johnson | investment fund | 14,4 |
| 77 | Vladimir Potanin | non-ferrous metals | 14,3 |
| 78 | Pallongi Mistry | construction | 14,3 |
| 79 | Wang Wenying | minerals | 14,0 |
| 80 | Elon Musk | Tesla Motors, SpaceX, Paypal | 13,9 |
| 81 | Stefano Pessina | pharmacies | 13,9 |
| 82 | Herman Larrea Mota Velasco | minerals | 13,8 |
| 83 | Thomas Peterffy | discount broker | 13,8 |
| 84 | Dilip Shangvi | pharmaceuticals | 13,7 |
| 85 | Iris Fontbona | mining | 12,7 |
| 86 | Dietrich Mateschitz | red bull | 13,4 |
| 87 | Robin Lee | Internet search engine Baidu main Chinese service | 13,3 |
| 88 | Harold Hamm | oil production | 13,3 |
| 89 | Andrey Melnichenko | coal, fertilizer | 13,2 |
| 90 | Heinz Hermann Telle | mechanical engineering | 13,1 |
| 91 | Rupert Murdoch | mass media | 13,1 |
| 92 | Patrick Draghi | telecommunications | 13,0 |
| 93 | Steve Cohen | hedge fund | 13,0 |
| 94 | Andrey Krupsky | production | 12,8 |
| 95 | Henry Su | retail | 12,7 |
| 96 | Carlos Alberto Sicupira | beer | 12,5 |
| 97 | Ronald Perelman | land redemption | 12,3 |
| 98 | Philipp Anschutz | investments | 12,5 |
| 99 | Hans Rausing | package | 12,5 |
| 100 | Victor Vekselberg | oil and metals | 12,4 |
1. Bill Gates
State:$86 billion
Change per year:+ $11 billion
State Source: Microsoft
Age: 61
A country: USA
For the fourth year in a row and 18 times over the past 23 years, Bill Gates has become the richest person in the world, according to Forbes. Over 40 years ago, Gates and Paul Allen created the world's largest software maker, Microsoft Corporation. Gates now owns almost 3% of his home company, which is only 13% of his fortune.
Gates' other investments include investments in the Canadian National Railroad, the American engineering company Deere & Co., the recycling company Republic Services, and auto dealer AutoNation. In 2016, Gates and a team of investors, including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, created the $1 billion investment fund Breakthrough Energy.
One of the priorities of the billionaire is the Bill and Melinda Gates charitable foundation. Its main goal is to improve the health system and overcome hunger in poor countries.
2. Warren Buffett
State:$75.6 billion
Change per year:+ $14.8 billion
State Source: Berkshire Hathaway
Age: 86
A country: USA
In 2016, the wealthiest and most famous investor in the world became richer by almost $15 billion, which helped him return to second place in the Forbes ranking, displacing Zara owner Amancio Ortega. Berkshire Hathaway, Buffett's holding company, owns stakes in more than 60 companies, including Geico, Dairy Queen and Fruit of the Loom, among others. The billionaire invests in Wells Fargo, IBM and Coca-Cola.
Warren made his first investment at the age of 11. With the money he borrowed from his father, he bought three shares of Cities Service Preferred, then sold them for a higher price. True, shares bought for $38 and sold for $40 soared to $200 a little later. Life, according to Buffett, already then taught him the first lesson in investing - patience is rewarded.
Buffett and Bill Gates, with whom he loves to play bridge, founded the philanthropic campaign The Giving Pledge (The Oath of Giving) - the billionaires who join it promise to give at least 50% of their fortune to charity. Buffett himself is going to give 99%. He has already donated $28.5 billion.
3. Jeff Bezos
State:$72.8 billion
Change per year:+ $27.6 billion
State Source: Amazon.com
Age: 53
A country: USA
Jeff Bezos has been lucky this year like no other. The shares of the Amazon company he created grew by 67%, adding almost $ 28 billion to his fortune. The growth in the capitalization of the online retailer allowed Bezos to take the third line in the ranking of the richest people on the planet for the first time. In particular, Bezos ousted Mexico's richest man, Carlos Slim Elu, and Zara owner Amancio Ortega on the Forbes list.
Before starting his own business, Bezos worked at a hedge fund, from which he left in 1994 for the simple idea of selling books online. Thus, Amazon was born.
In recent years, the main passion of the billionaire is space travel. His aerospace company Blue Origin is developing reusable rockets that Bezos says will carry passengers. In November 2015, Blue Origin successfully conducted a controlled landing of a reusable BE-3 rocket. An unusual hobby of Bezos is also connected with space: together with a team of “underwater archaeologists”, he gets parts of NASA spacecraft from the seabed.
5. Mark Zuckerberg
State:$56 billion
Change per year:+ $11.4 billion
state source: Facebook
Age: 32
A country: USA
Facebook was founded by Mark Zuckerberg in 2004 when he was 19 years old. For the sake of Facebook, Zuckerberg left the prestigious Harvard, but it was the social network that made him a billionaire. Last year was especially successful for Zuckerberg, however, like the previous one: the increased prices for his company's shares brought him an additional $11.4 billion.
Zuckerberg is actively involved in the management of the social network. He initiated transactions to acquire the social network Instagram, the WhatsApp messenger and the developer of virtual reality helmets Oculus VR.
In 2015, Mark and his wife Priscilla Chan became parents for the first time. The happy couple pledged to donate 99% of their stake in Facebook to charity. In 2017, the couple announced that they were expecting their second child.
6. Carlos Slim Elu
State:$54.5 billion
Change per year:+ $4.5 billion
State Source: Telecom
Age: 77
A country: Mexico
Carlos Slim Helu is still the richest man in Mexico, but he dropped out of the top five richest people in the world. For the first time in twelve years.
Slim and his family control America Movil, the largest telecom operator in Latin America. In his hands are stakes in Mexican companies in development, real estate and mining sectors, and consumer goods. He also owns 17% of The New York Times.
During the US presidential election, Slim was harshly critical of Donald Trump. After meeting with him in December 2016, Slim called one of his rare press conferences calling for Mexico to unite against threats from the new US president.
7. Larry Ellison
State:$52.2 billion
Change per year:+ $8.6 billion
State Source: Oracle
Age: 72
A country: USA
The talented software developer studied at two universities, but never graduated from either of them. But at the beginning of his career, Ellison managed to work for the CIA.
In 1977, the entrepreneur founded Oracle, which made him a billionaire. In 2014, Ellison stepped down as CEO of Oracle, but retained the positions of Chairman of the Board of Directors and Director of Technology Development. A year later, Ellison announced that the company would focus on developing cloud technologies. And apparently, this idea has begun to pay off - over the past 12 months, Oracle shares have risen by 18%.
Ellison is a fan of sailing and one of the biggest sponsors of sailing events in the US. The businessman is actively involved in charity work. In 2016, he pledged $200 million to the University of Southern California to develop cancer drugs.
8. Charles Koch
State:$48.3 billion
Change per year:+ $8.7 billion
State Source: Koch Industries
Age: 81
A country: USA
Charles Koch and his brother David own the family holding Koch Industries. With revenues of $100 billion, the company ranks second in the list of the largest private companies in the United States. The oil refinery, from which the history of the diversified holding began, was founded in 1940 by the father of the brothers.
Since 1967, Charles Koch has been chairman of the board of directors at Koch Industries, and the intensive growth of the business is his merit. Charles and David Koch are among the most influential figures in American politics, philanthropy and business.
9. David Koch
State:$48.3 billion
Change per year:+ $8.7 billion
Source States: Koch Industries
Age: 76
A country: USA
Together with his older brother Charles Koch, David owns the family company Koch Industries, founded by their father in 1940. The diversified holding is engaged in oil refining, construction of pipelines, production of cups and paper towels, etc.
Republicans Charles and David Koch are among the party's most generous donors. The sphere of their charity is education. In mid-2014, for example, they gave a $25 million grant to a foundation that supports African-American students.
State:$47.5 billion
Change per year:+ $7.5 billion
State Source: Bloomberg L.P.
Age: 75
A country: USA
The influential businessman and former mayor of New York began his career on Wall Street in 1966. Bloomberg worked for Salomon Brothers for 15 years. After his dismissal, the future billionaire created Bloomberg LP, which provides financial information.
From 2001 to 2009, New Yorkers elected Bloomberg as their mayor. The billionaire stepped down as mayor in 2014 and returned to the leadership of his company less than a year later. Bloomberg is actively involved in charity work. In total, he donated $4 billion to various causes.
11. Bernard Arnault
State: $41.5 billion
Change per year: + $7.5 billion
State source: luxuries
Age: 68
A country: France
Bernard Arnault is president of the Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy group of companies, which controls 70 brands including Dom Perignon, Bulgari, Louis Vuitton, Sephora and Tag Heuer, as well as about 3,900 retail stores.
In 2016, LVMH sold Donna Karan (brands Donna Karan and DKNY) and acquired Rimowa, a premium hand luggage manufacturer.
Arno has led the company since 1989. In 2016, the holding's sales grew by 5% and reached a record €37.6 billion. The shares of Christian Dior and LVMH over the past year have risen in price by 20% and 29%, respectively.
Result: Arno's fortune grew by $7.5 billion, the businessman rose from 14th to 11th place in the ranking of the wealthiest people in the world. This is the highest figure for Arno since 2013.
12. Larry Page
State:$40.7 billion
Change per year:+ $5.5 billion
State Source: Google
Age: 43
A country: USA
Larry Page is the CEO of Alphabet, the parent company of Google. It was created in October 2015 to separate the search engine's core business from other lines of business.
Page founded Google in 1998 with Stanford University student Sergey Brin. In 2016, Google shares rose 18%, boosting Page's fortune by $5.5 billion.
According to media reports, Larry Page is personally funding two secret flying car startups: Zee.Aero and Kitty Hawk.
13. Sergey Brin
State:$39.8 billion
Change per year:+ $5.4 billion
State Source: Google
Age: 43
A country: USA
Brin is the president of Alphabet, the parent company of Google. Previously led the Google X division that created Google's "ill-fated glasses" (one of Google's biggest failures).
During 2016, Brin sold $760 million worth of Google shares.
The businessman founded Google in 1998 with Larry Page, whom they met at Stanford University.
Brin, being a native of the USSR, is the richest immigrant in the United States and an outspoken critic of Donald Trump's anti-immigration initiatives.
14. Lillian Betancourt
State:$39.5 billion
Change per year:+ $3.4 billion
State Source: L "Oreal
Age: 94
A country: France
Liliane Betancourt is the richest woman in the world, owns 33% of the cosmetic giant L "Oréal with her children. Over the past year, the holding's shares have risen in price by 17%, increasing her fortune by $ 3.4 billion.
L "Oréal was founded by Eugene Schuller (father of Liliane Betancourt) in 1907. In 2011, Betancourt, suffering from dementia, was placed under the care of her daughter, Francoise Meyers-Betancourt. In 2012, Jean-Victor Meyers took over as head of L "Oréal - grandson of Liliane Betancourt.
Bettencourt's relatives also initiated a lawsuit against photographer François-Marie Bagnier. He was accused of exploiting Liliane Betancourt's physical weakness as a confidant for personal gain.
In August 2016, a French appeals court ordered Banier to pay a fine of $400,000 and return assets worth $90 million. Later, a court decision was also made to arrest Bagnier, he was ordered to pay an additional $170 million. Banier denies his guilt, he appealed the decision to the Supreme Court .
15. Robson Walton
State:$34.1 billion
Change per year:+ $2.2 billion
State Source: walmart
Age: 72
A country: USA
Rob Walton is the eldest son of Walmart founder Sam Walton. He ran Walmart for 23 years after his father's death in 1992. In 2015, Rob Walton was replaced as Chairman of Walmart by his son-in-law Greg Penner.
In September 2016, Walmart acquired the online retailer Jet.com. The holding's shares have risen in price by 5% over the past year. Rob Walton still owns Walmart, and his family owns more than half of the company's shares.
16. Jim Walton
State:$34 billion
Change per year:+ $400 million
State Source: walmart
Age: 68
A country: USA
Jim Walton is the youngest son of Walmart founder Sam Walton. He manages Arvest Bank, a family-owned bank with total assets in excess of $16 billion.
The businessman served on the board of Walmart for more than a decade before making way for his son, Stewart, in June 2016. Together, Jim and Sam Walton's other heirs own more than half of Walmart's stock, which has risen more than 5% in 2016.
17. Alice Walton
State:$33.8 billion
Change per year:+ $1.5 billion
State Source: walmart
Age: 67 years old
A country: USA
Alice Walton is the only daughter of Walmart founder Sam Walton. Unlike the brothers who worked at Walmart, Alice focused on art projects.
In 2011, Alice Walton opened the Crystal Bridges Museum in her family's hometown of Bentonville, Arkansas. It features the work of authors such as Andy Warhol, Norman Rockwell and Mark Rothko. Her personal art collection is valued at hundreds of millions of dollars.
18. Wang Jianlin
State:$31.3 billion
Change per year:+ $2.6 billion
State Source: real estate, entertainment
Age: 62
A country: China
Wang Jianlin is the richest man in China. This has been the case for the last four years in a row. Jianlin made his fortune by building hotels, residential real estate and shopping malls. He owns the Dalian Wanda Group, which has made several high-profile entertainment deals over the past few years.
In particular, in January 2016, the Dalian Wanda Group acquired the American film company Legendary Entertainment for $3.5 billion (the film The Dark Knight, for example, was created there). Earlier, in 2012, Dalian Wanda Group acquired the US cinema chain AMC Entertainment for $2.6 billion. In March 2017, Jianlin's company attempted to acquire Dick Clark Productions (an American television show producer) for $1 billion, but the deal fell through.
At the same time, Jianlin is investing in the Chinese entertainment industry. In May 2016, Dalian Wanda opened Dalian Wanda-City, a $3 billion theme park complex in Nanchang, China. In total, Wang plans to open 20 more such complexes, mainly in China.
19. Li Ka-shing
State:$31.2 billion
Change per year:+ $4.1 billion
State Source: various
Age: 88
A country: Hong Kong
Li Ka-shing is the richest man in Hong Kong and owns real estate developer Cheung Kong Property. Over the past 12 months (as of mid-February), the company's shares have risen by 31%. The businessman also made good money thanks to a jump in the value of shares of the Canadian oil company Husky Energy controlled by him.
Li Ka-shing invested in the Postal Savings Bank of China last year and also announced a $5 billion acquisition of Australia's Duet Corporation, an electricity and natural gas distributor.
One of the largest investors in Asia, Li Ka-shing has invested more than $28 billion in European companies over the past five years. Li Ka-shing's interests include ports, utility providers, telecommunications, real estate, and retail. The billionaire employs more than 310,000 people in more than 50 countries.
20. Sheldon Adelson
State:$30.4 billion
Change per year:+ $5.2 billion
State Source: casino
Age: 83
A country: USA
Sheldon Adelson runs Las Vegas Sands, the largest player in the US casino market. The company's shares rose 23% in 12 months (as of mid-February), which was the main reason for the increase in Adelson's fortune over the past year.
Adelson is actively investing abroad. In September 2016, Las Vegas Sands opened a new themed resort in Macau, China. The project cost $2.9 billion. Previously, in April 2016, Las Vegas Sands agreed to pay a $9 million fine to the US Securities and Exchange Commission to settle allegations of violating Macau's corruption law.
Sheldon Adelson enjoys a reputation as one of the Republican "wallets" and is part of the "inner circle" of President Donald Trump. Adelson donated $5 million to Trump's election campaign, and the entrepreneur invested about $40 million more in the campaigns of Republican candidates in the congressional elections.
The son of immigrants from Lithuania and Wales, Sheldon Adelson grew up in poverty. As a child, he had to sleep on the floor in a cramped high-rise apartment in Boston. The future billionaire began to earn money by selling newspapers. Adelson opened his first outlet at the age of 12, borrowing $200 from his uncle.
Someone turns millions and billions, but it's not you yet? To be honest, what do you think when you hear success stories about Her or Him, in which everything goes fantastically well: the first million years at 25, the most expensive car, a luxurious house, several active businesses that inspire assets .... The success stories of rich people, in fact, are too diverse to be “combed” with one brush and taken in a stereotyped way.
It can often seem that rich people became rich without lifting a finger - after all, such a successful person already had mountains of gold, green rustling banknotes donated by their parents, and not taking advantage of all this is a sin.
So that nothing seems, and finally understand the reality for yourself - that you can sit in the soft leather interior of a car, or open a bottle of the most expensive wine on your own terrace, and all this without reference to ready-made soil, we will simply demonstrate 10 real stories of becoming the richest people in the world from virtually nothing. From scratch, without support and golden diapers.
By the way, not all the biographies of the rich people of the world, which we will now tell about, are familiar to you. If you were guided only by Forbes ratings, there will be an opening. Why not expand your own boundaries?
10. Michael Rubin opens the top ten richest people on the planet. The future billionaire and founder of Kynetic sold seeds to his neighbors as a child. At the age of 10, the enterprising boy was already hiring 5 guys to remove snow from neighbors' lawns for a fee. At the age of 14, Michael already had his own store, and at 23, under his leadership, there was a company with a turnover of $ 50 million. Michael's fortune is estimated at 2.3 billion dollars. Almost always strong personalities begin in this way: with the manifestation of an entrepreneurial vein from an early age.
9. Oprah Winfrey will be the only woman in our ranking of the richest people in the world. Yes, not in the first place, but if it were a rating of diligence and dedication, she could be safely given the championship. Now she is 62 years old and her path to success has nothing to do with the story of Cinderella. She can answer questions about how rich people became rich based on personal experience: she plowed and achieved everything herself. Oprah Winfrey was born into a poor family. Mother was a maid and father was a miner.
For the first 6 years of her life, Oprah lived with her grandmother in the wilderness. The American TV presenter herself admitted in an interview that she was raped at the age of 9 and became pregnant at 14. The child died shortly after birth. At the age of 17, Oprah began working as a reporter, and in 1986 she created her own program, The Oprah Winfrey Show. In 2011, she launched her own TV channel, OWN. The state of the TV presenter is estimated at 3.2 billion dollars.
8. This guy doesn't make tens of billions like some of the top rankings do, but he does have something in store: almost $10 billion in hard-earned capital. He owns a 7.6% stake in Facebook. Dustin Moskowitz was born into a Jewish family in Washington DC. The father worked as a psychiatrist, but more information about Dustin's family was not disclosed.
7. In the honorable seventh place of our TOP-10 richest people, Canadian-American engineer Elon Musk. He is 12 years older than Dustin Moskowitz. Elon Musk's net worth is $12.3 billion. He founded SpaceX and X.com. The latter, after merging with Confinity, was called PayPal and was sold for $1.5 billion. Musk was born in South Africa. True, the father was a businessman, and the mother was a famous model, so it is difficult to call the family poor. But there is a downside to the coin - Elon was often beaten at school, and this, of course, left a significant mark on the level of self-esteem.
At 12, Elon made his first video game and sold it for $500. It was the first independent earnings on the way to billions. If you look at what such children do from an early age, you can predict future success for them. And success "overtook" Elon.
6. Meet Li Ka-shing, the richest and most powerful man in Hong Kong and Asia. While Forbes was estimating Hong Kong's Superman net worth at $25.5 billion, it has grown to $34. And this is 2015 data. We think Li still did well in 2016. In narrow circles, this enterprising Hong Konger is called "Superman" and is now 87 years old.
Li Ka-shing is the chairman of the boards of Cheung Kong Group and Hutchison Whampoa, which have a capitalization of about 15% of the Hong Kong stock market. Among the stories of rich people who started from scratch, his is one of the most difficult. For understanding: Lee was born in the family of the most ordinary teacher.
From the fifth grade, Kashin began selling watch straps, and a little later he got a job at a plastic watch factory. 16 hours of work in a factory and after attending an evening school - this is how the Hong Kong guy Li Ka-shing began his journey to the first million. Having gained experience in the factory, he began to trade in plastic flowers himself, and soon headed his own company.
5. The stories of rich people who started from scratch are not the same. Like the story of Sergey Brin, who also falls into our ranking of the richest people in the world in fifth place. Sergey is nothing at all - 42 years old and he is a co-founder of Google. Sergei was born into a Jewish family of mathematicians who moved to the United States in 1979, and the future billionaire was only 5 years old. In 2016, according to Forbes magazine, the fortune of an American entrepreneur with Russian roots was estimated at almost $35 billion.
4. You probably heard about this guy too. Larry Page is an American billionaire who, together with Sergey Brin, created the first search engine, which eventually grew into the most powerful tool for finding any information - Google. Larry was born into a professorial family, and while getting an education at the prestigious Stanford University, he met Brin. The joint launch of Google, as we see, has become a gold mine for the guys. Now the state of Larry Page is estimated at $ 32.3 billion, and this is the 17th place in the Forbes rating, however, in 2014. We dare to assume that in 2 years a couple of billions have increased.
Biographies of the richest people in the world: TOP-3. Who is in the lead?
3. Another example of crazy success without any seemingly chance of it from birth is American businessman Sheldon Adelson. Sheldon is one of the twenty richest people according to Forbes magazine. Adelson once again proves that the richest people on the planet are not those who were born and immediately fell into golden diapers. The son of a taxi driver, a newspaper salesman at the age of 12, a court reporter and even a toiletry salesman. Sheldon got a lot. The future American billionaire was born into a Jewish family. And by the way, he is recognized as the richest Jew.
According to the most recent figures that have been announced, Sheldon Adelson's net worth is $38 billion. Not bad, right? The billionaire receives the main income from his investments in real estate: the construction of casinos, hotels, shops, expo centers, etc.
2. We only write "Mark", and you already understand who we are talking about. And yes, you are not mistaken. Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of the social network Facebook, also enters the TOP 10 richest people in the world. In May, Mark's wealth was updated (talking about money), and the capital amounted to $ 51.6 billion. But the guy is only 32 years old! By the way, like many on the list, he is of Jewish origin. Father is a dentist, mother is a psychiatrist. Mark has 3 sisters. How much do you think doctors could provide for 4 children? While still a schoolboy, Mark developed a network version of the Risk game, and while studying at Harvard, he developed an internal social network, which he himself did not bring to mind, but the guys came to the rescue: Dustin Moskowitz, Eduardo Saverin and others.
1. The ex-president of Inditex could not be outside our list of the TOP 10 richest people in the world. And, you know, we put it first. While many multiply their income several times, Amancio Ortega, we are sure, is not "lost". It was he who in October last year received the title of the richest man on the planet according to Forbes magazine. But in May 2016, his fortune was estimated at 72.9 billion dollars. If the name of the company Indetex does not mean anything to you, then you have heard about the Zara brand. Here Amancio is the founder of this brand as well.
Amancio's father was a railroad worker, and his mother was even "better" a servant. The family was so poor that the guy did not even finish high school, and at the age of 13 he began working as a messenger in a shirt store. Yes, did the 13-year-old guy then think that in 2015 he would lead the ranking of the richest people on the planet? We doubt. Today, the billionaire invests considerable sums in real estate in Florida, Madrid, London, as well as in banks and tourism.
This is how the ranking of the richest people in the world looks like, who started the path to their success from scratch. Are there no borders? They really don't exist. Just act, and any goal will be achieved. Who knows, maybe you will find yourself in the Forbes ranking in a couple of years.
