On Monday, 24 May 2021, Bernard Arnault surpassed Jeff Bezos to become the richest man by a margin of $300 million after the stocks of LVMH rose rapidly after March 2020. Although Jeff quickly reclaimed his title, this was the second time Jeff has dropped on the Top-10 chart.
He has been on the top spot for the most part of the past few years. All thanks to Amazon’s stocks skyrocketing in the market.
Here’s the list of the top 10 richest people on the planet:
| Rank | Billionaire | Wealth(17 August 2021) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jeff Bezos | $192 billion |
| 2 | Elon Musk | $187 billion |
| 3 | Bernard Arnault | $177 billion |
| 4 | Bill Gates | $150 billion |
| 5 | Mark Zuckerberg | $136 billion |
| 6 | Larry Page |
$124 billion |
| 7 | Sergey Brin |
$119 billion |
| 8 | Steve Ballmer |
$105 billion |
| 9 | Warren Buffett | $105 billion |
| 10 | Larry Ellison |
$104 billion |
Net Worth: $192 billion
CEO and Founder, Amazon
Age: 57
Jeff Bezos founded e-commerce giant Amazon in 1994 in his garage. He also owns The Washington Post and Blue Origin. Amazon notched $280.5 billion in revenue in 2019, with a record net profit of $11.5 billion. In 2019, he divorced his wife MacKenzie Scott and transferred a quarter of his Amazon stocks, i.e. 4% of Amazon. He now owns an 11.1% stake in the company. In April 2020, during the pandemic, he announced a $100 million gift to alleviate hunger from America during the challenging times.
Net Worth: $187 billion
Tesla, SpaceX
Age: 50
Elon Musk’s revolutionary ideas inspire millions of people. His idea of changing transportation in every field (on Earth, through Tesla and HyperLoop, and Space through SpaceX) has made the change feasible. The ideas, which were once considered pointless, have now become reality and a role model for society. He owns 21% shares of Tesla and his company SpaceX is now has a value of $46 billion. To read more about him, check out Entrepreneur of the Millenium
Chairman and CEO of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton
Net Worth: $177 billion
Age: 72
Bernard Arnault has an empire of 70 brands including Louis Vuitton and Sephora. LVMH acquired American jeweler Tiffany & Co. for $16.2 billion in the biggest luxury brand acquisition ever. He entered the yacht business in 2008 and bought Princess Yachts for 253 million euros, then he took control of Royal van Lent. He pledged 200 million euros for the repair of the Notre Dame cathedral after it caught fire in April 2019. He also surpassed Jeff Bezos to become the richest man, but not for long and Jeff reclaimed his spot.
Net Worth: $150 billion
Co-founder of Microsoft, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Age: 66
Bill Gates, with his childhood friend, Paul Allen founded Microsoft in 1975, which went on to become the world’s largest personal computer software company. In 2020, he stepped down as the CEO of Microsoft and with his wife, started the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the world’s largest private charitable foundation. He recently filed for divorce from his wife after 27 years of marriage. To date, he has donated $35.8 billion worth of his Microsoft shares to the Gates foundation.
Net Worth: $136 billion
CEO of Facebook
Age: 37
Mark Zuckerberg co-founded Facebook in 2004 along with his college roommates. At the age of 23, he became the youngest self-made billionaire in 2007. In December 2013, he donated 18 million shares to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation. Facebook is the most popular social networking platform in the world. In 2014, Facebook acquired WhatsApp messenger for $19 billion and they also acquired Oculus for $2 billion. In December 2015, Mark and his wife announced that they will be giving away 99% of their Facebook stakes over their lifetimes.
Net Worth: $124 billion
Co-founder and board member, Google
Age: 48
Larry Page co-founded Google in 1998 with Sergey Brin. Along with him, he also invented the PageRank algorithm for Google’s search page. He is also a founding investor in a space exploration company Planetary Resources. He also funds Kitty Hawk and Opener, a flying car startup.
Net Worth: $119 billion
Co-founder and board member of Google
Age: 48
Sergey Brin co-founded Google in 1998 with Sergey Brin. Along with him, he also invented the PageRank algorithm for Google’s search page. In 2019, he stepped down as president of Alphabet, the parent company of Google. He is funding a high-tech airship startup.
Net Worth: $105 billion
Owner, LA Clippers
Age: 64
Steve Ballmer is the former CEO of Microsoft, bought the NBA team Los Angeles Clippers in 2014 after retiring from Microsoft. He donated over $2 Billion to a donor-advised fund in order to lift America from poverty. He also donates to nonprofit companies developing software for the government.
Net Worth: $105 billion
CEO of Berkshire Hathaway
Age: 91
Warren Buffet is one of the most successful investors of all time. He is known as the “Oracle of Ohama”, and the investment community follows his investment picks and comments on the market very closely. He bought his first stock at the age of 11. He runs Berkshire Hathaway, which owns 60 companies, including Duracell, Dairy Queen and many more. He has promised to donate over 99% of all of his wealth. He has donated $41 billion in charity so far.
Net Worth: $104 billion
CTO and Founder of Oracle
Age: 77
Larry Ellison is the CTO and co-founder of tech giant Oracle. He owns about 35.4% of Oracle. In 2012, Ellison bought a Hawaiian Island Lania, where he has built a hydroponic farm and a luxury spa. In 2018, he bought 3 million shares of Tesla and became a board member.
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