The Top 20 Richest Man In The World

The Top 20 Richest Man In The World:

 It may not seem fair or even logical, but there are certain individuals that have more many than the GDP of certain countries. 

Some of these people are well-known, others not so much. Then again, many of them are self-made, having worked night and day to make their fortune. Others simply inherit their wealth.

In order to learn from their lives, or simply for the sake of entertainment, here are 20 of these wealthy people:

The Top 20 Richest Man In The World

1. Bill Gates

This is the first name that comes to people’s minds when they think about wealthy individuals. He co-founded Microsoft with his friend in 1975. 

In addition to having remained Microsoft’s CEO until 2000, Gates has always been an influential figure. He is still a board member and technology advisor for the company. 

He has also created a charitable organization along with Warren Buffet and Mark Zuckerberg. This is known as “The Giving Pledge”, and encourages billionaires to donate a lot of their wealth. The goal of this organization is to do away with the lack of health and development throughout the world. 

2. Amancio Ortega

This self-made billionaire is famous for his Inditex fashion company. This group also includes the popular Zara stores. He is also known as the richest man in Europe along with being the wealthiest retailer. 

Inditex operate 7000 stores throughout the world. Ortega owns 59% of the whole thing. However, he resigned as chairman of the company in 2011. 

His philosophy always revolved around speed and gaining customers. For example, the stock at the Zara storesis refreshed at least twice a week. His company also follows the customers for what they want instead of looking at fashion shows. 

3. Jeff Bezos

Jeff Bozos is the founder of Amazon, the world’s fastest growing and largest delivery service. He surpassed Bill Gates as the richest person in the world in July, but only for about four hours. 

The past few years have been huge for Amazon. Bezos was recently able to buy Whole Foods. Amazon Prime Day is also a record-breaking success. Other purchases include The Washington Post. 

4 & 5. Charles Koch And David Koch

Charles Koch is the founder, co-founder, and CEO of Koch Industries. This is the second-largest private American company. 

The company produces several well-known brands and products, including Dixie cups. It is based in Kansas.

David Koch is Charles Koch’s brother, and is co-owner of Koch Industries with him. David Koch is the company’s executive vice president. 

Both brothers use their wealth in several ways, including influencing political policy. They are also political players with a well-connected network in their hand. 

They back politicians by funding campaigns. On the last U.S election in 2016, the Koch brothers planned to spend $889 million dollars. In 2012, they spent around $400 million on the election. 

6. Jim Walton

Walton is the son of the man who founded Wal-Mart. Walmart is easily the largest retail chain in the whole world. Jim Walton is on the board of directors for Wal-Mart as well as the CEO of his own company, which is Arvest Bank. 

7. Michael Bloomberg

Bloomberg is a CEO and politician. He launched Bloomberg L.P in the early 80’s. This is an IT and media company that is now worth more than $45 billion. It has a hundred offices worldwide and is expanding even more. 

Before starting his company, Bloomberg was a partner in a Wall Street investment bank. He regularly donates to causes that support his political interest. These include gun control, climate change, etc.
His political career is also quite impressive, having had three terms as the mayor of New York City. Even when he was mayor, he would use the subway to commute from his home to City Hall. However, he has no immediate plans of running for the U.S president. 

8. Larry Page

Lawrence Edward Page is an American with a firm grasp on computer science and Internet investment. He co-founded Google with Sergey Brin.

As the CEO of Google’s parent company (Alphabet Inc.), Page seeks to make major technological advancements available to several industries. 

He also invented PageRank, which is the most famous search ranking for Google. He was the recipient of the Marconi Prize in 2004. 

9. Sergey Brin

Brin was born in Russia, but is based in America. He is an internet entrepreneur, philanthropist, and computer scientist. He is also the co-founder of Google along with Larry Page, along with being the president of Alphabet. 

In July 2017, Brinwasdeclared the 12thrichest person in the world. His journey began when he sought to get a PhD in computer science from Stanford University. 

While in University, he met Larry Page. They used Brin’s data mining system to develop a web search engine. This became popular across the university campus and developed into the Google we know today. 

10. Larry Ellison

Ellison created the software company Oracle. He is a self-made man, as his beginnings were nothing like he is now. While he had no initial background in computer programming, he learnt it during his various jobs.

He even helped to build a CIA database. While he has resigned as CEO of his company in 2014, he was the highest-paid executive in America before that. 

He spends his money on charity and education, but also luxurious resorts. Ellison even owns a whole island in Hawaii!

11. Wang Jianlin

Jianlin has appeared in several ‘wealthiest’ lists for several years. These have included him as the wealthiest man in China, in Asia, and the world. 

He is the founder of the Dalian Wanda Group, which is the biggest real estate developer within China. He also owns one-fifth of the Spanish football club Atlético Madrid. Along with this, he ranks as the operator of the world’s largest movie theatre. 

With this interest in sports, Jianlin has taken the support of FIFA to launch a China Cup as of 2016. 

12. Li Ka-shing

Sir Li Ka-shing is an investor and philanthropist. He is also a business magnate located in Hong Kong. As of June 2017, he was declared the second-richest person in Asia by Forbes. This ranking also rated him as the 18th richest man in the world. 

Even though he is one of the most influential entrepreneurs to date, his tastes remain simple. He has even been known to live a bit on the frugal side. 

13. Mark Zuckerberg

Now a household name, Zuckerberg first started out with the idea of Facebook while still a sophomore at Harvard. His entire company is worth $400 billion today. 

He is also the youngest of the world’s billionaires at only 33. He and his wife donate 99% of their wealth through their own charitable foundation. 

14. Bernard Arnault

This billionaire started out as a civil engineer, and later inherited his family company. After this, he acquired and maintained several of the world’s top fashion brands. 

These brands include Sephora, Louis Vuitton, and Dior. He is also chairman and CEO of the biggest company providing luxury goods today (LVMH).

While his industry is mainly retail, he is a collector of art. He has displayed his interest by creating the Foundation Louis Vuitton for supporting artistic creation in France. 

15. Carlos Slim Helú

This individual is a business tycoon in Mexico, and one of the richest people there. He is the owner of over 200 companies, over a wide range of industries. 

He is 81 years old, and inherited the business from his Lebanese father. The latter has immigrated from Lebanon to Mexico before Slim’s birth. 

Slim inherited all the real estate and retail business his father has built up. However, he also founded his own companies, and is now an influencer outside Mexico as well as within. 

16. John Franklyn Mars

The Mars family as a whole is among the richest families on the globe. John Mars is the son of Forrest Mars, Sr., and is generally descended from the founders of the Mars candy company. 

His share of Mars, Incorporated were worth $10 billion in late 2010. This made him the 52nd richest person in the world. From there on, he has only climbed the rankings of the wealthiest people in the world.
In 2017, John Mars invested $7.7 billion for a pet care company. This was named VAC, Inc. 

17. Jack Ma

Jack Ma is the richest person in Asia today. He is globally renowned for his prowess in entrepreneurship and business. Fortune has also recently ranked him as the second in a "World's 50 Greatest Leaders" list.

18. Sheldon Adelson

Adelson is a business magnate and philanthropistbased in America. He is also an expert investor. As the chairman and CEO of Las Vegas Sands, he is a self-made billionaire. 

He owns a private fleet of jets, along with a string of casinos in various cities and locations. 

19. Ingvar Kamprad

Kamprad is the founder and part-owner of the famous Swedish company, IKEA. However, his direct ownership with the company is limited. His control over the company is also not clear. 

He has transferred his interest into two other companies, including INGKA Holding. This is part of a tax sheltering scheme. 

In 2010, Forbes magazine declared him to be the 11th richest person in the world. He soon climbed to the eight position in 2015, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

20. Warren Buffett

Buffett is the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is a famous personality and a genius in investment. He first started buying stock at the age of 11. He also filed his taxes when only 13.

His nickname is the Oracle of Omaha, as everything he puts his hands on seems to become successful. He is also the owner of over 60 companies. 

Though he is an amazing inventor, he is also known for pinching pennies. In his 86 years, it has been common for him to get a McDonald’s breakfast for less than four dollars. 

Wrap-Up…

Many of the billionaires on this list donate a hue percentage of their wealth to charities. “The Giving Pledge” is the most popular charity among them. We may all stand to learn a lot from the habits and hard work of the richest man in the world.