It’s a well-known fact that it’s quite impossible to become a billionaire overnight, and anyone who claims to have done so is probably a liar.
Many of the wealthiest billionaires in the world spend a lot of time devising investment plans and strategies to help them build their fortune, and you’d be surprised at just how many started from nothing.
Here in this article, we’ll talk about the ten richest billionaires in the world, how much they are worth, and how they went about making their fortunes.
Rob Walton
At the time of writing this article, Rob Walton has a net worth of $53.2 billion. He is the oldest son of Sam Walton, the man who founded Walmart and took over as the chairman of the company after his father’s passing in 1992
Walton retired as Walmart’s chairman in June 2015 and was replaced by Greg Penner, his son-in-law. However, Walton is still a member of the Walmart Board, and he and Sam Walton’s other heirs own around half of Walmart’s stock.
As you may have guessed by now, Rob Walton didn’t really have to do much to make his fortune. He was lucky enough to be an heir to the founder of one of the largest, most profitable companies in the world.
Alice Walton
Alice Walton, as you might already know, is related to Rob Walton, and is Sam Walton’s only daughter. She currently has a net worth of $53.4 billion, $400 million more than her brother.
She places most of her focus on curating art rather than working for Walmart full-time, like her brothers Rob and Jim. In 2011, she inaugurated the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas, her hometown.
The museum features the work of Norman Rockwell, Andy Warhol, and Mark Rothko. Once again, there was not much that Alice had to do to make her fortune – her father was already quite wealthy.
Jim Walton
Jim probably needs no introduction. He is the brother of Alice and Rob Walton and works for Walmart with his brother Rob.
He is Walmart founder Sam Walton’s youngest son and gave away $1.2 billion in Walmart stock in June of 2019, but still remains the richest Walton, with a net worth of $53.6 billion. He was a member of Walmart’s board for over ten years, before giving the seat up to his son Steuart in 2016.
Mark Zuckerberg
You may know Mark as the creator of Facebook, which is among the most popular social media networks on earth. Zuckerberg has a net worth of $87.9 billion.
He founded Facebook at Harvard when he was 19 years old, in 2004, for students to match names with photos of their classmates. He made Facebook public in May of 2012, and currently still owns around 15% of its stocks.
Amancio Ortega
Amancio Ortega is currently one of the richest men in all of Europe and is the wealthiest clothing retailer on the planet. He is a leader in the world of fast fashion and is a co-founder of Inditex.
He owns around 60% of Madrid-listed Inditex, which includes 8 brands, like Pull & Bear and Massimo Dutti. Currently, Ortega has a net worth of $55.1 billion.
Larry Ellison
As a response to the rising need for customer relationship databases, the software company Oracle was co-founded by Larry Ellison in 1977. He relinquished his role as CEO in 2014 but is still chairman of the board, and chief officer of technology.
Oracle grew through the steady acquisitions of software companies, and Ellison currently has a net worth of $68.9 billion.
Warren Buffett
Forbes lists Warren Buffett as one of the most successful investors in history. He is currently worth $67.5 billion and also manages Berkshire Hathaway, which is the owner of more than 60 companies.
Bernard Arnault
Both Bernard and his family, in March, were worth $76 billion. He is the CEO of LVMH, which includes the brands Sephora and Louis Vuitton.
The company acquired Tiffany & Co. last year for $16.3 billion, which might be the largest luxury brand acquisition ever, according to Forbes.
Bill Gates
Another billionaire who needs no introduction, Gates was worth $108.6 billion before he died. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the biggest humanitarian organization in the world, is led by him and his wife Melinda.
Gates was the founder of Microsoft, which is the company that makes the operating system that you are probably using to view this article.
Jeff Bezos
Finally, we reach the wealthiest billionaire in the world. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has a current net worth of $113 billion.
Despite giving a quarter of his Amazon stake to his ex-wife MacKenzie, he is the richest man in the world. Quite a feat!
Summary
Billionaires are some of the most influential people in the world, and many of them work hard to achieve their billionaire status. Who knows – maybe you’ll become a billionaire one day too.
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