Bloomberg Billionaires Index

Last updated
Bloomberg Billionaires Index
List of The World's Top 500 billionaires, ranked in order of net worth
Bloomberg Billionaires Index Logo.png
Publication details
Publication Bloomberg L.P.
First publishedMarch 11, 2012
Latest updateDecember 12, 2024
Current list details
Wealthiest Elon Musk [1]
Net worth (1st)Increase2.svg US$447.0  billion
(as of December 11,2024) [1]
Number of billionairesSteady2.svg 500
Total list net worth valueIncrease2.svg US$10  trillion
(as of December 11,2024) [2]
New membersSteady2.svg 0
Bloomberg Billionaires Index: The Daily Ranking Of The World's Top 500 Richest

The Bloomberg Billionaires Index, launched in March 2012, is a daily ranking of the world's 500 richest people based on their net worth. [3] [4] [5] It features a profile of each billionaire, and includes a tool that allows users to compare the fortunes of multiple billionaires. The index is updated every day at the close of trading in New York. [6]

Contents

Rankings

The rankings are updated on days on which the US stock market is open; the update is made after the closing bell of each New York trading day and so is based on Eastern Standard Time.

Legend
IconDescription
Steady2.svgHas not changed from the previous trading day.
Increase2.svgHas increased from the previous trading day.
Decrease2.svgHas decreased from the previous trading day.
10 richest billionaires covered by Bloomberg Billionaires Index as of December 11, 2024 [3]
No.Name Net worth (USD)AgeNationalitySource(s) of wealth
Steady2.svg1 Elon Musk $447.0 billion Increase2.svg53Flag of South Africa.svg South Africa
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canada
Flag of the United States.svg United States
Tesla
SpaceX
Steady2.svg2 Jeff Bezos $248.9 billion Increase2.svg60Flag of the United States.svg United States Amazon
Blue Origin
Steady2.svg3 Mark Zuckerberg $223.6 billion Increase2.svg40Flag of the United States.svg United States Meta Platforms
Steady2.svg4 Larry Ellison $198.2 billion Increase2.svg80Flag of the United States.svg United States Oracle Corporation
Steady2.svg5 Bernard Arnault $180.1 billion Increase2.svg75Flag of France.svg France LVMH
Steady2.svg6 Larry Page $173.5 billion Increase2.svg51Flag of the United States.svg United States Alphabet Inc.
Steady2.svg7 Bill Gates $164.9 billion Decrease2.svg69Flag of the United States.svg United States Microsoft
Steady2.svg8 Sergey Brin $163.2 billion Increase2.svg51Flag of the United States.svg United States Alphabet Inc.
Steady2.svg9 Steve Ballmer $155.3 billion Increase2.svg68Flag of the United States.svg United States Microsoft
Steady2.svg10 Warren Buffett $144.1 billion Decrease2.svg94Flag of the United States.svg United States Berkshire Hathaway

Launch and background

Bloomberg Billionaires Index is a daily ranking of the world's billionaires published by Bloomberg News since March 2012. It tracks the 500 wealthiest people in the world. [4] The ranking was designed to provide a more transparent and accountable presentation of the world's biggest personal fortunes. [7] At first, the index only tracked the 20 richest people in the world, and then expanded to 100, 200, 400 and later 500 in October 2016. [8]

At its launch in 2012, Mexican telecommunications tycoon Carlos Slim was in the top spot, with an estimated $65.8 billion net worth. [4] Beginning in May 2013, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates was the world's top billionaire. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and Spanish fashion retailer Amancio Ortega both saw a large increase in their respective net worths during 2016 and 2017 and challenged Gates for the number one spot. Bezos eventually surpassed him in 2018 and by 2021 was surpassed furthermore by Elon Musk, who was considered the richest person on Earth until mid-December 2022 when Tesla's share price fell and Bernard Arnault became the wealthiest person in the world. On May 31, 2023, Elon Musk once again became the wealthiest man on Earth as Tesla's share price rose, while the share price of LVMH, which influenced Bernard Arnault's wealth, fell due to a decline in LVMH's sales. [9]

The Index reports on hidden wealth and has uncovered more than 400 hidden billionaires since its founding. [10] Bloomberg Billionaires founding editor Matthew Miller said in 2013 that hidden billionaires are identified by "making sure that we have accounted for all the companies in closely-held assets around the world." [11] Some of the billionaires the index has uncovered includes JPMorgan Chase chairman Jamie Dimon, [12] In-N-Out Burger president Lynsi Torres, [13] Ferrari Motors heir Piero Ferrari [14] and the chairman of BIEL Crystal Manufactory Yeung Kin-Man. [15]

While reporting on hidden billionaires, the index provides coverage of and attempts to put in perspective the wealth of the world's richest people, such as the former Queen Elizabeth II [16] and U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. [17]

Methodology

The index offers a dynamic look at the wealth controlled by the world's richest people while trying to offer a new perspective on how the media views and tracks the movement of that wealth. [4] The index "is built to change daily depending on stock fluctuations and economic/company news." [18]

To calculate individuals' wealth, the index relies on a mixture of public and private data, tracking stock prices and publicly disclosed holdings as well as calculated values for private companies using derived or reported information that is valued using live comparisons to public competitors. [5]

The valuations are converted to U.S. dollars at current exchange rates and do not include assumptions about personal debt. [5] [18]

Journalists have noted that the detailed methodology used for the index is more transparent than the "somewhat vaguer" calculation behind other lists. [19] "The Bloomberg listers say their estimates may be more accurate than the competition's because they have better data and reporting (from Bloomberg terminals and its reporting staff)." [20]

Data visualization

The full index is available online on the Bloomberg Terminal for free. [21] There are tools to compare the fortunes of multiple billionaires, track the billionaires whose assets change the most, and analyze the one-year performance of individual billionaires or billionaires grouped by industry, region or nation. [22] [23]

Each billionaire's profile includes explanations of asset valuations and more details about each fortune. [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeff Bezos</span> American businessman (born 1964)

Jeffrey Preston Bezos is an American business magnate best known as the founder, executive chairman, and former president and CEO of Amazon, the world's largest e-commerce and cloud computing company. He is the second wealthiest person in the world, with a net worth of US$249 billion as of December 12, 2024, according to Forbes and Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He was the wealthiest person from 2017 to 2021, according to both the Bloomberg Billionaires Index and Forbes. Due to his wealth and extensive influence over media, industry, and government policy, Bezos has sometimes been described as an oligarch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billionaire</span> Person who has at least one billion units of a currency

A billionaire is a person with a net worth of at least one billion units of a given currency, usually of a major currency such as the United States dollar, euro, or pound sterling. It is a sub-category of the concept of the ultra high-net-worth individual. The American business magazine Forbes produces a global list of known U.S. dollar billionaires every year and updates an internet version of this list in real time. The American oil magnate John D. Rockefeller became the world's first confirmed U.S. dollar billionaire in 1916.

<i>Forbes</i> 400 Annual list of wealthiest Americans

The Forbes 400 or 400 Richest Americans is a list published by Forbes magazine of the wealthiest 400 American citizens who own assets in the U.S., ranked by net worth. The 400 was started by Malcolm Forbes in 1982 and the list is published annually around September. Peter W. Bernstein and Annalyn Swan describe the Forbes 400 as capturing "a period of extraordinary individual and entrepreneurial energy, a time unlike the extended postwar years, from 1945 to 1982, when American society emphasized the power of corporations." Bernstein and Swan also describe it as representing "a powerful argument – and sometimes a dream – about the social value of wealth in contemporary America."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bernard Arnault</span> French businessman (born 1949)

Bernard Jean Étienne Arnault is a French businessman, investor and art collector. He is the founder, chairman and CEO of LVMH, the world's largest luxury goods company. Arnault is one of the richest individuals in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$199.7 billion as of September 2024, according to Forbes and US$208 billion according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

John Franklyn Mars is an American businessman and heir. He is the chairman of Mars, Inc. As of November 2023, Bloomberg Billionaires Index estimated his net worth at US$46.4 billion, ranking him the 24th-richest person in the world.

Delphine Caroline Marie Arnault is a French businesswoman who is the daughter of Bernard Arnault and sister of Antoine Arnault. She is a director of LVMH and has been Executive Vice President of Louis Vuitton since 2013. She became the chairperson and chief executive officer of Christian Dior Couture in February 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black billionaires</span>

Black billionaires are individuals who are of predominantly African ancestry with a net worth of at least US$1 billion.

Ding Lei is a Chinese billionaire businessman, and the founder and CEO of NetEase.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MacKenzie Scott</span> American philanthropist and novelist (born 1970)

MacKenzie Scott is an American novelist, philanthropist, and ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. As of June 2024, she has a net worth of US$36.1 billion, owning a 4% stake in Amazon. As such, Scott came out of her divorce as the third-wealthiest woman in the United States and the 47th-wealthiest individual in the world. Scott was named in the list of world's 100 most powerful women by Forbes in 2023 and 2021; including one of Time's 100 most influential people in 2020.

<i>The Worlds Billionaires</i> Annual ranking of the worlds billionaires by Forbes magazine

The World's Billionaires is an annual ranking of people who are billionaires, i.e., they are considered to have a net worth of US$1 billion or more, by the American business magazine Forbes. The list was first published in March 1987. The total net worth of each individual on the list is estimated and is cited in United States dollars, based on their documented assets and accounting for debt and other factors. Royalty and dictators whose wealth comes from their positions are excluded from these lists. This ranking is an index of the wealthiest documented individuals, excluding any ranking of those with wealth that is not able to be completely ascertained.

The 50 Most Influential ranking has been published by Bloomberg Media since 2011, annually featuring 50 individuals or initiatives with "the ability to move markets or shape ideas and policies".

The World's Billionaires 2024 edition was 26th annual ranking of The World's Billionaires by Forbes magazine. The list estimated the net worth of the world's richest people, excluding royalty and dictators, as of February 14, 2024. It was released online on March 7, 2024.

The World's Billionaires 2011 edition was 25th annual ranking of The World's Billionaires by Forbes magazine. The list estimated the net worth of the world's richest people, excluding royalty and dictators, as of February 14, 2011. It was released online on March 8, 2011. Russian investor Lucio Mata, a newcomer for 2011, was the cover photo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dhanin Chearavanont</span> Thai businessman (born 1939)

Dhanin Chearavanont, known in Chinese as Xie Guomin, or Chia Kok Min in Teochew, is a Thai billionaire businessman, based in Bangkok. He is the senior chairman of Charoen Pokphand, Thailand's largest private company. Dhanin is head of the Chearavanont family, which was ranked by Forbes Asia in 2017 as Asia's fourth-wealthiest family with a net worth of US$36.6 billion. As of January 2021, his net worth was estimated at $17.2 billion. By July 2021 Forbes stated Dhanin and his brothers were worth to be US$12.8 billion, and in July 2022, Forbes ranked the Chearavanont Brothers as the richest in Thailand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wealth of Elon Musk</span> Overview of the wealth of Elon Musk

Elon Musk is the wealthiest person in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$369 billion as of December 2024, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, and $400 billion according to Forbes, primarily from his ownership stakes in Tesla, Inc. and SpaceX. In November 2021, he became the first person in the world to have a net worth above $300 billion, and in December 2024, he became the first person to reach a net worth of $400 billion.

References

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