Azim Hashim Premji is an Indian businessman and philanthropist, who was the chairman of Wipro Limited. Premji remains a non-executive member of the board and founder chairman. He is informally known as the Czar of the Indian IT Industry. He was responsible for guiding Wipro through four decades of diversification and growth, to finally emerge as one of the global leaders in the software industry. In 2010, he was voted among the 20 most powerful men in the world by Asiaweek. He has twice been listed among the 100 most influential people by Time magazine, once in 2004 and more recently in 2011. For years, he has been regularly listed one among The 500 Most Influential Muslims. He also serves as the Chancellor of Azim Premji University, Bangalore. Premji was awarded Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian award, by the Government of India.
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.
Lakshmi Niwas Mittal is Indian steel magnate, based in the United Kingdom. He is the executive chairman of ArcelorMittal, the world's second largest steelmaking company, as well as chairman of stainless steel manufacturer Aperam. Mittal owns 38% of ArcelorMittal and holds a 3% stake in EFL Championship side Queens Park Rangers.
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 the richest person in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$233 billion as of April 2024, according to Forbes.
Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani is an Indian businessman and the chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries. With an estimated net worth of $113.7 billion as of March 2024, he is the richest person in Asia and 11th richest in the world. Sometimes characterized as a plutocrat, he has attracted both fame and notoriety for reports of market manipulation, political corruption, cronyism, and exploitation.
Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken is a Dutch billionaire businesswoman, and the owner of a 25% controlling interest in the world's second-largest brewer, Heineken N.V. She is the richest person in the Netherlands, with a net worth of $16.7 billion as of May 2021, according to the Forbes billionaires list.
Black billionaires are individuals who are of predominantly African ancestry with a net worth of at least US$1 billion.
Aliko Dangote is a Nigerian businessman and industrialist. He is best known as the founder, chairman, and CEO of the Dangote Group, the largest industrial conglomerate in West Africa. The Bloomberg Billionaires Index estimated his net worth at $16.1 billion in November 2023, making him the richest person in Africa, the world's richest black person, and the world's 107th richest person overall.
The Giving Pledge is a charitable campaign, founded by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, to encourage wealthy people to contribute a majority of their wealth to philanthropic causes. As of June 2022, the pledge has had 236 signatories from 28 countries. Most of the signatories of the pledge are billionaires, and as of 2023, their pledges are estimated at a total of US$600 billion. However, there is no enforcement mechanism, and no restrictions on the charitable causes that signatories are allowed to support.
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.
Phạm Nhật Vượng is a Vietnamese property developer and Vietnam's first billionaire. He is the founder and chairman of Vingroup.
Nguyễn Thị Phương Thảo is a Vietnamese businesswoman, and the President and CEO of VietJet Air, President of Sovico Group and Vice President of HDBank. After Phạm Nhật Vượng, she is the second Vietnamese person—as well as the first Southeast Asian woman—to be recognized by Forbes as a USD billionaire.
Trần Đình Long is a Vietnamese businessman and billionaire. He is the chair of Hoa Phat Group Joint Stock Company (HPG). He is considered among the most successful businessmen in Vietnam's steel industry.
Vietnam