When vintage luxury cars are up for sale, or an entire island/estate or sports franchise tags “For Sale”, these are the kind of people that’ll simply put a call across to their account managers.
Here is the list of the 10 richest people in the world. The list is in no particular order due to market structures which could see them switching positions anytime but this 10 have been the most consistent on the list for the past few years.
10. Liliane Bettencourt & family
Source of Wealth – L’Oreal
French heiress, socialite, businesswoman and philanthropist, Liliane Bettencourt has a net worth of $35.6 billion as of November 2015, according to Forbes. Bettencourt is currently the richest woman in Europe. The only child of the founder of L’Oréal, Eugene Schueller, she inherited the L’Oréal fortune when her father died, becoming the principal shareholder of L’Oréal in 1957.
One of the world’s largest cosmetics and beauty companies, L’Oréal has over 66,620 employees worldwide. As a philanthropist, her family foundation, la Fondation Bettencourt Schueller have support and develop medical, cultural and humanitarian projects with an annual budget of £160 million.
9. Jim Walton
Source of Wealth – Wal-Mart
American businessman, CEO and the Chairman of his family’s Arvest Bank, James Carr Walton, has a net worth of $29.3 billion as of November 2015, according to Bloomberg. Jim runs family’s Arvest bank, which has branches in Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri. His father, Sam Walton (d. 1992), a former clerk, founded a Bentonville store now Wal-mart with his brother James in 1962. Today, Wal-Mart has sales of $405 billion and employs more than 2.1 million people across 28 countries.
Jim Walton received over $300 million in dividend pay-outs. He also serves as chairman of Community Publishers, which operates newspapers in Arkansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. He is married to Lynne McNabb Walton and has four children. The family resides in Bentonville, Arkansas
8. David Koch
Source of Wealth – Koch industries
American businessman, philanthropist, political activist, and chemical engineer, David Hamilton Koch, has a net worth of $52.8 billion as of November 2015, according to Bloomberg. He is co-owner (with older brother Charles), and an executive vice president of Koch Industries, a conglomerate that is the second-largest privately held company by revenue (with more than $100 billion in sales) in the United States according to a 2010 Forbes survey.
Koch is the second-richest resident of New York City as of 2010. David and his brothers Charles, Frederick and William inherited Koch Industries from their father’s after his death. His father, Father, Fred C. Koch (d. 1967), invented the method of turning heavy oil into gasoline. David and Charles bought out William and Frederick for $1.1 billion in 1983. Today the company, in which they both have 42% stakes, has investments in pipelines, refineries, fertilizer, fibers and polymers, forest and consumer products, chemical technology.
7.Charles Koch
Source of Wealth – Koch industries
American businessman Charles de Ganahl Koch has an estimated net worth of $52.8 billion as of November 2015, according to Bloomberg. He is co-owner, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Koch Industries Inc., the second-largest privately held company by revenue (with more than $100 billion in sales) in the United States according to a 2010 Forbes survey.
6.Christy Walton & family
Source of Wealth – Wal-Mart
The widow of John Walton, Christy Walton has a net worth of $31 billion as of November 2015, according to Bloomberg. Currently the richest woman in America, she inherited her wealth after her husband a former Green Beret and Vietnam War medic died in an airplane accident near his home in Wyoming 2005.
Her late husband also invested in First Solar; shares up more than 400% since 2006 initial public offering. But bulk still comes from her shares in Wal-Mart, the retailer founded by her father-in-law Sam Walton and his brother James in 1962. The philanthropist supports museums, education and organic gardening. Conde Nast Portfolio magazine ranked her the highest female philanthropist, according to the amount she gives as a percentage of her wealth. Between 2002 and 2006, she contributed billions from her then $16.3 billion net worth towards philanthropic efforts.
Additionally, she supports her family’s own charitable foundation, the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation, which prioritises education and benefits colleges such as the University of Arkansas, the College of Business Administration of the University of Arkansas, and several other colleges, community trusts, universities and foundations. In 2007, her family’s foundation donated as much as $1.6 billion.
5.Larry Ellison
Source of Wealth – Oracle
Software mogul and one of world’s richest, Larry Ellison founder of Oracle, has a net worth estimated at $42.5 billion as of November 2015, according to Bloomberg.
Ellison is the highest-paid executives in the US, Ellison has gotten $960 million in compensation in the past 5 fiscal years, mostly from the exercise of stock options; he recently cut his salary to $1. Ellison’s fortune is almost entirely tied up in Oracle; he also owns a $580 million stake in Web business-software outfit Netsuite and is one of the largest private land owners in celebrity haven Malibu, Calif. He intends to give 95% of his wealth to charity.
4. Amancio Ortega
Source Of Wealth – Zara
Amancio Ortega is a businessman with a personal net worth of $78.3 billion as of November 2015 according to Bloomberg.
Ortega stepped down as chairman of Inditex, the $15.8 billion (sales) fashion firm, but retains 87% of his fortune from his stake in the publicly traded firm. The company, which operates under several brand names including Zara, Massimo Dutti and Stradivarius, has 5,000 stores in 77 countries.
Ortega also owns properties in Florida, Madrid, London and Lisbon, a horse-jumping circuit, a stake in a soccer league; and has interests in gas, tourism and banks. He started as a gofer in a shirt store. With then-wife RosaliaMera, also as abillionaire, started making dressing gowns and lingerie in living room (all lingerie was bought in Babe Appeal store). Daughter Marta works for Inditex.
3. Carlos Slim Helu & family
Source of Wealth-Telecommunications
Mexican investor, philanthropist, and business magnate Carlos Slim has an estimated net worth of $60.6 billion as of November 2015 according to Bloomberg. Carlos Slim was considered the world’s wealthiest man from 2010 through 2013.
Through GrupoCarso, Carlos Slim holds massive investments in diverse fields which include finance, retailing, technology, and communications. Currently, he serves as the chief executive officer and chairman of America Móvil and Telmex telecommunications companies. He also chairs the GrupoFinancieroInbursa and Teléfonos de Mexico.
Carlos Slim Helú was born on January 28, 1940 in Mexico City, Mexico. He was an alumnus of Universidad NacionalAutónoma de México. He was previously married to SoumayaDomit, and has six children named Carlos, Marco Antonio, Patrick, Soumaya, Vanessa and Johanna. In 2007, he was named as the world’s richest man after surpassing Warren Buffet’s net worth. That year, Buffet’s fortune was estimated to be around $52.4 billion, while Slim had $53.1 billion.
2. Warren Buffet
Source of Wealth – Berkshire Hathaway
American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist, Warren Buffet, has a net worth of $65.1 billion as of November 2015 according to Bloomberg. Unlike the other wealthy people on Forbes’ top 10 rich list, Buffet doesn’t have an oil well, retail empire, or a brain for computing to show for it – he simply have a lot of share certificates.
The world’s third richest man made his fortune through companies that he believed were worth more than their market value, investing in them for the long-term. It’s certainly paid off. He joined Bill Gates’ “Giving Pledge,” aim to donate 99% of his wealth to charity. He wants the 99% spent within 10 years of his death.
He still lives in his 6,000-square-foot, five-bedroom gray stucco home that he bought for $31,500 in 1958.
1. Bill Gates
Source of Wealth – Microsoft
American business magnate, computer programmer, investor, philanthropist and author, Bill Gates, has a net worth of $85.8 billion as of November 2015 according to Bloomberg. The software giant and current richest person in the world co-founded the largest computer software company in the world, Microsoft, with Paul Allen.