While the top 10 richest people in the world come from a variety of industries and countries, many of them have one thing in common: they are tech entrepreneurs. In fact, six of the top 10 richest people in the world are tech entrepreneurs, with Bezos, Gates, Page, Brin, and Ma all having made their fortunes through the tech industry. This is a testament to the rapid growth and innovation that has taken place in the tech industry over the past few decades.
As of December 13, 2022, the following 10 individuals hold the highest net worths in the world, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index
Bernard Arnault
Bernard Arnault, a French national, is the mastermind behind LVMH – the world’s largest luxury goods company. As the chair and CEO of LVMH, Arnault presides over a roster of prestigious brands including Louis Vuitton, Hennessey, Marc Jacobs, and Sephora. The majority of his wealth stems from his substantial ownership in Christian Dior SE, the holding company that controls 41.2% of LVMH. His shares in Christian Dior SE, along with an additional 6.2% in LVMH, are held through his family-owned holding company, Groupe Familial Arnault. With such an impressive portfolio, it’s no surprise that Arnault is one of the wealthiest people on the planet.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk is a man of many talents and accomplishments. Born in South Africa, he received a bachelor’s degree in physics and economics from the University of Pennsylvania before enrolling in a graduate physics program at Stanford University. However, Musk had bigger plans in mind than just academia – just two days after enrolling at Stanford, he deferred his attendance to launch Zip2, an early online navigation service. He used a portion of the proceeds from this venture to create X.com, the online payment system that was eventually sold to eBay and transformed into PayPal Holdings. Today, Musk is known as the second-richest man in the world, and his innovative spirit continues to drive him towards new heights of success.
Gautam Adani
Gautam Adani is the mastermind behind the Adani Group, a conglomerate that owns major stakes in six key Indian companies, including Adani Enterprises, Adani Power, and Adani Transmissions. Adani also holds a 75% stake in these companies, as well as a 66% stake in Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone, a 61% stake in Adani Green Energy, and a 37% stake in Adani Total Gas. In March 2022, Adani surpassed Mukesh Ambani as the richest person in Asia, thanks to the incredible success of his diverse portfolio.
Bill Gates
Bill Gates and his childhood friend Paul Allen made waves in the tech world when they developed new software for the first microcomputers in 1975, while they were still students at Harvard. Their success led Gates to drop out of college in his junior year and join forces with Allen to create Microsoft – a company that has since become the largest software company in the world. In addition to its software offerings, Microsoft also produces a line of personal computers, provides email services through its mail server, and sells video game consoles and peripherals. The company has also invested heavily in cloud services in recent years.
Jeff Bezos
Amazon started out by selling books, but it has since transformed into a one-stop shop for anything solar, and by 2024, it’s expected to overtake Walmart as the largest store on earth. The retailer’s history of continuous diversification may be seen in some of Amazon’s unanticipated expansion endeavours, such as the company’s 2017 purchases of Whole Foods and foray into the pharmaceutical sector.
Warren Buffett
Warren Buffett, the most well-known living value investor, filed his initial tax return in 1944 when he was 14 years old, disclosing revenues from his childhood paper route. In 1962, he made his first investment in Berkshire Hathaway, a textile business, and by 1965, he had acquired the majority of the company’s shares. In 1967, Buffett added insurance or other investments to the company’s holdings.
Larry Ellison
A 19-year-old single woman who gave birth to legend Larry Ellison in New York. In 1966, Ellison left the University of Chicago and relocated to California, where he worked as a software engineer. In 1973, he began working for Ampex, where he met Ed Oates and Bob Miner, who would later become his business partners.. Approximately three years later, Ellison changed jobs and became vice chairman of research and innovation at Precision Instruments.
Mukesh Ambani
Mukesh Ambani is a business magnate and the chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries – a company that has become a dominant force in the global oil refining industry , the most valuable companies in the world. Founded by Ambani’s father, Dhirubhai Ambani, in 1966 as a textiles company, Reliance has since expanded to encompass a range of operations including oil and gas, petrochemicals, refining, retail, and media. As the leader of this vast conglomerate, Ambani has helped to shape and drive the growth of India’s economy.
Steve Ballmer
Steve Ballmer has had a long and successful career at Microsoft, starting in 1980 when he joined the company after being convinced by Bill Gates to withdraw from Stanford University’s MBA program. Ballmer was the 30th employee of Microsoft and eventually rose through the ranks to become the CEO in 2000, a position he held until his resignation in 2014. During his tenure, Ballmer oversaw a number of significant events, including the $8.5 billion acquisition of Skype in 2011.
Larry Page
Larry Page is a tech mogul who found success in a college dorm room. While attending Stanford University in 1995, he and his friend Sergey Brin came up with the idea of improving internet data extraction. They created a new search engine technology called Backrub, which was able to assess links to a page. This idea would eventually turn into the world-famous search engine, Google, propelling Page to fame and fortune.
