Forbes has released the official List of Billionaires on the pinned down 259 newcomers who made their fortunes in everything from tech and aerospace to private aviation and wedding dresses. China has the newest faces with 89, while the U.S. is next with 18. That is helping close the gap between the two nations. Altogether the U.S. has more billionaires than any country in the world with 585, while greater China (mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan) has 476.
1. Jeff Bezos
is the richest person on the planet and the first centi-billionaire atop our annual ranking. Shares of his e-commerce giant Amazon rose 59% in 12 months, helping boost his fortune by $39.2 billion. It was the biggest one year gain since Forbes started tracking billionaires in 1987. He easily moved ahead of Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates, who ceded the top spot for only the sixth time since 1995.
2. Bill Gates
William Bill Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American business magnate, investor, author, philanthropist, humanitarian, and principal founder of the Microsoft Corporation.[2][3] During his career at Microsoft, Gates held the positions of chairman, CEO and chief software architect, while also being the largest individual shareholder until May 2014.
3. Warren Buffett
Warren Edward Buffett is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist who serves as the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is considered one of the most successful investors in the world and has a net worth of $87.5 billion as of February 17, 2018, making him the third wealthiest.
4. BERNARD ARNAULT
Bernard Jean Étienne Arnault is a French business magnate, an investor, and an art collector. Arnault is the chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of LVMH, the world’s largest luxury-goods company. He is the richest person in France and the fourth richest person in the world according to Forbes magazine, with a net of 72Billion Dollars.
5. MARK ZUCKERBERG
Mark Elliot Zuckerberg is an American computer programmer and Internet entrepreneur. He is a co-founder of Facebook, and currently operates as its chairman and chief executive officer. His net worth is estimated to be US $72.5 billion as of March 5, 2018. Zuckerberg launched Facebook from his Harvard University.
6. Amancio Ortega Gaona
is a Spanish business tycoon. He is the founder and former chairman of Inditex fashion group, best known for its chain of Zara clothing and accessories retail shops. As of January 2018, Ortega had a net worth of $77.6 billion, making him the wealthiest person in Europe following the death of IKEA
7. Carlos Slim
Carlos Slim Helú (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈkaɾlos esˈlim eˈlu]; born January 28, 1940) is a Mexican business magnate, investor, and philanthropist.[2][3] From 2010 to 2013, Slim was ranked as the richest person in the world by the Forbes business magazine.[1][4] He derived his fortune from his extensive holdings in a considerable number of Mexican companies through his conglomerate, Grupo Carso.[5] As of January 2018, he is the seventh-richest person in the world according to Forbes‘ listing of The World’s Billionaires with a net worth estimated at $70.7 billion.[1]
8 & 9 (tied) THE KOCH BROTHERS
Charles de Ganahl Koch is an American businessman, political donor and philanthropist. As of March 2018, he was ranked as the 6th-richest person in the world, with an estimated net worth of $60.8 billion. He is co-owner, chairman of the board, and chief executive officer of Koch Industries since 1967, while his brother
David Hamilton Koch is an American businessman, philanthropist, political activist, and chemical engineer. He joined the family business Koch Industries, a conglomerate that is the second-largest privately held company in the United States, in 1970. He became president of the subsidiary KochEngineering in 1979,
10. Larry Ellison
Lawrence “Larry” Joseph Ellison (born August 17, 1944) is an American businessman, entrepreneur, and philanthropist who is co-founder, executive chairman and chief technology officer of Oracle Corporation. As of January 2018, he was listed by Forbes magazine as the fifth-wealthiest person in the United States
