2021 Forbes 400 Methodology: How We Crunch The Numbers (2024)

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2021 Forbes 400 Methodology: How We Crunch The Numbers (2024)

FAQs

2021 Forbes 400 Methodology: How We Crunch The Numbers? ›

The Forbes Billionaires List values, “individuals' assets–including stakes in public and private companies, real estate, yachts, art and cash.” The contributors also take into account estimates of debt and consult, “an array of outside experts in various fields.”

How is the Forbes list calculated? ›

The Forbes Billionaires List values, “individuals' assets–including stakes in public and private companies, real estate, yachts, art and cash.” The contributors also take into account estimates of debt and consult, “an array of outside experts in various fields.”

How does Forbes calculate self made score? ›

To calculate the scores, we added the value of each person's total out-the-door lifetime giving to their 2022 Forbes 400 net worth, then divided their lifetime giving by that number. Each score corresponds to a range of giving as a percentage of a person's net worth.

How much money do you need to be on Forbes 400? ›

Their total net worth stands at $4 trillion, down 11% from last year. The minimum net worth required to make the list also fell, by $200 million, to $2.7 billion. It's the first time since the Great Recession that America's ultrawealthy aren't richer than the year before.

How does Forbes ranking work? ›

Forbes 500 ranked the companies on the size of profits, sales, assets, market cap, and the number of employees. To view the lists in the Forbes archives, you must pay for a subscription to the magazine. The Fortune 500 is a list of U.S. companies ranked by revenues and produced by Fortune magazine.

How is the rich list calculated? ›

The editors estimate subjects' wealth from a range of public information, based on values in January each year. They typically explain their actions by stating: "We measure identifiable wealth, whether land, property, racehorses, art or significant shares in publicly quoted companies.

What is Forbes ranking based on? ›

The Forbes American Leaders List aims to gauge the leadership and entrepreneurial success of a college's graduates. To do this, we count how many listmakers each school produced on the most recent Forbes 30 Under 30, Forbes 400, Richest Self-Made Women and Most Powerful Women lists.

Who is number 1 on Forbes 400? ›

1. Elon Musk cofounded six companies including electric car maker Tesla, rocket producer SpaceX and tunneling startup Boring Company. 2.

What is a 10 self made score Forbes 400? ›

On the other hand, a score of 10 indicates that someone once lived under the poverty line or faced substantial adversity on their way to the Forbes list. For example, WhatsApp cofounder Jan Koum was born in then-Soviet Kyiv, moved to California with his mother when he was 16 and had to sweep floors to make ends meet.

How does Forbes know who the richest people are? ›

Each year, Forbes employs a team of over 50 reporters from a variety of countries to track the activity of the world's wealthiest individuals and sometimes groups or families – who share wealth. Preliminary surveys are sent to those who may qualify for the list.

How to make Forbes 400? ›

T here's rich, then there's Forbes 400 rich. It takes $2.7 billion to qualify for this year's ranking of America's wealthiest people. That's down from $2.9 billion last year, but still a far cry from just a decade ago, when the cutoff for this elite group was just $1.1 billion.

What is the meaning of Forbes 400? ›

Wealth. The Billionaires List. Forbes 400: The Wealthiest In America. America's Richest Self-Made Women. The Richest People In Every State.

Who is number 1 on Forbes list? ›

As of May 1, 2023, the richest man in the world is Bernard Arnault, the CEO and chairman of LVMH of France; he's worth nearly $237 billion. He moved into the number one spot after Elon Musk's fortune fell in late 2022 as shares of electric carmaker Tesla fell.

What income is top 1 percent Forbes? ›

According to recent studies, to be in the top 1% of earners in the U.S., you need to bring in an annual salary of at least $597,815. This means that the other 99% of earners in the U.S. make less than this amount per year.

Can you be 30 in Forbes? ›

NOMINATION GUIDELINES

Nominees must be 29 or younger on August 9, 2023, and have never appeared on an Under 30 list before. Nominees must reside in or have their business based in the following areas: Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, Miami, Puerto Rico, Seattle or Toronto.

What does it mean if you're on the Forbes list? ›

Forbes List can refer to one of the lists published annually by the American magazine Forbes, including: the Forbes 400 list of the wealthiest people in the United States. The World's Billionaires, a list of all the people with a net worth over US$1 billion.

What number is considered wealthy? ›

Based on that figure, an annual income of $500,000 or more would make you rich. The Economic Policy Institute uses a different baseline to determine who constitutes the top 1% and the top 5%. For 2021, you're in the top 1% if you earn $819,324 or more each year. The top 5% of income earners make $335,891 per year.

How many millions is considered rich? ›

You might need $5 million to $10 million to qualify as having a very high net worth while it may take $30 million or more to be considered ultra-high net worth. That's how financial advisors typically view wealth.

What net worth is wealthy for family? ›

How much money do you need to be considered rich? According to Schwab's 2022 Modern Wealth Survey (opens in new tab), Americans believe it takes an average net worth of $2.2 million to qualify a person as being wealthy. (Net worth is the sum of your assets minus your liabilities.)

Where does the Forbes list come from? ›

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.

Is The Forbes list accurate? ›

It is fairly accurate when it comes to people who have listed companies. You can estimate Bezos' wealth based on Amazon's share price today + some of his other investments. It gets more tricky when it comes to dictators and people who live in countries with little transparency.

What is Forbes 50 or 50 list for? ›

We are currently looking for our next class of women who are proving that success has no age limit. In 2021, Forbes and Know Your Value released the inaugural “50 Over 50” list, which spotlights women who have rejected the conventional wisdom that their best years are behind them.

Is Oprah on the Forbes 400? ›

Oprah first appeared on The Forbes 400 in 1995, with a net worth of $340 million. Today she owns $2.6 billion worth of real estate, Weight Watchers stock, the Oprah Winfrey Network and other assets — making her one of the richest American entertainers, but $300 million short of the cutoff for this year's Forbes 400.

What is the average age of the Forbes 400? ›

Last fall the average age of the America's 400 richest was 65.8, with 250 members, or just under two-thirds, qualifying for Social Security. Only 36 members, or 9%, were under age 50. Facebook's Zuckerberg was the youngest member at 25. The oldest?

What is the net worth of the top 2 percent? ›

Additionally, statistics show that the top 2% of the United States population has a net worth of about $2.4 million. On the other hand, the top 5% wealthiest Americans have a net worth of just over $1 million.

Are 80% of millionaires self made? ›

In a nine-page pdf, they detailed the results of a survey they conducted with over 10,000 US millionaires who were asked, again, “Hey, are you self-made or did you grow up middle income?” among other things. 80% of the millionaires again reported that they grew up below middle income and had no inheritance.

How many millionaires grew up poor? ›

According to data: 27% of the ultra wealthy are self made: It defines them as people with a "middle-class or poor upbringing and no inheritance." 46% have a head start: Almost half the super rich people surveyed either had some inherited wealth or an affluent upbringing.

Are 85 of millionaires self made? ›

If you weren't born rich but you dream of getting there someday, good news: Dreams do come true. According to "The Millionaire Next Door," an enduring 1996 bestseller that continues to be updated today, 80% to 85% of millionaires are self-made.

Who is the richest man of all time? ›

The richest person ever is thought to have been an emperor with an accumulation of wealth often described as “unimaginable” or “incalculable.” The title goes to 14th-century African emperor Mansa Musa, and his wealth has been estimated to be the modern day equivalent of $400 billion.

Who is the richest family in the world? ›

The top 10 richest families in 2022 by estimated wealth are:
  • The Walton family with $224.5 billion.
  • The Mars family with $160 billion.
  • The Koch family with $128.8 billion.
  • The Al Saud family with $105 billion.
  • The Hermès family with $94.6 billion.
  • The Ambani family with $84.6 billion.
  • The Wertheimer family with $79 billion.

Who is the richest woman in the world? ›

T he reign of Françoise Bettencourt Meyers continues. For the third year in a row, the French heiress retains the title of the richest woman in the world, with an estimated net worth of $80.5 billion, $5.7 billion more than last year.

Who is richer Rihanna or Oprah? ›

Rihanna has a net worth of $1.4 billion, making her the richest musician and the second wealthiest female entertainer, after Oprah, who is worth $2.5 billion, according to Forbes magazine. While music is what made Rihanna famous, it's her Fenty beauty line that has taken her wealth into the stratosphere.

How many US citizens have a net worth of 20 million? ›

How many people are worth 20 million or more? In the US, approximately 1.8 million people have a net worth of $20 million of more.

How many Americans are millionaires? ›

There are 5.3 million millionaires and 770 billionaires living in the United States. Millionaires make up about 2% of the U.S. adult population. While an ultra-high net worth will be out of reach for most, you can amass $1 million by managing money well and investing regularly.

What does 30 30 mean Forbes? ›

Forbes 30 Under 30 is a set of lists of people under 30 years old issued annually by Forbes magazine and some of its regional editions. The American lists recognize 600 business and industry figures, with 30 selected in twenty industries each.

How does Forbes make its money? ›

We provide companies with advertising or sponsorship space for their products and brands. The compensation we receive affects how and where the ads appear on the site. They will always be separate from editorial content, and do not in any way affect the nature of our content.

What does 30 under 30 mean Forbes? ›

Forbes features a list of 600 individuals under the age of 30 each year, who have impactful careers and/or accomplishments across a span of industries—healthcare, science, consumer technology, Hollywood, retail, social media, sports, finance and more—each separated into categorized lists.

Who is number 7 on the Forbes list? ›

THE REAL-TIME BILLIONAIRES LIST
ranknameCountry/Territory
5Warren BuffettUnited States
6Bill GatesUnited States
7Carlos Slim Helu & familyMexico
8Steve BallmerUnited States
24 more rows

Is Elon Musk on the Forbes list? ›

Elon Musk slips to No. 2 on Forbes billionaires list as Bernard Arnault takes top spot. There's a new No. 1 atop Forbes' annual World Billionaires List: Bernard Arnault, owner of luxury goods brands such as Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior and Tiffany & Co.

Who owns Forbes? ›

Forbes (/fɔːrbz/) is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family.

Are all millionaires in the top 1%? ›

$42 trillion of new wealth was created between December 2019 and December 2021. $26 trillion (63 percent) was captured by the richest 1 percent, while $16 trillion (37 percent) went to the bottom 99 percent. According to Credit Suisse, individuals with more than $1 million in wealth sit in the top 1 percent bracket.

What income is top 5 percent? ›

Top 5% income

You'll start to see dramatic shifts in the top 5%, where the EPI found the average earners significantly increased to $343,000 in 2020, up from $324,000 the year before. While that's certainly a lot, there's a growing trend of even more cash flowing to — flooding even — those at the top of the heap.

What percentage of Americans make over 100k? ›

In the US, 18% of individual Americans and 34.4% of households make $100k per year or more. This number has increased by 2.97% in the past five years and has nearly doubled since 1980.

How to become Forbes 40 Under 40? ›

You can enter a nomination here. You just need your nominee's name, job title, phone number, e-mail address and a brief explanation of why you think they should be named to the Top 40 Under 40. Then we send the nominee acceptance form directly to the nominee and get all the information we need from them.

How much do you need to be in Forbes? ›

Hoping to one day land on Forbes' list of the wealthiest people in America? Time isn't on your side. Every year, the Forbes 400 sets the bar higher. Just making it to the very bottom of this year's list requires $1.55 billion – $250 million more than in 2013.

How selective is Forbes 30 Under 30? ›

After running the 30 Under 30 program for ten years, Forbes has said there have been 100,000 nominees, with 20,000 nominations per year in the US alone. With 600 spots available per year, there are about 30 applications for every spot, equivalent to a 2 to 3% acceptance rate.

How do I list myself in Forbes? ›

Key Elements to Get Featured in Forbes
  1. The Topic.
  2. Your story idea.
  3. The Pitch.
  4. Here is some of the honorable mention of the Forbes world wider issue.
  5. Quick guide for guest bloggers reaching out to Forbes websites:
  6. Some observations on how the media choose its profile subjects.
  7. Editors read a lot.

How do you appear on Forbes? ›

How to get a reporter to write an article for you on Forbes?
  1. Email outreach. From our experience, traditional email outreach is still the most effective way to get featured on Forbes. ...
  2. Social media outreach. Reaching out to reporters on social media is, in many ways, similar to email outreach. ...
  3. HARO (Help A Reporter Out)

How many people are on the Forbes rich list? ›

The planet's 2,640 billionaires are worth $12.2 trillion. Here's who's up, who's down and who's off the list.

What is 30 before 30 Forbes? ›

Forbes 30 Under 30 is a set of lists of people under 30 years old issued annually by Forbes magazine and some of its regional editions. The American lists recognize 600 business and industry figures, with 30 selected in twenty industries each.

How accurate is the Forbes list? ›

It is fairly accurate when it comes to people who have listed companies. You can estimate Bezos' wealth based on Amazon's share price today + some of his other investments. It gets more tricky when it comes to dictators and people who live in countries with little transparency.

How do you calculate a billionaire's net worth? ›

Net Worth = Total Assets – Total Liabilities.

Who is No 1 richest person in world? ›

Who is the richest man in the world? As of May 1, 2023, the richest man in the world is Bernard Arnault, the CEO and chairman of LVMH of France; he's worth nearly $237 billion. He moved into the number one spot after Elon Musk's fortune fell in late 2022 as shares of electric carmaker Tesla fell.

How to make Forbes 40 Under 40 list? ›

You can enter a nomination here. You just need your nominee's name, job title, phone number, e-mail address and a brief explanation of why you think they should be named to the Top 40 Under 40. Then we send the nominee acceptance form directly to the nominee and get all the information we need from them.

Who is 14 years old on Forbes 30 Under 30? ›

The youngest person on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list this year is only 14 years old. This kid is making a name for himself all over Hollywood. His name is Jalyn Hall, and he's had the hustle in him from a young age. His big break came from co-starring in 2018's The House with a Clock in Its Walls.

Who is the founder of Forbes? ›

Forbes is a media and publishing company. The company was founded in 1917 by Bertie Charles Forbes and was taken over by Steve Forbes in 1990. Forbes Media is known for its magazine and lists that rank everything from billionaires to colleges.

How to enter Africa Forbes 30 Under 30? ›

FORBES AFRICA is calling on Africa's brightest visionaries, risk-takers, change-makers and pioneers to take their place on the continent's sought-after 30 Under 30 list.
...
Eligibility Criteria
  1. Must be an entrepreneur/founder aged 29 or younger on 31March 2023.
  2. Should have a legitimate REGISTERED business on the continent.
Jan 20, 2023

What net worth is considered rich? ›

You might need $5 million to $10 million to qualify as having a very high net worth while it may take $30 million or more to be considered ultra-high net worth. That's how financial advisors typically view wealth.

What is the net worth of the top 5 percent? ›

Additionally, statistics show that the top 2% of the United States population has a net worth of about $2.4 million. On the other hand, the top 5% wealthiest Americans have a net worth of just over $1 million.

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