There are more than 2700 billionaires globally. Over a quarter of the world’s billionaires live in the United States. While the number of billionaires fell amid the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the figure rebounded and grew again in 2021. Together, the ten countries with the most billionaires have 2159 billionaires, about 78.4% of the global total. Of these countries, Hong Kong has the most billionaires per million people, with 8.83.
Top 10 Countries with the Highest Number of Billionaires:
Country | # of Billionaires |
|---|---|
| United States | 735 |
| China | 495 |
| India | 169 |
| Germany | 126 |
| Russia | 105 |
| Hong Kong | 66 |
| Italy | 64 |
| Canada | 63 |
| United Kingdom | 52 |
| Taiwan | 52 |
How many billionaires are there in the world?
According to Forbes’s 2021 list of billionaires, there were 2,755 billionaires worldwide in 2021, for an average of .35 billionaires per million people. This is 660 higher than 2020’s number, with a record high of 493 new billionaires joining the list. In addition, 86% of the existing billionaires are wealthier than they were a year ago. The United States has the most billionaires, with 724, followed by China (including Hong Kong and Macau) with 698. These two countries account for more than 50% of the world’s billionaires. The top billionaire and world’s richest individual is Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, worth $177 billion. Tesla CEO Elon Musk follows, worth $151 billion. Together, the world’s billionaires are worth $13.1 trillion, up from $8 trillion in 2020.
Who Are the Richest People in the World?
The list of the richest people in the world has changed significantly during the past few years. As company values rise and fall, and as people continue to give away their money, the identity of the richest person in the world can change. For example, many people believe Jeff Bezos is the richest person in the world. He is the founder of Amazon, and his net worth changes based on the value of Amazon itself. It is widely believed that he is worth more than $131 billion.
Bill Gates was the richest person in the world for a long time. He is the founder of Microsoft, and he is heavily involved in philanthropic efforts. Many people believe he is worth close to $100 billion.
Is There a Trillionaire?
Right now, there is probably not a trillionaire, but there is someone who is gaining on, and may have even passed Jeff Bezos in terms of overall value. The French business tycoon, Bernard Arnault, is the chairman and CEO of the French luxury goods conglomerate called LVMH. This is a company that is responsible for producing a wide variety of luxury goods that are sold all over the world, and its value has gone up quickly, meaning that Bernard Arnault’s net worth has gone up as well. Therefore, some people believe that he will become a trillionaire soon, if he is not one already.
Why Does Net Worth Change So Fast?
Some people are wondering how someone's net worth can change so quickly. This has to do with the rise and fall of stock prices. The market cap of a publicly-traded company is closely related to how much its founder, chairman, and CEO are worth. For example, if Amazon's stock price goes down, its overall market cap goes down as well. Because the net worth of Jeff Bezos is closely tied to the value of Amazon stock, his value will drop when the share price of Amazon drops as well. Conversely, when Amazon stock rises in value, his net worth will go up as well.
- The number of billionaires in any country can change rapidly as business scenarios evolve.
- Per-million data was unavailable for a handful of countries.
