While the world economy stubbled in 2021 and millions lost their jobs, the 1% of the world only seemed to get richer. We take a look at the lives of the 20 richest people in the world and how they made their wealth.
Al Arabiya
We have direct quotes from them, giving us a glimpse into their mindsets. Most of them inherited their fortune but others turned a great idea into a multi-billion dollar empire and prove that anyone and everyone can earn themselves a place amongst the richest if they are at the right place at the right time.
20. Charles Koch — $58.2 Billion
Starting off the list is a rather controversial entry. Charles Koch is the 20th richest person in the world and made his wealth with the Koch Industries, a multinational corporation based in Kansas that is the second-biggest private company in America.
Charles Koch Institute/Facebook
The entire Koch family is known to be big Republican supporters and throw an immense amount of money to pick the “right” presidential candidate. Many criticize the family for holding an unethical amount of power. Famous quote: “The role of business in society is to help people improve their lives by providing products and services they value more highly than their alternatives, and to do so while consuming fewer resources.”
19. Pony Ma — $59.5 billion
The Chinese investor also known as Ma Huateng is the founder, chairman and executive officer of Tencent, the largest gaming company in the world and the biggest company in Asia.
Kin Cheung/AP Photo
While Pony Ma only holds a 7.4 per cent stake in Tencent, he still is the 19th richest person in the world. The investor lives an incredibly private life. Famous quote: “The leader of the market today may not necessarily be the leader tomorrow.”
18. Colin Huang — $62.3 Billion
The first self-made billionaire on our list, Clon Huang is the founder and former CEO of Pinduoduo, Inc. a Chinese e-commerce marketplace that achieved great success in just a few years.
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Zheng made $25 billion in five months but apart from his business success, not much else is known about his private life. Famous quote: “Contrary to what it seems, forming a team with strong fighting power is actually much more difficult for international companies than for local Chinese companies.”
17. Alice Walton — $63.5 Billion
If you have ever shopped at Walmart, you might have personally added to the wealth of Alice Walton who is the daughter of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton. The American heiress has a 13% stake in the company, earning her some $7 billion.
Danny Johnston/AP Photo
Though, she doesn’t completely rely on her inheritance. The 71-year-old created the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas and is heavily involved in the art world. Famous quote: “One of the great responsibilities that I have is to manage my assets wisely so that they create value.”
16. Jim Walton — $63.7 Billion
Despite being the youngest son of Sam Walton, Jim is the heir to Walmart Fortune and is on the Walmart Board of Directors and was the CEO of Arkansas based Arvest Bank. It is one of the oldest banks in the state and one of the largest in the U.S.A.
Gareth Patterson/AP Photo
The bank is entirely controlled by the Walton family. Despite being one of the wealthiest people in the world, Jim is very private and rarely ever makes any public appearances. He has never released a proper personal quote regardless of business or his outlook on life.
15. Rob Walton — $63.8 Billion
Another Walton makes it on our list. Rob is the eldest son of Sam Walton and has followed his father’s footsteps into the family business which is currently the largest retailer in the world.
Danny Johnston/AP Photo
Rob was the Walmart chairman from 1992 to 2015. Just like his brother, he lived a very low-profile life and little is known about him. Rob has discussed his legal and accounting background but has never been specific. Famous quote: “I learned from my dad that change and experimentation are constants and important. You have to keep trying new things.”
14. Amancio Ortega — $67.8 Billion
Founder of Inditex, a Spanish multinational clothing company, Amancio Ortega has a humble life story. He spent most of his life living in a middle-class home but with hard work and determination, became the 2nd richest man in Europe and the 14th in the world.
Iago Lopez/AP Photo
He has three children, with who is he very close with and after working for most of his life, finally retired at 81 in 2017. Famous quote: “In the street, I only want to be recognized by my family, my friends and people I work with.”
13. Mukesh Ambani — $73.9 Billion
The Indian multi-billionaire is the chairman, managing director and largest shareholder of Reliance Industries, a multinational conglomerate with businesses in the energy, retail and telecommunications.
Rafiq Maqbool/AP Photo
While most people on this list, like to live simply The Ambani family have been known to spoil themselves and that too lavishly. In 2018, it was reported that Mukesh Ambani’s wife of 37 years, Nita Ambani has a phone which is worth 48.7 million dollars. It is gold plated and has a statement 24 carat pink diamond attached to the back. Famous quote: “It is important to achieve our goals, but not at any cost.”
12. Francoise Bettencourt Meyers — $76.0 Billion
The 67-year-old heiresses grandfather, Eugène Schueller created L’Oreal cosmetics. Her mother was one of the major shareholders of the company and she inherited nearly $40 billion from her when she passed away in September 2017.
Francois Mori/AP
Francoise is also one of the board members of L’Oréal and still owns a majority share in the beauty company. She has two children and is married to Jean-Pierre Meyers. Despite being the richest woman in the world, Francoise hates the spotlight and is a complete introvert.
11. Steve Ballmer — $77.1 Billion
Ballmer saw the potential of Bill Gate’s blossoming Microsoft company and became its 30th employee and one of its key investors. That simple decision shaped his life and turned him into the 11th richest man in the world.
John Todd/AP Photo
Steve replaced Gates as CEO in 2000 but his time at Microsoft has received mixed reviews. Many thought that Ballmer wasn’t able to properly capitalize on modern technology such as smartphones and tablets. Despite the criticism, Ballmer did double Microsft’s profits. Famous quote: “I loved every minute of my time at Microsoft, but I had always envisioned having another phase of life just because I thought that would be interesting. It had never been my plan to work until I didn’t want to do anything and then hang it up.”
10. Larry Ellison — $78.6 Billion
As the founder of legendary database company Oracle, Ellison heralded in a new way of wealth and success never seen before. The charismatic billionaire founded the company for only $1200. Oracle is now the second-largest software company in the world.
Britannica
Famous quote: “There’s a wonderful saying that’s dead wrong. Why did you climb the mountain? I climbed the mountain because it was there. That’s utter nonsense. … You climbed the mountain because you were there, and you were curious if you could do it. You wondered what it would be like.”
9. Sergey Brin — $78.9 Billion
Born in the Soviet Union, Sergey Brin founded Google with Larry Page. The two met at Standford University when both of them were studying Computer Sciences. Brin comes from a family of intellectuals, his mother was a NASA Scientist while his father was a mathematician.
Business Insider
Famous quote: “Obviously, everyone wants to be successful, but I want to be looked back on as very innovative, very trusted and ethical and ultimately making a big difference in the world.”
8. Larry Page — $81.5 Billion
Larry Page and Sergey Brin changed the world when they came up with the idea of Google in their dorm rooms at Standford. Page became the CEO of Google in 1997 and stepped down from the role in 2001.
Forbes
But that doesn’t mean he still isn’t heavily involved in the company. Page became CEO of Alphabet Inc, Google’s parent company and is still a major shareholder. Famous quote: “For a lot of companies, it’s useful for them to feel like they have an obvious competitor and to rally around that. I believe it’s better to shoot higher. You don’t want to be looking at your competitors. You want to be looking at what’s possible and how to make the world better.”
7. Warren Buffett — $87.2 Billion
Warren Buffet is known as the most successful investor in the world and rather than hide his secrets, is the seventh richest man in the world and has written many books to help anyone and everyone become wealthy.
CNBC
The 90-year-old is still very active. Warren started as a paperboy and made it to the top through grit and hard work. He has his own holding company, Berkshire Hathaway. Famous quote: “We simply attempt to be fearful when others are greedy and to be greedy only when others are fearful.”
6. Zhong Shanshan — $93.4 Billion
The 66 year old Chinese national dropped out of school when he was only 12 years old. Shanshan grew up in a wealthy family and with his family’s support created Nongfu Spring, a company that promised natural water with minerals in a bottle.
CNN
Famous quote: “Twenty years ago, people drank packaged water because they were thirsty. Now, they drink it to wash down the bubbly or sour wine. Wherever there is wine, there should be (packaged drinking) water.”
5. Mark Zuckerberg — $99.9 Billion
The creator of Facebook, Zuckerberg’s wealth rose at an astronomical rate. The American is the youngest person on this list and famously left Harvard to work on creating the perfect social network.
Britannica
Fast forward a few years and Mark is the fifth richest person in the world and chairman, CEO and controlling shareholder of Facebook. His platform is responsible for influencing everything from politics and media to people’s day to day communications. Many have criticized the CEO for not fully understanding this responsibility. Famous quote: “They trust me. Dumb f—s.”
4. Bernard Arnault — $114 Billion
The French chairman and CEO of LVMH control the world’s largest luxury goods house. Some of the brands LVMH owns are Louis Vuitton, Tag Heuer and Dom Perignon champagne. To put his wealth his perspective, since 2014, Arnault’s network has grown $40 Billion.
Bloomberg
Famous quote: “If you deeply appreciate and love what creative people do and how they think, which is usually in unpredictable and irrational ways, then you can start to understand them. And finally, you can see inside their minds and DNA.”
3. Bill Gates — $132 Billion
The American co-founder of Microsft held the spot of the richest man in the world for years before he was finally dethroned in 2018. He is now number third, not because of bad business decisions but because Gates has given much of his wealth to charity.
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Bill Gates along with his wife, Melinda created a worldwide philanthropic commitment called The Giving Pledge. It is directed towards the world’s richest and all those who signed agreed to give large portions of their wealth to solve pressing public problems. Famous quote: “Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can’t lose.”
2. Jeff Bezos — $184 Billion
The founder of Amazon, Bezos changed the way people shop forever. His mother was only 17 years old and still in High School when she had him and mother and son struggled for years to make ends meet.
BBC
Jeff was always keen on improving the family’s lifestyle and started his first business when he was only 17 years old. It was in the 2000s that he started Amazon from his garage. Famous quote: “There are two kinds of companies, those that work to try to charge more and those that work to charge less. We will be the second.”
1. Elon Musk — $185 Billion
The 49-year-old founder, CEO, and chief engineer/designer of SpaceX. His company created the world’s best selling electric car, Tesla. Musk has always been a true entrepreneur, selling his first venture at just 12 years old.
Ladders
In recent years, Musk has been under heavy criticism was his unscientific Twitter rants and bizarre behaviour. In 2020, he decided to sell off of all his homes across the world. He also only has a salary of $1 at Tesla and gets the majority of his wealth from shares. Famous quote: “Being an entrepreneur is like eating glass and staring into the abyss of death.”