There are only 15 people whose wealth is greater than $100 billion (and some would be richer if they weren't giving it away) (2024)

What do Elon Musk, Bill Gates, and Mark Zuckerberg have in common? They’re part of the $100 billion club. That is, the only 15 people on planet Earth who have 12-figure fortunes.

Together, their combined wealth exceeds $2.2 trillion, per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. That’s more than the market cap of Google parent Alphabet, at $2 trillion, or Amazon at $1.8 trillion.

Most of those with net worth above $100 billion founded tech companies and, as a result, own huge amounts of stock in some of the world’s most valuable companies.

With an estimated net worth of $245 billion, Tesla, X, and Space X owner Elon Musk sits at the top of the list, followed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, and then Bernard Arnault, the founder and CEO of LVMH, the world’s largest luxury goods company.

Frenchman Arnault is just one of two European centibillionaires to make the list, including including Amancio Ortega, the Spanish founder of the Inditex fashion group, perhaps best known for its chains Zara, Massimo Dutti, and Bershka.

Ortega, who still owns 59% of Inditex, joined the club just last month as the retail group posted record sales.

Most other members of the $100 billion club are based in America.

The 15 billionaires with net worth over $100 billion, as estimated by Bloomberg:

1. Elon Musk, Tesla, X, and SpaceX owner
Net worth: $245B

2. Jeff Bezos, Amazon and Blue Origin founder
Net worth: $201B

3. Bernard Arnault, LVMH founder and CEO
Net worth: $197B

4. Mark Zuckerberg, Meta cofounder and CEO
Net worth: $188B

5. Bill Gates, Microsoft cofounder
Net worth: $158B

6. Larry Ellison, Oracle cofounder
Net worth: $153B

7. Larry Page, Alphabet cofounder
Net worth: $150B

8. Steve Ballmer, Microsoft’s former CEO and owner of the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers
Net worth: $146B

9. Warren Buffett, investor and Berkshire Hathaway chairman and CEO
Net worth: $141B

10. Sergey Brin, Alphabet cofounder
Net worth: $141B

11. Jensen Huang, Nvidia cofounder and CEO
Net worth: $114B

12. Mukesh Ambani, Reliance Industries chairman
Net worth: $112B

13. Michael Dell, Dell founder and CEO
Net worth: $107B

14. Gautam Adani, Adani Group founder and chairman
Net worth: $105B

15. Amancio Ortega, Inditex founder
Net worth: $105B

All but one of them have grown richer this year—despite stock troubles and charitable donations

Arnault—who started the year as the world’s richest person—would be over $10 billion richer, if it wasn’t for a stock price bloodbath in the European luxury sector earlier this year.

He is the only member of the $100 billion club whose net worth has tumbled this year.

Many others on the list would be much wealthier if it weren’t for the recent dip in Big Tech shares.

Earlier this month, the world’s 500 richest people saw $134 billion wiped from their fortunes overnight, thanks to AI uncertainty and high-profile earnings disappointments.

Bezos saw a nearly $16 billion drop in his wealth in one day, when Amazon’s shares fell by nearly 9% on August 2.

Likewise, Mark Zuckerberg’s and Larry Page’s net worth took a $3 billion hit each.

Remarkably, others like Gates and Warren Buffett are still on the list despite giving billions to charity and pledging to drop off the list of the world’s wealthiest people altogether.

The Microsoft cofounder has vouched to give away “virtually all” of his $158 billion fortune to address society’s most pressing problems. The 68-year-old reckons it’ll take him20 yearsto hit his goal.

Nvidia’s Jensen Huang is a newcomer to the list

As well as Ortega, Jensen Huang is another new entrant to the $100 billion club.

The Nvidia cofounder and CEO saw his wealth balloon from $44 billion at the start of this year to around $114 billion today, thanks to the success of his chipmaker company.

Nvidia has made itself a key player in the AI boom by supplying hardware to companies such as OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, and Amazon. It’s now the second most valuable company in the world—worth over $3 trillion—behind only Apple.

The elite club, which had just one member in 2020, could get even bigger soon. Three members of the Walton family—which owns Walmart—are sitting on $92 billion-plus fortunes after each grew at least $22 billion richer this year.

But either way, centibillionaires shouldn’t get too comfortable.

Bettencourt Meyers, an heir to the L’Oréal fortune, became the first woman to amass a 12-figure fortune in December last year, after shares of the cosmetics company posted their best year since 1998.

But her time in the $100 billion club was fleeting and her net worth has since dropped below $90 billion.

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There are only 15 people whose wealth is greater than $100 billion (and some would be richer if they weren't giving it away) (2024)

FAQs

Do the richest 1 percent of people in the world own about 50? ›

The richest 1% own almost half of the world's wealth, while the poorest half of the world own just 0.75% In fact, they have acquired nearly twice as much wealth in new money as the bottom 99% of the world's population.

Who are the 3 wealthiest people in the world then list their net worth? ›

2023
No.NameNet worth (USD)
1Bernard Arnault & family$211 billion
2Elon Musk$180 billion
3Jeff Bezos$114 billion
4Larry Ellison$107 billion
6 more rows

What is the top 10% net worth? ›

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  • People with the top 1% of net worth in the U.S. in 2025 will have $11.6 million in net worth.
  • The top 2% will have a net worth of $2.7 million.
  • The top 5% will have $1.17 million.
  • The top 10% will have $970,900.
  • The top 50% will have $585,000.

How much of the total US wealth is owned by the richest 1%? ›

Federal Reserve data indicates that as of Q4 2021, the top 1% of households in the United States held 32.3% of the country's wealth, while the bottom 50% held 2.6%.

How rich is 1% of the world? ›

In the U.S., it may take you $5.81 million to be in the top 1%, but it takes a minimum net worth of $30 million to be considered among the ultra-high net worth crowd. As of the end of 2023, this ultra-high net worth population is on the rise, reaching 626,000 globally, up from just over 600,000 a year earlier.

Why is the top 1% so rich? ›

There are various reasons for the disparity, but one important factor is outsized stock ownership among the richest Americans. The 1% own more than 50% of the equity shares in both private and public companies. Much of their wealth comes from stock prices.

Are you wealthy or just rich? ›

That's the difference between being rich vs being wealthy — being rich means adding more zeros to your bank account. Being wealthy is about living your life with zero regrets, zero jealousy and focusing on what brings you joy and happiness.

What is top 1% net worth by age? ›

Average net worth by top percentile and age
AgeTop 1% net worth
18-24$653,224
25-29$2,121,910
30-34$2,636,882
35-39$4,741,320
3 more rows
Mar 27, 2024

What net worth is considered rich in America? ›

Americans say you need a net worth of at least $2.5 million to feel wealthy, according to Charles Schwab's annual Modern Wealth Survey, which surveyed 1,000 Americans ages 21 to 75 in March 2024. That's up slightly from $2.2 million, compared with last year's survey results.

Are there any trillionaires? ›

Not Yet, But We'll See One Soon. A trillion dollars is a phenomenal sum of money, equivalent to 1,000 billion dollars.

What salary is considered rich for a single person? ›

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.

What income puts you in the top 1? ›

The U.S. threshold for joining the top 1% stands at $787,712 in 2024, a 20% increase from the roughly $652,000 required last year, according to a new analysis of IRS data from SmartAsset. By comparison, U.S. median annual income stands at about $75,000, SmartAsset said.

Does the richest 1% own half the world's wealth? ›

Despite representing just 21 percent of the global population, rich countries in the Global North own 69 percent of global wealth and are home to 74 percent of the world's billionaire wealth. Share ownership overwhelmingly benefits the richest. The top 1 percent own 43 percent of all global financial assets.

What is the 1 percent of richest people? ›

The richest 1 percent have amassed $42 trillion in new wealth over the past decade, nearly 34 times more than the entire bottom 50 percent of the world's population, according to new analysis by Oxfam today ahead of the third meeting of G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

What percent of wealth is owned by the bottom 50? ›

Averaging $51,000 in wealth, the bottom 50% make up the lowest share, accounting for 3% of the wealth distribution in America. Income growth across this bracket has increased by over 10% between 2020 and 2022, higher than all other brackets aside from the top 1%.

How much money you need to be richer than 50% of the world? ›

In a recent article for CNBC, reporter Kathleen Elkins shared that, according to the 2018 Global Wealth Report, “If you have just $4,210 to your name, you're better off than half of the people around the globe.” That report went on to show that anyone with a net worth of $93,170 or more ranks in the world's wealthiest ...

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