Jeff Bezos has become synonymous with his company, Amazon, the online book retailer turned global e-commerce juggernaut he founded in Seattle in 1994. Mr. Bezos still runs Amazon, ranked the world's fourth-largest information technology company by revenue. In addition to retail and tech, Amazon has also ventured into the streaming game, with a number of original shows in development.
When Amazon's stock price surges up, Bezos edges out Bill Gates and moves into the pole position on Bloomberg's Index. When Amazon's stock eases up, Bezos can slip into the second position. But Amazon's recent successes may soon put Bezos out of reach.
Nationality: American
Born: January 12, 1964 (age 53) in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
Spouse: MacKenzie Tuttle
Children: 4
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."
- Jeff Bezos
Bill Gates. It might come as a surprise that Bill Gates, who has dominated "world's richest" lists for well over a decade and usually tops the index at number one, is currently is second place. But note that he's neck-and-neck with Jeff Bezos, so depending on the day and the stock market, he still toggles between #1 and #2.
As co-founder of Microsoft, Mr. Gates still holds a 2.4 percent stake in the company, along with a portfolio of diversified assets through a number of publicly traded companies across multiple business sectors, including Canada's biggest railroad operator. Through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and The Giving Pledge, Mr. Gates has pledged a large portion of his fortune to help solve some of the world's most pressing public health problems.
Nationality: American
Born: October 28, 1955 (age 62) in Seattle, Washington, USA
Spouse: Melinda Gates
Children: 3
Famous Quote:
"The PC has improved the world in just about every area you can think of. Amazing developments in communications, collaboration and efficiencies. New kinds of entertainment and social media. Access to information and the ability to give a voice people who would never have been heard of."
- Bill Gates
Warren Buffett "the Oracle of Omaha" Buffett's origin story is as American as the proverbial apple pie. Known as one of the most successful and prolific investors of all time, Mr. Buffett famously began his professional career as a paperboy and rode an enviable work ethic all the way to the top of the finance world, culminating with his holding company, Berkshire Hathaway. Fun fact: Berkshire Hathaway was originally a textile manufacturer, which eventually came to be the umbrella for 60+ companies under management.
Nationality: American
Born: August 30, 1930 (age 87), in Omaha, NE, USA
Spouse: Astrid Menks
Children: 3
Famous Quote:
"We simply attempt to be fearful when others are greedy and to be greedy only when others are fearful."
- Warren Buffett
Mark Zuckerberg.Like most of the famous tech entrepreneurs on the list, Mark Zuckerberg needs no introduction. Like Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg famously left Harvard early to work on the social network that would come to change the world and influence everything from politics and media to interpersonal communications. As co-founder and current Chairman and CEO of Facebook, Mr. Zuckerberg is the youngest member of the list.
Nationality: American
Born: May 14, 1984 (age 33) in White Plains, New York, USA
Spouse: Priscilla Chan
Children: 2
Famous Quote:
"The Hacker Way is an approach to building that involves continuous improvement and iteration. Hackers believe that something can always be better, and that nothing is ever complete."
- Mark Zuckerberg
Amancio Ortega. The tech sector may account for the largest slice of the pie, but the third richest billionaire in the world and number one in Europe is the head of retail giant Inditex Ventures, most famous for the Zara fast-fashion clothing chain. A quintessential "rags-to-riches" success story, Amancio Ortega rose from a humble working class background in Spain to run a multinational retail empire, where he continues to work to this day at the age of 80.
Nationality: Spanish
Born: 28 March 1936 (age 81) in Busdongo de Arbás, León, Spain
Spouse: Flora Pérez Marcote
Children: 3
Famous Quote:
"In the street, I only want to be recognised by my family, my friends and people I work with."
- Amancio Ortega
Carlos Slim. Best known for his stake in Latin American telecom company America Movil, Carlos Slim also has holdings in a number of international companies across various sectors in Mexico, as well as recognizable American companies like The New York Times and Philip Morris.
Nationality: Mexican
Born: January 28, 1940 (age 77) in Mexico City, Mexico
Spouse: Soumaya Domit
Children: 5
Famous Quote:
"The better off you are, the more responsibility you have for helping others. Just as it’s important to run companies well, with a close eye to the bottom line, you have to use your entrepreneurial experience to make corporate philanthropy effective."
- Carlos Slim
Bernard Arnault.The other European on the list also made his fortune in the retail sector. As chairman of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, Bernard Arnault controls the world's biggest luxury goods house, which in addition to the beloved Louis Vuitton brand also includes high profile brands like Tag Heuer and Dom Perignon champagne.
Nationality: French
Born: 5 March 1949 (age 68) in Roubaix, France
Spouse: Hélène Mercier
Children: 5
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."
- Bernard Arnault
Larry Ellison made his name (and fortune) as the founder of legendary database company Oracle. While his roughly 25 percent stake in Oracle may account for a large portion of his wealth, Mr. Ellison also holds a diversified portfolio with investments across a number of industries, namely real estate and professional sports (including a sailing team and the tennis tournament at Indian Wells in California).
Nationality: American
Born: August 17, 1944 (age 73) in Manhattan, New York, U.S.
Spouse: NA (multiple divorces)
Children: 2
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.”
- Larry Ellison
Larry Page.With his partner Sergey Brin (no. 10), Larry Page claimed his place in history and helped to change the world as the co-founder of Google. As CEO of Google's holding company (Alphabet), Larry Page controls the world's largest search engine operator.
Nationality: American
Born: March 26, 1973 (age 44) in East Lansing, Michigan, USA
Spouse: Lucinda Page
Children: 2
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 personally 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”
- Larry Page
Sergey Brin. As co-founder of Google, Sergey Brin is a member of the elite group of tech titans that got their start in a San Francisco area garage. President of Alphabet, Mr. Brin has also had a hand in Google's innovative offshoot Google X, where the company's many geniuses are hard at work on various "moon shots," working to find solutions to some of the world's most pressing problems. In addition to his role in inventions like Google Glass, Sergey Brin went a little off-brand in 2007 to executive produce the movie "Broken Arrow" with his co-founder Larry Page.
Nationality: American (Soviet until 1979)
Born: August 21, 1973 (age 44) in Moscow, Soviet Union
Spouse: Anne Wojcicki
Children: 2
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.”
- Sergey Brin
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