The Wall Street Journal has released a new ranking of "super billionaires." The term superbillionaire emerged alongside the growing number of ultra-wealthy individuals in the world. In 1987, when Forbes first published its billionaire list, the richest person was Japanese tycoon Yoshiaki Tsutsumi, with a net worth of $20 billion. Today’s leader, Elon Musk, has a fortune of $419.4 billion, which is more than 21 times Tsutsumi's peak.

Currently, there are 24 individuals worldwide with fortunes exceeding $50 billion. At the beginning of February, the combined wealth of these super-rich billionaires reached $3.3 trillion, equivalent to the GDP of France. This accounts for 16% of the total wealth of all ordinary billionaires. Such data is provided by Altrata in a study highlighting the growing divide between the wealthiest entrepreneurs and other billionaires.

“The disparity among billionaires within their own group is becoming increasingly apparent,” notes Maya Imberg, head of analytics at Altrata.

Who are the top 24 super billionaires

№
Name
Net Worth ($ billion)

Main Business

1
Elon Musk
419.4
Tesla
2
Jeff Bezos
263.8
Amazon
3
Bernard Arnault
238.9
LVMH
4
Lawrence Ellison
237.0
Oracle
5
Mark Zuckerberg
220.8
Meta
6
Sergey Brin
160.5
Alphabet
7
Steve Ballmer
157.4
Microsoft
8
Warren Buffett
154.2

Berkshire Hathaway

9
Jim Walton
117.5
Walmart
10
Samuel Robson Walton
114.4
Walmart
11
Amancio Ortega
113.0
Inditex
12
Alice Walton
110.2
Walmart
13
Jensen Huang
108.4
NVIDIA
14
Bill Gates
106.0
Microsoft
15
Michael Bloomberg
103.4
Bloomberg
16
Larry Page
100.9
Alphabet
17
Mukesh Ambani
90.6

Reliance Industries

18
Charles Koch
67.4
Koch Industries
19
Julia Koch
65.1
Koch Industries
20
Francoise Bettencourt Meyers
61.9
L’Oreal
21
Gautam Adani
60.6
Adani Group
22
Michael Dell
59.8

Dell Technologies

23
Zhong Shanshan
57.7
Nongfu Spring
24
Pradjojo Pangestu
55.4
Barito Pacific

Among the 24 super billionaires, only three are women: Francoise Bettencourt Meyers, the heiress of L’Oréal ($61.9 billion), and members of the Walton family, who own the Walmart chain.

The majority of the ultra-wealthy reside in the United States, with only seven individuals living abroad, including Indian businessmen Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani, as well as Chinese billionaire Zhong Shanshan (Nongfu Spring).

Not heirs, but self-made billionaires

Researchers note that today’s billionaire elite differs significantly from the wealthiest individuals of the past. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, ultra-wealth was often held by industrialists whose fortunes were based on physical infrastructure. For instance, John Rockefeller controlled oil, Andrew Carnegie was associated with steel, and Cornelius Vanderbilt focused on railroads.

Today, the key role is played by intangible assets, including intellectual property and future growth potential. Unlike the old capitalists who amassed wealth over decades, modern super billionaires create their fortunes in just a few years.

In the top 10 richest individuals in the world, six have made their fortunes in technology, including Sergey Brin, Larry Page, Bill Gates, Steve Ballmer, and Jensen Huang.

илон маск, капитал, миллиардер

The wealth of tech billionaires is largely influenced by market fluctuations. For example, Jensen Huang's fortune increased by tens of billions of dollars over the year due to the rise in Nvidia's stock price.

Additionally, unlike the previous century, the wealthiest individuals today are not heirs to fortunes, but entrepreneurs.

According to a study by the Heritage Foundation, of the 97 billionaires who were on the Forbes 400 list in 2005 and inherited their wealth, less than half remain in the current rankings.

“Great American fortunes today are new money, not old,” states the Heritage Foundation report.

Earlier, Spot reported that the family of Indian billionaire Ambani has become the richest in Asia.