The 2015 edition of the Forbes World's Billionaires ranking
The World's Billionaires, 2015 is the 2015 edition of the annual ranking of the world's billionaires published by the American business magazine Forbes. The list data published by Forbes for 2015 contain 1,826 people with an estimated net worth of at least US$1 billion, worth a combined US$7.05 trillion.[1] That is 181 more than the 1,645 people in the 2014 list.[2] The top-ranked person was Bill Gates, with an estimated US$79.2 billion (Microsoft).[1]
Methodology
The figures on this page were compiled from the list data published by Forbes for the 2015 World's Billionaires list.[1] Net worth figures are Forbes's own estimates, in US dollars, at the time the list was compiled; they are not audited figures. Totals and breakdowns were calculated by Powerbase from that data: country means the country of citizenship recorded by Forbes; regions are a grouping of those countries made for this page (Forbes does not publish them in this form); gender is as recorded by Forbes; and industry is the first industry category Forbes assigns to each entry. Entries listed by Forbes as a family (for example "& family") are counted once. Forbes's own methodology article could not be opened for this page, so its details are not summarised here.
This page deliberately reproduces only aggregate figures and the top 100 entries, not the complete Forbes list. It contains no breakdown by religion, ethnicity or race.
Summary
Summary of the list
| Measure |
Value
|
| Number of billionaires |
1,826
|
| Combined net worth |
US$7.05 trillion
|
| Average net worth |
US$3.86 billion
|
| Median net worth |
US$2.10 billion
|
| Worth US$100 billion or more |
0
|
| Combined worth of top 10 |
US$0.56 trillion
|
| Countries of citizenship represented |
71
|
[1]
By country of citizenship
Top 25 countries of citizenship
| Country |
Billionaires |
Share of total |
Combined net worth (US$ billion)
|
| United States |
535 |
29.3% |
2,564.3
|
| China |
212 |
11.6% |
563.5
|
| Germany |
102 |
5.6% |
432.3
|
| India |
90 |
4.9% |
294.2
|
| Russia |
88 |
4.8% |
336.5
|
| Hong Kong |
55 |
3.0% |
246.1
|
| Brazil |
54 |
3.0% |
181.1
|
| United Kingdom |
53 |
2.9% |
171.2
|
| France |
47 |
2.6% |
253.4
|
| Canada |
40 |
2.2% |
135.8
|
| Italy |
39 |
2.1% |
155.8
|
| Taiwan |
33 |
1.8% |
82.0
|
| Turkey |
32 |
1.8% |
52.5
|
| South Korea |
30 |
1.6% |
77.5
|
| Switzerland |
29 |
1.6% |
98.6
|
| Australia |
27 |
1.5% |
69.0
|
| Japan |
24 |
1.3% |
97.8
|
| Sweden |
23 |
1.3% |
115.7
|
| Indonesia |
23 |
1.3% |
56.1
|
| Spain |
21 |
1.2% |
116.3
|
| Singapore |
19 |
1.0% |
53.5
|
| Israel |
17 |
0.9% |
54.2
|
| Mexico |
16 |
0.9% |
144.4
|
| Thailand |
16 |
0.9% |
54.8
|
| Chile |
12 |
0.7% |
39.9
|
| All other (46) |
189 |
10.4% |
606.2
|
[1]
By region
Region (grouping of citizenship countries)
| Region |
Billionaires |
Share of total |
Combined net worth (US$ billion)
|
| North America |
575 |
31.5% |
2,700.2
|
| Asia-Pacific |
561 |
30.7% |
1,718.6
|
| Europe |
515 |
28.2% |
1,977.2
|
| Latin America & Caribbean |
101 |
5.5% |
415.5
|
| Middle East & North Africa |
57 |
3.1% |
179.2
|
| Sub-Saharan Africa |
17 |
0.9% |
62.0
|
[1]
By gender
Gender as recorded by Forbes
| Gender |
Billionaires |
Share of total |
Combined net worth (US$ billion)
|
| Men |
1,618 |
88.6% |
6,215.5
|
| Women |
197 |
10.8% |
772.0
|
| Not stated |
11 |
0.6% |
65.3
|
[1]
By industry
First industry category assigned by Forbes
| Industry (Forbes category) |
Billionaires |
Share of total |
Combined net worth (US$ billion)
|
| Finance and Investments |
229 |
12.5% |
679.3
|
| Fashion & Retail |
206 |
11.3% |
903.4
|
| Real Estate |
159 |
8.7% |
535.7
|
| Technology |
155 |
8.5% |
808.8
|
| Food and Beverage |
149 |
8.2% |
542.4
|
| Diversified |
147 |
8.1% |
563.3
|
| Manufacturing |
142 |
7.8% |
365.4
|
| Healthcare |
103 |
5.6% |
275.2
|
| Energy |
92 |
5.0% |
397.6
|
| Media & Entertainment |
61 |
3.3% |
221.2
|
| Service |
59 |
3.2% |
154.5
|
| Construction & Engineering |
52 |
2.8% |
139.6
|
| Metals & Mining |
49 |
2.7% |
235.0
|
| Automotive |
42 |
2.3% |
183.7
|
| Telecom |
30 |
1.6% |
191.3
|
| Investments |
29 |
1.6% |
260.7
|
| Fashion and Retail |
24 |
1.3% |
207.1
|
| Logistics |
23 |
1.3% |
82.4
|
| Sports |
20 |
1.1% |
46.1
|
| Gambling & Casinos |
18 |
1.0% |
60.5
|
| Media |
12 |
0.7% |
116.0
|
| Finance |
9 |
0.5% |
17.0
|
| Retail |
5 |
0.3% |
8.4
|
| Gaming |
4 |
0.2% |
38.9
|
| Health care |
4 |
0.2% |
16.1
|
| Medicine |
2 |
0.1% |
2.3
|
| Oil |
1 |
0.1% |
1.2
|
[1]
Top 100
Entries ranked 1 to 100 by Forbes (tied ranks included).[1] Age is as given in the Forbes list data for 2015.
| Rank |
Name |
Net worth (US$ billion) |
Age |
Citizenship |
Source of wealth |
Industry
|
| 1 |
Bill Gates |
79.2 |
59 |
United States |
Microsoft |
Technology
|
| 2 |
Carlos Slim Helu & family |
77.1 |
75 |
Mexico |
telecom |
Telecom
|
| 3 |
Warren Buffett |
72.7 |
84 |
United States |
Berkshire Hathaway |
Investments
|
| 4 |
Amancio Ortega |
64.5 |
78 |
Spain |
Zara |
Fashion & Retail
|
| 5 |
Larry Ellison |
54.3 |
70 |
United States |
Oracle |
Technology
|
| 6 |
Charles Koch |
42.9 |
79 |
United States |
diversified |
Diversified
|
| 6 |
David Koch |
42.9 |
74 |
United States |
diversified |
Diversified
|
| 8 |
Christy Walton & family |
41.7 |
60 |
United States |
Wal-Mart |
Fashion and Retail
|
| 9 |
Jim Walton |
40.6 |
67 |
United States |
Wal-Mart |
Fashion and Retail
|
| 10 |
Liliane Bettencourt & family |
40.1 |
92 |
France |
L'Oreal |
Fashion & Retail
|
| 11 |
Alice Walton |
39.4 |
65 |
United States |
Wal-Mart |
Fashion and Retail
|
| 12 |
S. Robson Walton |
39.1 |
70 |
United States |
Wal-Mart |
Fashion & Retail
|
| 13 |
Bernard Arnault & family |
37.2 |
65 |
France |
LVMH |
Fashion & Retail
|
| 14 |
Michael Bloomberg |
35.5 |
73 |
United States |
Bloomberg LP |
Media
|
| 15 |
Jeff Bezos |
34.8 |
51 |
United States |
Amazon.com |
Technology
|
| 16 |
Mark Zuckerberg |
33.4 |
30 |
United States |
Facebook |
Technology
|
| 17 |
Li Ka-shing |
33.3 |
86 |
Hong Kong |
diversified |
Diversified
|
| 18 |
Sheldon Adelson |
31.4 |
81 |
United States |
casinos |
Gaming
|
| 19 |
Larry Page |
29.7 |
41 |
United States |
Google |
Technology
|
| 20 |
Sergey Brin |
29.2 |
41 |
United States |
Google |
Technology
|
| 21 |
Georg Schaeffler |
26.9 |
50 |
Germany |
automotive |
Automotive
|
| 22 |
Forrest Mars, Jr. |
26.6 |
83 |
United States |
candy |
Food and Beverage
|
| 22 |
Jacqueline Mars |
26.6 |
75 |
United States |
candy |
Food and Beverage
|
| 22 |
John Mars |
26.6 |
79 |
United States |
candy |
Food and Beverage
|
| 25 |
David Thomson & family |
25.5 |
57 |
Canada |
media |
Media & Entertainment
|
| 26 |
Jorge Paulo Lemann |
25.0 |
75 |
Brazil |
beer |
Food and Beverage
|
| 27 |
Lee Shau Kee |
24.8 |
87 |
Hong Kong |
real estate |
Real Estate
|
| 28 |
Stefan Persson |
24.5 |
67 |
Sweden |
H&M |
Fashion & Retail
|
| 29 |
George Soros |
24.2 |
84 |
United States |
hedge funds |
Investments
|
| 29 |
Wang Jianlin |
24.2 |
60 |
China |
real estate |
Real Estate
|
| 31 |
Carl Icahn |
23.5 |
79 |
United States |
investments |
Investments
|
| 32 |
Maria Franca Fissolo & family |
23.4 |
97 |
Italy |
Nutella, chocolates |
Food and Beverage
|
| 33 |
Jack Ma |
22.7 |
50 |
China |
e-commerce |
Technology
|
| 34 |
Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud |
22.6 |
59 |
Saudi Arabia |
investments |
Finance and Investments
|
| 35 |
Steve Ballmer |
21.5 |
58 |
United States |
Microsoft |
Technology
|
| 35 |
Phil Knight |
21.5 |
77 |
United States |
Nike |
Fashion and Retail
|
| 37 |
Beate Heister & Karl Albrecht Jr. |
21.3 |
|
Germany |
supermarkets |
Fashion & Retail
|
| 38 |
Li Hejun |
21.1 |
47 |
China |
renewable energy |
Energy
|
| 39 |
Mukesh Ambani |
21.0 |
57 |
India |
petrochemicals, oil & gas |
Energy
|
| 40 |
Leonardo Del Vecchio & family |
20.4 |
79 |
Italy |
eyeglasses |
Fashion & Retail
|
| 41 |
Len Blavatnik |
20.2 |
57 |
United States |
diversified |
Energy
|
| 41 |
Tadashi Yanai & family |
20.2 |
66 |
Japan |
fashion retail |
Fashion & Retail
|
| 43 |
Charles Ergen |
20.1 |
62 |
United States |
Dish Network |
Media
|
| 44 |
Dilip Shanghvi |
20.0 |
59 |
India |
pharmaceuticals |
Healthcare
|
| 45 |
Laurene Powell Jobs & family |
19.5 |
51 |
United States |
Apple, Disney |
Technology
|
| 46 |
Dieter Schwarz |
19.4 |
75 |
Germany |
retail |
Fashion & Retail
|
| 47 |
Michael Dell |
19.2 |
50 |
United States |
Dell |
Technology
|
| 48 |
Azim Premji |
19.1 |
69 |
India |
software services |
Technology
|
| 49 |
Theo Albrecht, Jr. & family |
19.0 |
64 |
Germany |
Aldi, Trader Joe's |
Fashion & Retail
|
| 50 |
Michael Otto & family |
18.1 |
71 |
Germany |
retail, real estate |
Fashion & Retail
|
| 51 |
Paul Allen |
17.5 |
62 |
United States |
Microsoft, investments |
Technology
|
| 52 |
Joseph Safra |
17.3 |
76 |
Brazil |
banking |
Finance and Investments
|
| 53 |
Anne Cox Chambers |
17.0 |
95 |
United States |
media |
Media
|
| 54 |
Susanne Klatten |
16.8 |
52 |
Germany |
BMW, pharmaceuticals |
Automotive
|
| 55 |
Pallonji Mistry |
16.3 |
85 |
Ireland |
construction |
Construction & Engineering
|
| 56 |
Ma Huateng |
16.1 |
43 |
China |
internet services |
Technology
|
| 57 |
Patrick Drahi |
16.0 |
51 |
France |
telecom |
Telecom
|
| 58 |
Thomas & Raymond Kwok |
15.9 |
|
Hong Kong |
real estate |
Real Estate
|
| 59 |
Stefan Quandt |
15.6 |
48 |
Germany |
BMW |
Automotive
|
| 60 |
Ray Dalio |
15.4 |
65 |
United States |
hedge funds |
Investments
|
| 60 |
Vladimir Potanin |
15.4 |
54 |
Russia |
metals |
Metals & Mining
|
| 62 |
Serge Dassault & family |
15.3 |
89 |
France |
aviation |
Diversified
|
| 62 |
Robin Li |
15.3 |
46 |
China |
internet search |
Technology
|
| 64 |
Donald Bren |
15.2 |
82 |
United States |
real estate |
Real Estate
|
| 65 |
Francois Pinault & family |
14.9 |
78 |
France |
luxury goods |
Fashion & Retail
|
| 66 |
Shiv Nadar |
14.8 |
69 |
India |
software services |
Technology
|
| 67 |
Aliko Dangote |
14.7 |
57 |
Nigeria |
cement, sugar, flour |
Manufacturing
|
| 68 |
Mikhail Fridman |
14.6 |
50 |
Russia |
oil, banking, telecom |
Energy
|
| 69 |
Hinduja family |
14.5 |
|
United Kingdom |
Hinduja Group |
Diversified
|
| 69 |
Ronald Perelman |
14.5 |
72 |
United States |
leveraged buyouts |
Finance and Investments
|
| 71 |
Cheng Yu-tung |
14.4 |
89 |
Hong Kong |
diversified |
Real Estate
|
| 71 |
Alisher Usmanov |
14.4 |
61 |
Russia |
steel, telecom, investments |
Metals & Mining
|
| 73 |
Henry Sy & family |
14.2 |
90 |
Philippines |
SM Investments Corporation |
Diversified
|
| 73 |
Viktor Vekselberg |
14.2 |
57 |
Russia |
metals, energy |
Energy
|
| 75 |
Masayoshi Son |
14.1 |
57 |
Japan |
internet, telecom |
Telecom
|
| 76 |
James Simons |
14.0 |
76 |
United States |
hedge funds |
Investments
|
| 77 |
German Larrea Mota Velasco & family |
13.9 |
61 |
Mexico |
mining |
Metals & Mining
|
| 77 |
Rupert Murdoch & family |
13.9 |
83 |
United States |
media |
Media
|
| 77 |
Johanna Quandt |
13.9 |
88 |
Germany |
BMW |
Automotive
|
| 80 |
David & Simon Reuben |
13.7 |
72 |
United Kingdom |
investments, real estate |
Real Estate
|
| 81 |
Dhanin Chearavanont |
13.6 |
75 |
Thailand |
diversified |
Diversified
|
| 82 |
Iris Fontbona & family |
13.5 |
72 |
Chile |
mining |
Metals & Mining
|
| 82 |
Lui Che Woo |
13.5 |
85 |
Hong Kong |
casinos |
Gambling & Casinos
|
| 82 |
Lakshmi Mittal |
13.5 |
64 |
India |
steel |
Metals & Mining
|
| 85 |
Abigail Johnson |
13.4 |
53 |
United States |
money management |
Investments
|
| 85 |
Luis Carlos Sarmiento |
13.4 |
82 |
Colombia |
banking |
Finance and Investments
|
| 87 |
Lei Jun |
13.2 |
45 |
China |
smartphones |
Technology
|
| 87 |
Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi |
13.2 |
70 |
Thailand |
drinks, real estate |
Food and Beverage
|
| 89 |
Alexey Mordashov |
13.0 |
49 |
Russia |
steel, investments |
Metals & Mining
|
| 89 |
Marcel Herrmann Telles |
13.0 |
65 |
Brazil |
beer |
Food and Beverage
|
| 91 |
Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor & family |
12.6 |
63 |
United Kingdom |
real estate |
Real Estate
|
| 92 |
Hans Rausing |
12.5 |
88 |
Sweden |
packaging |
Manufacturing
|
| 92 |
Jack Taylor & family |
12.5 |
92 |
United States |
Enterprise Rent-A-Car |
Service
|
| 94 |
Charles Butt & family |
12.3 |
77 |
United States |
supermarkets |
Fashion and Retail
|
| 94 |
Gina Rinehart |
12.3 |
61 |
Australia |
mining |
Metals & Mining
|
| 96 |
Vagit Alekperov |
12.2 |
64 |
Russia |
oil |
Energy
|
| 96 |
Harold Hamm |
12.2 |
69 |
United States |
oil & gas |
Energy
|
| 96 |
Patrick Soon-Shiong |
12.2 |
63 |
United States |
pharmaceuticals |
Healthcare
|
| 99 |
Stefano Pessina |
12.1 |
73 |
Italy |
drugstores |
Fashion & Retail
|
| 100 |
Richard Kinder |
12.0 |
70 |
United States |
pipelines |
Energy
|
| 100 |
Elon Musk |
12.0 |
43 |
United States |
Tesla Motors |
Automotive
|
| 100 |
Stephen Schwarzman |
12.0 |
68 |
United States |
investments |
Investments
|
See also
External links
Notes