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Press Release: Forbes 33rd Annual World's Billionaires Issue Reveals Number Of Billionaires And Their Combined Wealth Have Decreased For The First Time Since 2016

This article is more than 5 years old.

Kylie Jenner Makes the 2019 List of the World’s Richest People For the First Time, Joining 194 Other New Listmakers; At Age 21, She Is Now The World’s Youngest Billionaire

NEW YORK (March 5, 2019) – Forbes today released its 33rd annual ranking of the world’s billionaires, featuring the planet’s wealthiest individuals. There are 2,153 billionaires on the 2019 list, down from 2,208 in 2018. The total combined net worth of this year’s billionaires is $8.7 trillion, down from $9.1 trillion in 2018. This represents the first decrease in billionaires and their combined wealth since 2016 and only the second decrease in the past decade. A record 994 individuals are worth less than a year ago; last year only 360 members got poorer. The average net worth of this year’s billionaires is $4 billion, down from $4.1 billion in 2018. Of the total, 1,450 members are self-made.

“The billionaire ranks prove that even the world’s richest are not immune to economic forces and the volatility of world markets. Yet, even with strong headwinds, resourceful and relentless entrepreneurs find new ways to get rich,” said Luisa Kroll, Assistant Managing Editor of Wealth, Forbes.  “Of note this year was the large number of drop-offs in China, and the weakening of the euro vs. the dollar, which pushed down the dollar value of European fortunes,” said Kerry A. Dolan, Assistant Managing Editor of Wealth, Forbes.

To view the list, visit www.forbes.com/billionaires.

For the second year running, centi-billionaire Jeff Bezos remained in the top spot, increasing his net worth to $131 billion, up $19 billion from 2018. Bill Gates, who held the top spot for the longest period of time, remained in the No. 2 position with a fortune of $96.5 billion, up from $90 billion last year. A rise in Amazon’s stock price pushed up Bezos’ net worth, further widening the gap between the top two richest, now the largest since 2001. Warren Buffett’s net worth fell by $1.5 billion to $82.5 billion but secured him the No. 3 spot. Bernard Arnault, held onto his position as the fourth-wealthiest person in the world by increasing his fortune to $76 billion, up $4 billion from the previous year; he remains the richest person in Europe for two years running. Rounding out the top five is telecom magnate Carlos Slim Helu of Mexico, who ascended two spots on the list despite a decrease in net wealth of over $3 billion. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg notably dropped three places to No. 8, as his fortune fell by $8.7 billion.

Kylie Jenner, at 21 years old, made the 2019 Forbes Billionaires list for the first time. Jenner is the youngest billionaire in the world and the youngest self-made billionaire of all time. Jenner owns 100% of Kylie Cosmetics, the three-year-old beauty business that did an estimated $360 million in sales last year. Most of the company’s revenue comes from e-commerce, but the company also has a new deal with Ulta that put its goods in all the makeup retailer’s 1,163 U.S. stores. Jenner was ranked at number 2,057 on this year’s list. For more information, visit: here.

The Top 20 billionaires have a combined net worth of $1.2 trillion, unchanged from last year but still the highest amount ever. Their aggregate wealth represents roughly 14% of all billionaires. The minimum net worth to make the Top 20 was $38.8 billion, $200 million less than 2018.

Forbes 2019 Top 20 Billionaires
Rank Name Final Worth
($bil)
Up/Down
from 2017
Citizenship Origin of Wealth
1 Jeff Bezos 131 Up United States Amazon
2 Bill Gates 96.5 Up United States Microsoft
3 Warren Buffett 82.5 Down United States Berkshire Hathaway
4 Bernard Arnault 76 Up France LVMH
5 Carlos Slim Helu 64 Down Mexico telecom
6 Amancio Ortega 62.7 Down Spain Zara
7 Larry Ellison 62.5 Up United States software
8 Mark Zuckerberg 62.3 Down United States Facebook
9 Michael Bloomberg 55.5 Up United States Bloomberg LP
10 Larry Page 50.8 Up United States Google
11 Charles Koch 50.5 Down United States Koch Industries
11 David Koch 50.5 Down United States Koch Industries
13 Mukesh Ambani 50 Up India petrochemicals, oil & gas
14 Sergey Brin 49.8 Up United States Google
15 Francoise Bettencourt Meyers 49.3 Up France L'Oréal
16 Jim Walton 44.6 Down United States Walmart
17 Alice Walton 44.4 Down United States Walmart
18 S. Robson Walton 44.3 Down United States Walmart
19 Steve Ballmer 41.2 Up United States Microsoft
20 Ma Huateng 38.8 Down China internet media

For the complete list, visit:  www.forbes.com/billionaires.

ON THE COVER: Daniel Lubetzky, Founder & CEO of Kind Healthy Snacks, is featured in the Forbes cover story “Social Spin Doctor.” Billionaire newcomer Lubetzky has spun chocolate, nuts and do-gooder rhetoric into a snack company worth billions, but maybe someday he’ll get back to his true passion: changing the world for the better.

President Trump’s net worth is unchanged from a year ago at $3.1 billion, but he rises in the ranks to No. 715, up from No. 766 in 2018. This rise is reflective of the record number of billionaires whose fortunes have decreased.

Key Highlights From Forbes’ 2019 World’s Billionaires list:

Women

  • There are 252 women on this year’s billionaires list, down from 256 in 2018. This number (252) includes 9 women who share their fortunes with their husband, son or brother.
  • There are 68 self-made women on the Billionaires list this year, including 7 who share their fortunes with their husband, son or brother.
  • The richest self-made woman is real estate mogul Wu Yajun of China, worth an estimated $9.4 billion.
  • The countries with the most female billionaires are the United States (87, up from 82 last year), Germany (30, down from 33), and China (26, down from 30).

Newcomers/Drop-Offs

  • This year 195 billionaires are new to the list.
  • China has the most newcomers, with 44, followed by 39 newcomers from the U.S. and 18 from Brazil.
  • China also had the most drop-offs with 102.
  • Notable newcomers include tech executive Safra Catz, CEO of software giant Oracle; Spotify cofounder and CEO Daniel Ek; and Dani Reiss, CEO of popular down coat purveyor Canada Goose.
  • Altogether, 247 people dropped out of the rankings, more than double the number who dropped out in 2018.
  • Notable drop-offs include Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, fashion designers and cofounders of Dolce & Gabbana; David Einhorn, hedge fund manager and President of Greenlight Capital; and Group Chairman of Li & Fung, Victor Fung, who had been on the list for 18 years in a row.

By Location

  • Regionally, Asia-Pacific boasts the most billionaires, with 767, followed by the United States with 607 and Europe with 545.
  • By country, the U.S. leads with the greatest number of billionaires, with 607, followed by China with 324 (down from 372 last year); Germany with 114 (down from 123), India with 106 (down from 119) and Russia with 98 (down from 102).
  • By total amount of money, United States billionaires maintain the greatest cumulative wealth, with $3.1 trillion, followed by Asia-Pacific with $2.5 trillion, Europe with $2.25 trillion, The Americas (not including U.S.) with $550 billion, and the Middle East/Africa with $218 billion.

Methodology

The Forbes Billionaires list is a snapshot of wealth using stock prices and exchange rates from Feb. 8, 2019. Forbes lists individuals rather than multigenerational families who share large fortunes, though we include wealth belonging to a billionaire’s spouse and children if that person is the founder of the fortune. In some cases, siblings and couples are listed together if the ownership breakdown among them isn’t clear. However they still must be worth on average a minimum of $1 billion apiece to make the cut.

To follow the conversation on social, use: #ForbesBillionaires

Media Contacts:

U.S. - Christina Vega at cvega@forbes.com or Jocelyn Swift at jswift@forbes.com 

Asia – Catherine Ong at cath@catherineong.com  

Europe – Charlotte Juckes at c.juckes@hawthornadvisors.com