In 2015, the number of billionaires in the world rose by 290 to a record 1,826. Clearly, economic and financial turmoil didn’t stop the world’s richest from deepening their pockets. In the following article, we shift our attention to the top of the list, explaining the how and why of the world’s ten richest billionaires, according to Forbes’ 2015 ranking.
- Liliane Bettencourt – $40.1 billion
The 93-year old Liliane Bettencourt made her billions as principal shareholder of global cosmetics and beauty company L’Oreal Group. The French businesswoman grew richer in 2014 after acquiring an additional 8% stake in L’Oreal from Nestle, raising her and her family’s share of the company to 33%. L’Oreal posted profits of €4.910 billion in 2014 on revenues of €22.532 billion.[1] Although Ms. Bettencourt hasn’t been involved in running the cosmetics giant for several years, the company continues to enjoy international success, which has made the French heiress even richer over the years.
- Jim Walton – $40.6 billion
Jim Walton was certainly born into the right family. The youngest of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton’s four children, Jim sits on the board of the global retailing giant. He and the rest of the Walton heirs own a 51% stake in Wal-Mart’s stock through two entities: Walton Enterprises and Walton Family Holdings. Outside of Wal-Mart, Jim also serves as chairman and CEO of family-founded Arvest Bank, which operates branches in Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma. In 2013 Arvest purchased 29 Bank of America branches throughout the country.[2]
- Christy Walton – $41.7 billion
Christy Walton married Jim’s older brother John Walton. As such, she has a self-made score of 1 according to Forbes, which signifies that she inherited a fortune but hasn’t worked to increased it. She apparently also owns a stake in solar panel company First Solar, which is worth around $1.3 billion.
7-6. David Koch & Charles Koch – $42.9 billion each
The Koch brothers regularly rank near the top of Forbes’ richest billionaires list. Together, they control Koch Industries, a multinational conglomerate of petroleum, chemicals and energy companies that also happens to be the second-largest privately held company in the United States. The brothers inherited an oil and gas refining company from their father Fred Koch in the 1960s. He had co-founded the company in 1940, spending the next 20 years developing innovative crude oil refining processes.[3] The Koch boys have certainly built upon their father’s vision. The company generates well over $100 billion annually in revenues.
- Larry Ellison – $54.3 billion
Larry Ellison is one of the most successful self-made entrepreneurs of the modern era. He co-founded global software maker Oracle in the 1970s. A university drop-out, Mr. Ellison made the bulk of his fortune tapping into business demand for customer relationship management databases. At its height, Oracle challenged Microsoft as the world’s biggest software maker by revenue.[4] Mr. Ellison stepped down as Oracle CEO last year, but continues to assert his influence on the company.
- Amancio Ortega – $64.5 billion
Amancio Ortega is regarded as the world’s wealthiest retailer. The source of his tremendous wealth is tied to Zara, a company he cofounded with his former wife in 1974. That company would grow into an international powerhouse with more than 2,000 stores and nearly $15 billion in annual sales. As of May 2015, the company had a brand value of $9.4 billion, making it the world’s 58th most valuable brand according to Forbes.[5] The company is owned by holding company Inditex, which was also founded by Mr. Ortega. After powering through the global financial crisis, he reinvested billions from his Inditex dividends into real estate.
- Warren Buffett – $72.7 billion
The Oracle of Omaha is regarded as the greatest investor of all-time. In 1962 Mr. Buffett took control of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., a then large but struggling New England-based textile maker.[6] Fifty years later, Berkshire Hathaway is the most valuable stock in the world at more than $200,000 a share. Mr. Buffett remains an active chairman at Berkshire, having only recently pulled off the company’s biggest deal ever by acquiring industrial and aerospace parts maker Precision Castparts. With controlling stakes in companies like Geico, Dairy Queen and Fruit of the Loom, it’s no wonder Berkshire Hathaway has made Warren Buffett one of the wealthiest people in the world.
- Carlos Slim Helu – $77.1 billion
Carlos Slim Helu rose to fame by dominating Mexico’s telecommunications industry. Known simply as the “Warren Buffett of Mexico,” Mr. Slim founded America Movil, the world’s fourth-largest mobile network operator. By 2010, America Movil had accounted for the majority of Mr. Slim’s massive net worth.[7] Mr. Slim overtook Bill Gates as world’s richest man in 2007 and then again between 2010 and 2013. He and his children now own nearly two-thirds of America Movil, and are increasing their presence in other key sectors of the Mexican economy.
- Bill Gates – $79.2 billion
The software tycoon and founder of Microsoft Corporation tops the list of world’s wealthiest again in 2015. By now everyone has heard the Bill Gates story. Forty years ago Mr. Gates and Paul Allen launched Microsoft with the goal of putting a computer on every person’s desk. The idea seemed ridiculous at the time. Today, computers are the lifeblood of the global economy and have served as a launching pad for an endless stream of new innovations ranging from laptops to smartphones. Mr. Gates served as president of Microsoft from 1981 to 2000, before stepping down to serve as chief software architect.[8] In 2014 he stepped down as chair of the company to become technology advisor.[9] As of 2015, Mr. Gates owned only a 3% stake in Microsoft, which accounts for roughly 13% of his fortune.
Source: Forbes (2015). The World’s Billionaires 2015 Ranking.
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[1] L’Oreal. Annual Report 2014.
[2] 5 News Web Staff. “Arvest Closes on Purchases of 29 Bank of America Branches.” 5 News.
[3] Securities and Exchange Commission. Summary of Koch Industries History.
[4] Softwaretop100.org. “Global Software Top 100 – Edition 2011.”
[5] Forbes. The World’s Most Valuable Brands: #58 Zara.
[6] Investors Friend. “Why Did Warren Buffet Buy Berkshire Hathaway in 1965?”
[7] Crayton Harrison and Carlos Manuel Rodriguez (February 10, 2011). “Carlos Slim Sees Colombia Rising as Commodity Choice.” Bloomberg Business.
[8] Katharine Gammon (May 19, 2008). “What We’ll Miss About Bill Gates – A Very Long Good-Bye.” Wired.com.
[9] Jacob Kastrenakes (February 4, 2014). “Bill Gates to ‘substantially increase time’ at Microsoft after stepping down as chairman.” The Verge.
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