List of Top 10 Billionaires in the World 2017

“The richest people in the world have an overwhelming amount of wealth.” 

There are more than 2000 billionaires in the world. Many billionaires give a large percentage of their money to charity. In reality, some of the world’s richest have completed “the giving pledge,” which means they have sworn to give away as a minimum amount of their wealth to charity.

The majority of the billionaires on the list are self-made or self-starters who built business empires in tech, finance, fashion, and sports and they took an idea that they turned into a billion-dollar fortune. For others, a few of the billionaires inherited stakes in their family’s companies but their control of the company led to overwhelming amounts of wealth.

Here we put together a list of World’s Top 10 Richest People 2017, using data from Bloomberg and Forbes magazine publishes its list of the top richest celebrities in the world, it takes a net worth of at least $40 billion.

1. Jeff Bezos

Jeff Bezos founded Amazon.com in 1994 after leaving his New York hedge fund job. He is responsible for the growth of online shopping and e-commerce by founding Amazon.com.  The online marketplace went public three years later and has since grown to sell everything from fashion to tech to food and Amazon’s own consumer-electronics products. Amazon.com grew to become the world’s largest online shopping retailer.

Bezos’s parents, Jackie and Mike Bezos, operate the Bezos Family Foundation, which supports youth education.

On November 24, 2017 — Bezos’s net worth hit $100 billion.

Net worth: $100 billion

Age: 53

Citizenship: United States

Industry: Technology

Source of wealth: Self-made; Amazon

2. Bill Gates

Bill Gates co-founded Microsoft together in 1975 with his friend Paul Allen and served as CEO until 2000. He still sits on the company’s board but is no longer active in the day-to-day dealings.

Bill Gates together with Mark Zuckerberg and Warren Buffett began “The Giving Pledge” to encourage other billionaires to give away as a minimum amount of their wealth to charity. His charitable foundation focuses on health and development issues across the world.

Net worth: $89.4 billion

Age: 62

Citizenship: United States

Industry: Technology

Source of wealth: Self-made; Microsoft

3. Warren Buffett

After being rejected from Harvard Business School, Warren Buffett went to Columbia instead where he studied. In 1969, Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett is an iconic figure and investment genius who bought his first stock when he was just 11 years old and filed his first taxes at age 13. Nicknamed the Oracle of Omaha, Buffett owns more than 60 companies.

One of the world’s best investors, Warren is also known for his cheap spending habits. In the newly released HBO documentary fetching Warren Buffett, the 86-year-old billionaire said he characteristically pays under $4 for breakfast from McDonald’s every morning.

Buffett is a goodhearted person and has vowed to give away 99% of his wealth.

Net worth: $81.7 billion

Age: 87

Citizenship: United States

Industry: Diversified

Source of wealth: Self-made; Berkshire Hathaway

4. Amancio Ortega

Amancio Ortega, 81-year-old, a Spanish self-made billionaire well-known for founding Inditex fashion group, which includes Zara clothing stores, Massimo Dutti, Oysho, and others. He is the wealthiest man in Europe; Ortega co-founded Inditex in 1975 with his ex-wife Rosalia Mera, who passed away in 2013.

Amancio Ortega is also the richest merchant in the world and owns 59% of Inditex, which runs more than 7,000 stores worldwide. He stepped down as chairman of the company in 2011.

As a minimum part of his success can be credited to Zara’s fast-fashion business model.

Net worth: $75.9 billion

Age: 81

Citizenship: Spain

Industry: Retail

Source of wealth: Self-made; Inditex

5. Mark Zuckerberg

Mark Zuckerberg launched TheFacebook.com when he was a sophomore at Harvard University when he created the first version of Facebook in 2004. The social media site, which was first set in motion on college campuses, now has more than 1.2 billion users and dozens of offices to be found around the world. The company is now worth $400 billion.

Zuckerberg, 33-year-old, the youngest of the Top Billionaires, is the chairman and CEO of Facebook in addition to being its co-founder.

Like other billionaires, Zuckerberg is a goodhearted person who has donated millions to charitable causes. He and his wife, Priscilla Chan, have pledged to donate 99% of their wealth through the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.

Net worth: $72.3 billion

Age: 33

Citizenship: United States

Industry: Technology

Source of wealth: Self-made; Facebook

 6. Carlos Slim Helu

Mexican trade person Carlos Slim Helu is the richest person in Mexico and owns more than 200 companies in industries ranging from banking to retail to telecommunications. He also controls America Movil, the largest operator of mobile phones in Latin America as well as the Grupo Carso conglomerate company, which includes a host of retailers and restaurants, among other companies.

The family business was inherited to Carlos Slim Helu after his father’s death in 1953, and founded his first company, insurance company Inversora Bursatil after he graduated from college in the early 1960s.

Net worth: $63.5 billion

Age: 77

Citizenship: Mexico

Industry: Diversified

Source of wealth: Self-made; Grupo Carso

7. Bernard Arnault

Bernard Arnault is liable for many of the world’s most fashionable brands, including Bulgari, Louis Vuitton, Dom Perignon and Sephora.

Bernard Arnault, the chairman, and CEO of LVMH, is the French billonaire who has the largest luxury goods company in the world.

Bernard Arnault, 68-year-old, started his career as a civil engineer and gained control of his family parent company, Groupe Arnault. In the 1980s, he bought fashion brand Christian Dior when he joined the business and helped revitalize the company.

Arnault is an art collector and created the Paris-based Foundation Louis Vuitton, which supports artistic creation in France.

Net worth: $61.5 billion

Age: 68

Citizenship: France

Industry: Consumer

Source of wealth: Self-made/Inheritance; LVMH

8. Larry Ellison

Larry Ellison, the founder, chairman and former CEO of software company Oracle, 72-year-old billionaire teamed up with two colleagues and founded in 1977 to start their own programming firm, which then shortly landed a contract to build a relational database management system for the CIA. The projects afterward raised up what’s known today as Oracle Corp., the second largest software architect at the back Microsoft.

Ellison has already given millions to charity and education and plans to give away billions. But he has also spent his wealth in more luxurious ways as well.

Net worth: $53.9 billion

Age: 73

Citizenship: United States

Industry: Technology

Source of wealth: Self-made; Oracle

9. Larry Page

Larry Page who co-founded Google with Sergey Brin in 1998. He is an American scientist and Internet Entrepreneur.  Presently he is the CEO of Google parent company, Alphabet Inc,

Net worth: $51.5 billion

Age: 44

Citizenship: United States

Industry: Technology

Source of wealth: Self-made; Google

10. Ingvar Kamprad

Ingvar Kamprad born 30 March 1926, Swedish business magnate. He is the founder of IKEA in 1943, powerhouse furniture retailer when he was 17. He moved IKEA and his family out of Sweden in the 1970s in order to avoid its taxes. The Swedish retail company is the largest furniture selling company.

Net worth: $50.7 billion

Age: 91

Citizenship: Sweden

Industry: Retail

Source of wealth: Self-made; IKEA