The World’s TOP Richest IT Billionaires
Over the year, the world has become one and a half times more IT billionaires, and their combined wealth has grown by 80%.
Thanks to the rapid recovery of stock markets after last year’s Coronavirus collapse, the fortunes of billionaires around the world have reached a record high. However, no one can boast of more significant capital gains than IT entrepreneurs.
The combined wealth of these Forbes list members is now estimated at $250,000,000. That’s about 80 percent more than last year when they totaled $140,000,000.
Last year Forbes counted 241 billionaires who got rich in technology. This year there are 365. The IT industry is second only to finance and investment (371 billionaires) in the number of billionaires.
But the total capital of this category of richest people is much higher than any other sector. By comparison, the total wealth of billionaires in fashion and retail is estimated at $1.7 trillion, and in finance and investment at $1.5 trillion.
The main reason for the dominance of the IT industry is that this is where the rich members of the Forbes list belong.
Only 20 of these IT entrepreneurs have a fortune of $ 1.2 trillion, which is almost half the assets of all the billionaires in the industry. Eight of the twenty-six of the ten richest people in the world got rich because of technology.
Most of the richest IT billionaires still live in the United States. But China’s fast-growing Internet sector is helping a new generation of tech entrepreneurs climb the list. Nine of the twenty richest IT billionaires now hail from China, up from just six last year.
Jeff Bezos
Wealth: $ 177 billion
Source of wealth: Amazon
Amazon’s founder will no longer be CEO by the end of the year.
In February, Jeff Bezos announced that he would leave the post in the third quarter and devote his time to other projects, such as the space company Blue Origin.
The Washington Post and charitable initiatives like the Amazon Day 1 Foundation. Last year, the $10 billion Bezos Earth Foundation donated $791 million to 16 nonprofits that fight climate change.
Bill Gates
Wealth: $ 124 billion
Source of Wealth: Microsoft
Microsoft founder Bill Gates found himself below the number two spot on Forbes’ list for the first time since 2008, even though his fortune crossed the $100 billion mark last year.
The entrepreneur’s capital grew by $26 billion, including a 66 percent rise in Microsoft stock and a jump in shares of tractor maker Deere & Co.
Climate change is one of the critical issues Gates is fighting with donations.
In February, he told Forbes that he gave $2 billion to organizations working to reduce emissions.
Mark Zuckerberg
Wealth: $97 billion
Source of Wealth: Facebook
Facebook remains a significant pandemic communication platform, but it has come under considerable criticism. Last summer, Mark Zuckerberg had to testify virtually before Congress over alleged antitrust violations.
Larry Ellison
Fortune: $93 billion
Source of wealth: software
Larry Ellison has become a significant figure in the result of IT companies from San Francisco to new centers of gravity like Texas and Florida.
Oracle, which he founded in 1977, has already moved its headquarters to Austin, and Ellison himself has announced to employees that he is moving to Hawaii.
Larry Page
Wealth: $91.5 billion
Source of wealth: Google
Since stepping down from running the search engine’s parent company, Alphabet, Google’s founders have remained in the shadows in late 2019. Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai testified in Congress alongside Zuckerberg instead.
Larry Page and Sergey Brin still own more than 50% of Alphabet’s voting shares, allowing them to retain control of its decisions.
Steve Ballmer
Wealth: $68.7 bln
Source of wealth: Microsoft
Steve Ballmer became America’s most prosperous sports club owner thanks to the capital he earned at Microsoft. Last year, Ballmer bought The Forum Stadium in Inglewood for $400 million.
His Los Angeles Clippers basketball team is expected to play in the new arena for the first time this year.
The Ballmer Group, a charitable organization that the former Microsoft chief executive created with his wife Connie, has donated $54 million over the past year to various projects that combat the effects of the pandemic.
