Billionaire
A billionaire, in countries that use the short scale number naming system, is a person with a net worth of at least one billion (1,000,000,000) units of a given currency, usually major currencies such as the United States dollar, the euro, or the pound sterling. Forbes magazine updates a complete global list of known U.S. dollar billionaires every year.[1]
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Current U.S. dollar billionaires[edit]
According to the Forbes report released in March 2013, there are currently 1,426 U.S. dollar billionaires worldwide, boasting a combined total net worth of $5.4 trillion.[2] The United States has the largest number of billionaires of any country, with 442 as of 2013, while Russia and China were home to 96 and 95 billionaires respectively in 2012. Among U.S. billionaires, the average age is 66 years.[3]
Long scale billionaires/short scale trillionaires[edit]
In countries that use the long scale number naming system, a billionaire would have one million million (1,000,000,000,000) units of currency. Under the short scale number naming system, an individual with such a fortune would be a trillionaire. There are no known euro or U.S. dollar trillionaires – in U.S. dollars, such a fortune would be roughly equivalent to the entire 2010 gross domestic product of Mexico.[4] However, some individuals have attained fortunes of over one trillion units in other currencies. According to VnExpress, 9 Vietnamese had stock market assets valued at over one trillion đồng (US$47.5 million) by the end of 2011.[5] According to the Jakarta Globe, 116 Indonesians had assets worth over one trillion rupiah (US$117 million) in 2011.[6] According to the Korea Herald, there were 16 Koreans with stock market assets valued at over one trillion won (US$895 million) in March 2012.[7]
In countries affected by severe hyperinflation, some individuals can become trillionaires as currency units are printed in larger and larger denominations. However, the currency itself quickly becomes virtually worthless in such cases.[8]
Statistics[edit]
The table below lists numerous statistics relating to billionaires, including the net worth of the world's wealthiest individual for each year since 2008. Data for each year is from the annual Forbes list of billionaires, with currency figures given in U.S. dollars.
| Year | Total number of billionaires | Combined wealth of known billionaires | Number of U.S. billionaires | Number of Russian billionaires | Number of Chinese billionaires | Wealthiest individual | Wealthiest individual's net worth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013[2] | 1,426 | $5.4 trillion | 442 | – | – | Carlos Slim | $73 billion |
| 2012[9] | 1,226 | $4.6 trillion | 425 | 96 | 95 | Carlos Slim | $73 billion |
| 2011[10] | 1,210 | $4.5 trillion | 413 | 101 | 115 | Carlos Slim | $74 billion |
| 2010[11] | 1,011 | $3.6 trillion | 404 (est.) | 62 | 89 | Carlos Slim | $53.5 billion |
| 2009[12] | 793 | $2.4 trillion | 359 | 32 | 28 | Bill Gates | $40 billion |
| 2008[13] | 1,125 | $4.4 trillion | 470 (est.) | 87 | – | Warren Buffett | $62 billion |
See also[edit]
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Look up billionaire in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
References[edit]
- ^ Miller, Matthew; Kroll, Luisa (10 March 2010). "Bill Gates No Longer World's Richest Man". Forbes. Retrieved 7 June 2010.
- ^ a b "Billionaires". Forbes. 5 March 2013. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
- ^ Rappeport, Alan (9 March 2011). "Brics becoming billionaire factory". Financial Times. Retrieved 20 May 2011.
- ^ Mexico GDP (official exchange rate). IndexMundi.com. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
- ^ "Top 100 richest on Vietnam stock market in 2011". VnExpress. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
- ^ "150 Richest Indonesians" (PDF). Jakarta Globe. June 2011. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
- ^ Ji-yoon, Lee (11 March 2012). "Lee Kun-hee’s stock value hits record high". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
- ^ "How to Turn 100 Trillion Dollars Into Five and Feel Good About It". Patrick McGroarty and Farai Mutsaka. The Wall Street Journal. 11 May 2011. Retrieved 4 December 2012.
- ^ "Billionaires". Forbes. 7 March 2012. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
- ^ "World's Billionaires 2011: A Record Year In Numbers, Money And Impact". Forbes. 9 March 2011. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
- ^ "Bill Gates No Longer World's Richest Man". Forbes. 10 March 2010. Retrieved 1 April 2012
- ^ "The World's Billionaires". Forbes. 11 March 2009. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
- ^ "World's Billionaires". Forbes. 5 March 2008. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
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