A billionaire, in countries that use the short scale number naming system, is a person who has a net worth of at least one billion (one thousand million) units of a given currency, usually the United States dollar, euro, or pound sterling. Forbes magazine updates a complete global list of known U.S. dollar billionaires every year.[1]
[edit] U.S. dollar billionaires
Based on the Forbes report released on March 2011, there are 1,210 U.S. dollar billionaires worldwide, boasting a combined total net worth of $4.5 trillion as of February 14, 2011. The United States had 413 billionaires, with a total net worth of $1.5 trillion; Asia had 332 (nearly three times the number two years previously), 115 of whom were in the People's Republic of China; Europe had 300; and the rest of the world had 165. Among U.S. billionaires, the average age was 66 years.[2]
[edit] Long scale billionaires/short scale trillionaires
In countries that use the long scale number naming system, a billionaire would have one million million (1012, or 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.[3] However, some individuals have attained fortunes of over one trillion units in other currencies. According to VnExpress, 19 Vietnamese had stock market assets valued at over one trillion đồng (US$48.1 million) in May 2010.[4] According to The Korea Times, there were 14 Koreans with stock market assets valued at over one trillion won (US$881.6 million) in January 2011.[5]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
