Forbes' annual ranking of the world's billionaires features a record-breaking 2,755 people, with Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos leading the list for the fourth year in a row, the media group announced on Tuesday.
After a year in which the coronavirus pandemic upended global markets and disrupted the livelihoods of people all over the world, the ranks of the ultra-wealthy are growing.
The total wealth of this year's billionaires is $13.1 trillion (roughly Rs. 9,70,22,800 crores), up from $8 trillion (roughly Rs. 5,92,50,560 crores) last year, according to Forbes. "The very, very rich got very, very richer," said Forbes' Chief Content Officer Randall Lane, in an interview with Reuters Video News.
Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, rose from 31st place last year to second place this year. Bernard Arnault, the CEO of LVMH, Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, and Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook, fill out the top five richest billionaires on the planet.
For the first time in over two decades, investor and corporate tycoon Warren Buffett dropped out of the top five, as tech executives dominated the Forbes rankings. Mukesh Ambani, the chairman of Reliance Industries and Asia's richest man, is ranked number 10 with an approximate net worth of $84.5 billion.
He leapfrogged China's Jack Ma, Asia's richest man a year ago, who fell to 26th place after a near $10 billion increase in his fortune to $48.4 billion. According to Forbes, Gautam Adani is the second richest Indian.
Forbes billionaires list 2021: Top 10 Billionaires
#1 Jeff Bezos
NET WORTH: $177 BILLION
SOURCE OF WEALTH: AMAZON
RESIDENCE: SEATTLE
#2 Elon Musk
NET WORTH: $151 BILLION
SOURCE OF WEALTH: TESLA, SPACEX
RESIDENCE: AUSTIN, TEXAS
#3 Bernard Arnault
NET WORTH: $150 BILLION
SOURCE OF WEALTH: LUXURY GOODS
RESIDENCE: PARIS
#4 Bill Gates
NET WORTH: $124 BILLION
SOURCE OF WEALTH: MICROSOFT
RESIDENCE: MEDINA, WASHINGTON
#5 Mark Zuckerberg
NET WORTH: $97 BILLION
SOURCE OF WEALTH: FACEBOOK
RESIDENCE: PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA
#6 Warren Buffett
NET WORTH: $96 BILLION
SOURCE OF WEALTH: BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY
RESIDENCE: OMAHA, NEBRASKA
#7 Larry Ellison
NET WORTH: $93 BILLION
SOURCE OF WEALTH: SOFTWARE
RESIDENCE: LANAI, HAWAII
#8 Larry Page
NET WORTH: $91.5 BILLION
SOURCE OF WEALTH: GOOGLE
RESIDENCE: PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA
#9 Sergey Brin
NET WORTH: $89 BILLION
SOURCE OF WEALTH: GOOGLE
RESIDENCE: LOS ALTOS, CALIFORNIA
#10 Mukesh Ambani
NET WORTH: $84.5 BILLION
SOURCE OF WEALTH: DIVERSIFIED
RESIDENCE: MUMBAI, INDIA
