How many billionaires are there in the world? 

The total billionaires in the world? Maybe just many years ago, I remember some number in the hundreds but today, I read that the number of billionaires has hit 2,208 persons, according to Forbes. The richest is not Bill Gates but Jeff Bezos the founder of Amazon. The full article in NST here. Richest Malaysian is still Robert Kuok. Within Asia Pacific, there are 827 billionaires with a total net worth of US$2.75 trillion. (RM10.76 trillion) There are 14 Malaysian billionaires in the list, with Kuok being ranked at No. 96 with US$14.8 billion (RM58 billion) This was followed by Ananda Krishnan (No. 217, US$7.2 billion), Tan Sri Quek Leng Chan (No. 217, US$7.2 billion), Tan Sri Teh Hong Piow (No. 289, US$6.0 billion) and Tan Sri Lee Shin Cheng (No. 321, US$5.6 billion). President of the U.S Donald Trump ranked 766th. The average net worth for these 2,208 billionaires would be US$4.1 billion (RM16 billion), a record high.

Yes, the richest are still getting ever richer. The total combined net worth of this year’s billionaires was US$9.1 trillion (RM35.6 trillion), up from US$7.7 trillion last year. There are 1,490 members who did not get their wealth from their families. This is up from 1,371 in 2017. The list is based on a snapshot of wealth taken on February 9 this year. Forbes used that day’s stock prices and exchange rates from around the world. The list lists individuals rather than multigenerational families who share large fortunes. For some cases, siblings and couples are listed together if the ownership breakdown among them isn’t clear. However to make the cut, the average has to be a minimum of US$1 billion apiece to make the cut. Here’s the article in NST again for reference. Alternatively, we can also look at Forbes site for a more comprehensive report.
Forbes:  Forbes found a record 2,208 billionaires, collectively worth US$9.1 trillion. (RM35.61 trillion) Among them are 259 newcomers who made their fortunes in everything from wedding dresses to children’s toys to electric cars.  Within one year, the founder of Amazon, Jeff Bezos increased his wealth by a staggering US$39.2 billion. (RM153 billion) and he has thus knocked Bill Gates to number 2. There are lots of other interesting stuffs too including the 259 new billionaires, how did they got so rich, world’s youngest billionaires and even the richest women in 2018. Here’s the full article in Forbes for a good reading. Nope I did not find any main articles related to Malaysia or Singapore on the main page. Jack Ma is worth US$39 billion but he is not the richest in China. That honour goes to Ma HuaTeng with US$45.3 billion. Happy reading and dreaming the next startup yeah.
written on 16 March 2018
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