Forbes has put out its annual Richest In Tech list for 2017. The names on the list won’t surprise you but what’s interesting is that these 100 individuals have a combined net worth of $1.08 trillion.
Forbes is known for ranking individuals on the basis of their wealth, whether it be actors, singers, or tech multi-millionaires. The business magazine has been releasing the Richest In Tech list for three years now but this is the first time that the 100 richest self-made billionaires have crossed the $1 trillion mark for their cumulative net worth. Their combined net worth is 21% more than last year’s figure of $892 and half of this increase is due to the wealth of the top 10 richest tech billionaires.
This significant increase is largely due to an increase in the stock prices of numerous companies including Facebook and Amazon. Interestingly, over three-quarters of the billionaires on the list having bigger net worths than last year.
The names on the list haven’t changed much. Bill Gates is still the richest person in tech and also the richest person in the world. Gates has a fortune of $85.4 billion which has increased by $6.5 billion since last year. Jeff Bezos, who was briefly the richest person in the world, takes the second spot with a net worth of $81.7 billion. After a significant drop, Mark Zuckerberg ranks in the third place with $69.6 billion to his name. He is also the fifth youngest person on the list.
Leading the way for Asians, who make up one-thirds of the list, Jack Ma takes the seventh spot with a net worth of $37.4 billion. Other names on the list include Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, Tesla and SpaceX chief Elon Musk, Facebook’s lesser known co-founder Eduardo Saverin, and the founder of Xiaomi Lei Jun who saw a drop of $2.9 billion in his net worth. Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick also saw a drop of $1.2 billion in his fortune, following a series of scandals that have hit the ride-hailing startup. Snapchat’s co-founder Evan Spiegel made it back to the list with a net worth of $3.2 billion. He is also the youngest person on the list.
Only six women were able to shatter the glass ceiling and make it through Forbes’ cut off threshold of $2.6 billion. These women have a combined net worth of an estimated $27.6 billion.
Interested in reading more about the richest people in tech? Find the complete list and other trivia here.
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