Amazon President, Chairman and CEO Jeff Bezos speaks at the Business Insider's "Ignition Future of Digital" conference in New York City December 2, 2014.Mike Segar/Reuters
We put together a list of the world's richest people, using data from Bloomberg.
The majority of the billionaires on the list are self-made self-starters who built business empires in tech, finance, fashion, and sports.
A few of the billionaires inherited stakes in their family's companies.
There's rich. And then there's world's richest people rich.
To make it into the latter group, you need a net worth of at least $19.1 billion.
Using the calculations from the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, we put together a list of the 20 richest people in the world. Bloomberg updates its data at the close of every trading day in New York, and our list is based on the latest data available for November 30. Since Bloomberg News doesn't report on Bloomberg LP, its data doesn't include Michael Bloomberg. We added him in using his estimated net worth from Forbes.
The majority of the billionaires on the list are self-made self-starters who built business empires in tech, finance, fashion, and sports. A few inherited stakes in their family's companies.
From tech tycoons to heiresses, here are the 20 richest people on earth.
Jeff Bezos founded Amazon.com in the garage of his Seattle home in 1994. The online marketplace went public three years later and has since grown to sell everything from fashion to tech to food and Amazon's own consumer-electronics products.
On November 24, 2017 — Black Friday — Bezos's net worth hit $100 billion.
Net worth: $98.4 billion
Age: 53
Citizenship: United States
Industry: Technology
Source of wealth: Self-made; Amazon
2. Bill Gates
Bill Gates co-founded Microsoft with his friend Paul Allen, and served as CEO until 2000. He still sits on the company's board, but is no longer active in the day-to-day dealings.
Net worth: $89.4 billion
Age: 62
Citizenship: United States
Industry: Technology
Source of wealth: Self-made; Microsoft
3. Warren Buffett
After getting rejected from Harvard Business School, Warren Buffett went to Columbia instead where he studied under Benjamin Graham, who would become his mentor. He later bought Berkshire Hathaway in 1969 and transformed it into a powerhouse holding company.
Net worth: $81.7 billion
Age: 87
Citizenship: United States
Industry: Diversified
Source of wealth: Self-made; Berkshire Hathaway
4. Amancio Ortega
Amancio Ortego controls fashion giant Inditex, which owns Zara, Massimo Dutti, Oysho, and others. At least part of his success can be attributed to Zara's fast-fashion business model.
Net worth: $75.9 billion
Age: 81
Citizenship: Spain
Industry: Retail
Source of wealth: Self-made; Inditex
5. Mark Zuckerberg
Mark Zuckerberg launched TheFacebook.com when he was a sophomore in college before dropping out to work on the site full-time.
Net worth: $72.3 billion
Age: 33
Citizenship: United States
Industry: Technology
Source of wealth: Self-made; Facebook
6. Carlos Slim
Carlos Slim owns a large number of companies in Mexico through his conglomerate, Grupo Carso. He also controls America Movil, the largest operator of mobile phones in Latin America.
Net worth: $63.5 billion
Age: 77
Citizenship:Mexico
Industry: Diversified
Source of wealth:Self-made; Grupo Carso
7. Bernard Arnault
Bernard Arnault is the chair of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, which houses dozens of luxury brands. Arnault bought Christian Dior when he joined the business, and helped revive the company.
Net worth: $61.5 billion
Age: 68
Citizenship: France
Industry: Consumer
Source of wealth:Self-made/Inheritance; LVMH
8. Larry Ellison
Larry Ellison teamed up with two colleagues from an electronics company in 1977 to start their own programming firm, which then shortly landed a contract to build a relational database-management system for the CIA. The project later grew into what's known today as Oracle Corp., the second largest software maker behind Microsoft. He stepped down as CEO in 2014.
Net worth: $53.9 billion
Age: 73
Citizenship: United States
Industry: Technology
Source of wealth:Self-made; Oracle
9. Larry Page
Larry Page co-founded Google with Sergey Brin in 1998. He is now the CEO of Alphabet, which is the company that owns Google.
Net worth: $51.5 billion
Age: 44
Citizenship: United States
Industry: Technology
Source of wealth: Self-made; Google
10. Ingvar Kamprad
Ingvar Kamprad founded IKEA, powerhouse furniture retailer, when he was 17. He moved IKEA and his family out of Sweden in the 1970s in order to avoid its taxes.
Net worth: $50.7 billion
Age: 91
Citizenship: Sweden
Industry: Retail
Source of wealth: Self-made; IKEA
11. Sergey Brin
Sergey Brin co-founded Google with Larry Page back in 1998. He is now the president of Alphabet, which is the company that owns Google.
Net worth: $50.2 billion
Age: 44
Citizenship: United States
Industry: Technology
Source of wealth: Self-made; Google
12. Michael Bloomberg
After being fired by Salomon Brothers, Bloomberg founded his eponymous financial-data firm in 1981. He added the news and media subsidiary in 1990, but the majority of Bloomberg LP's revenue continues to come from the sale of terminals. He later served as mayor of New York City for three terms.
Charles Koch runs Koch Industries as chairman and CEO with his brother, David. In addition to their conglomerate, the two brothers are major political influencers.
Net worth: $47.6 billion
Age: 82
Citizenship: United States
Industry: Industrial
Source of wealth: Self-made; Koch Industries
14. David Koch
David Koch runs Koch Industries as executive vice president with his brother, Charles. Koch Industries manufactures, refines, and distributes a wide range of things, including chemicals, energy, minerals, and more.
Net worth: $47.6 billion
Age: 77
Citizenship: United States
Industry: Industrial
Source of wealth: Self-made; Koch Industries
15. Jack Ma
Jack Ma started e-commerce company Alibaba with just $60,000 in 1999. Fifteen years later, it broke records with a $25 billion initial public offering.
Net worth: $46.6 billion
Age: 53
Citizenship: China
Industry: Technology
Source of wealth: Self-made; Alibaba
16. Rob Walton
Samuel Robson "Rob" Walton is the oldest son of Walmart founders Helen and Sam Walton. He started working at the superstore empire back in 1969 and served as chairman from 1992 to 2015.
Net worth: $46.3 billion
Age: 73
Citizenship: United States
Industry: Retail
Source of wealth: Inherited; Walmart
17. Jim Walton
James "Jim" Walton is the youngest son of Walmart founders Helen and Sam Walton. He co-manages Walton Enterprises, the holding company for the Walton family assets.
Net worth: $45.8 billion
Age: 69
Citizenship: United States
Industry: Retail
Source of wealth: Inherited; Walmart
18. Alice Walton
Alice Walton is the youngest heir to Helen and Sam Walton's Walmart fortune. She hasn't taken an active role in running the superstore empire, but she co-manages Walton Enterprises, one of the family's two holding companies.
Net worth: $45.0 billion
Age: 68
Citizenship: United States
Industry: Retail
Source of wealth: Inherited; Walmart
19. Francoise Bettencourt Meyers
Francoise Betterncourt Meyers is now the heiress to the L'Oreal cosmetics fortune after her mother's death in September 2017. She controls 33% of the company, according to Bloomberg.
Net worth: $44.3 billion
Age: 63
Citizenship: France
Industry: Consumer
Source of wealth: Inherited; L'Oreal Group
20. Pony Ma
Ma Huateng, also known as Pony Ma, founded Tencent Holdings, which has a number of Internet and communication platforms in its portfolio, in 1998 when he was 26. Among others, its platforms include WeChat and QQ.
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Amazon President, Chairman and CEO Jeff Bezos speaks at the Business Insider's "Ignition Future of Digital" conference in New York City December 2, 2014.Mike Segar/Reuters
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