By Rahma Rifkhan
Custom-designed suits, extravagant cars, luxurious mansions, global fame and a net-worth of billions: Meet the entrepreneurs, business magnates, tech tycoons and visionaries of the present day. Here’s a list of the ten richest people in the world.
1.Elon Musk
He is an entrepreneur; an engineer; an investor but above all, a dreamer. Meet Elon Musk: the world’s wealthiest man. He has risen to riches by dominating more than one market. Tesla, his car company, is the pioneer of electric vehicles. Space- X, his aerospace venture is shaping the future of space-travel. PayPal, the electronic-payment enterprise he co-founded, is being used globally.
While the Pandemic crippled economies world-wide, Musk’s net worth shot up to a whopping $269 billion, making him the richest man on the planet.
2.Jeff Bezos
This is the man responsible for transforming an online-bookstore that began in a small garage into the World’s largest retailer: Amazon.com. Just last year, the world watched in awe as he embarked on a 11-minute flight to the edge of space on New Shepard, a rocket manufactured by his space exploration company, Blue Origin. Bezos also owns The Washington Post, the popular American Newspaper network. All his collective ventures bring his net worth to mind-boggling $187 billion, making him the second richest man on the planet.
3.Bernard Arnault
For all the Lankans who adore Dior perfume, Louis Vuitton bags and Tiffany rings, meet the man pulling the strings in the world of luxury goods & Fashion: Bernard Arnault. He overlooks a kingdom of 75 different brands including Louis Vuitton, Tiffany & Co., Sephora & Marc Jacobs. With net- worth of $164 billion, the French business magnate secured a spot in the top 3 of the world’s wealthiest.
4.Bill Gates
Tech- Mogul turned philanthropist, Bill Gates has an impressive net worth of $133 billion, making him the fourth on this list of Earth’s elite. He is the co-founder of the Tech Giant- Microsoft. Microsoft’s Windows is undoubtedly the most widely used operating system both within Sri Lanka and globally.
Gates was yet another beneficiary of the Pandemic. As people started to work from home, technology stocks sky-rocketed adding $7.13 billion to his fortune.
5.Larry Page
Within the confines of a college dorm room in Stanford University, an idea was born which flourished into a search engine on which we now rely on for almost everything. This is the origin of google: The most popular search engine in Sri Lanka, as well as the rest of the world. Larry Page, a co-founder of Google and its parent company, Alphabet, takes up the fifth slot in the list of the world’s wealthiest with a net worth of $ 124 billion.
6.Mark Zuckerberg
There are over 7 million Facebook users in Sri Lanka, Whatsapp is the most preferred messaging app and Instagram’s popularity continues with more than 1.4 million users island wide. All of these prominent social media platforms fall under the parent company, Meta, which Zuckerberg is the CEO of.
2021 was undoubtedly a great year to be a billionaire for Mark Zuckerberg, whose fortune doubled as Wall Street was booming. His wealth multiplied, shooting his net worth to a grand $124 billion.
7.Sergey Brin
It does not come as a surprise that the other co-founder of Google and its holding company Alphabet, Sergey Brin, is also among the richest of the rich. His grand net-worth of $119 billion earns him the seventh spot among the richest men on earth.
In addition, surging markets around the globe caused the shares of Google to soar, making its co-founders among the top gainers from the Pandemic.
8.Warren Buffett
Almost 8 decades back, A young boy developed an interest in the booming world of business and bought his first stock at the age of 11. Today, he is recognized globally to be the one of the most successful and thriving investors of our time. The number eighth of this list is taken by none other than Warren Buffet, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, the conglomerate that owns over 60 companies including Duracell and Dairy Queen. Buffett has also acquired minority holdings in major companies like Coca- Cola and Apple. His strategic investment strategies have certainly paid off well considering his net worth of $117 billion as of 2022.
9.Steve Ballmer
At number 9 on this list, we have Steve Ballmer: Owner of the basketball team Los Angeles Clippers and former CEO of Microsoft. Ballmer owns an estimated 4% of Microsoft’s stock. With rising tech markets around the globe, his shares of Microsoft have boosted his net worth,which is currently at $111 billion.
10.Larry Ellison
To close this list, we have Larry Ellison, who recently took a seat at the Billionaires’ table in 2021. He is the co-founder of the software giant, Oracle and the second largest individual shareholder of Tesla. Thanks to the booming markets, his net worth now stands at a majestic $107 billion.
For most of the Billionaires on this list, the road to riches has definitely not been easy but the innovations they have put forth have undoubtedly changed the course of history. Before we bring this article to a close, let’s take a look at Sri Lanka’s elite. Currently holding the position as the wealthiest man in the island is Dhammika Perera, with a net worth amounting to $550 million. It goes without saying that he has a very long way to go before he can join the 12-digit club.
