How many billionaires are there in the world?
The combined wealth of the ultra-rich hovers around $8.7 trillion
Forbes' sprawling billionaire list is comprised of 2,153 individuals as of 2019, approximately 55 fewer than there were the year prior, according to the latest estimates.
Last year, the combined wealth of those prosperous individuals was around $8.7 trillion, a decline of roughly $400 billion from 2018.
Of those more than 2,000 individuals, however, roughly 46 percent saw their wealth decline in 2019 compared to the year prior with 11 percent tumbling altogether off the outlet's ranking of the world’s ultra-rich.
The list saw roughly 195 new faces in 2019. Among the newcomers included the founder of Chinese discount web retailer Pinduoduo, Colin Huang; co-founders of Spotify, Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon; Juul Labs' James Monsees and Adam Bowen; Kind Bar’s Daniel Lubetzky and makeup mogul Kylie Jenner, according to Forbes.
At 21 years old, Jenner joined the coveted list as the youngest self-made billionaire.
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However, Forbes estimations often change with the rise and fall in stocks and shares, meaning the list has the potential to fluctuate on a daily basis.
As of 2019, there United States was home to approximately 607 billionaires, including 14 of the world’s wealthiest individuals.
Despite economic headwinds, the Amazon founder and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos, whose wealth hovers around $122 billion, remains the richest person in the world.
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Jeff Bezos attends the Axel Springer Award 2018 on April 24, 2018, in Berlin, Germany. (Franziska Krug/Getty Images)
Bezos is the founder, chief executive officer and president of Amazon. He founded the business in 1994 in his garage in Seattle, selling books and later electronics, software, video games, apparel, furniture, food, toys and jewelry. Since then, the company has gone on to become a global operation and a titan of e-commerce, logistics and streaming video, to name but a few ventures. In addition to Amazon, Bezos owns the Washington Post and Blue Origin, an aerospace manufacturer and sub-orbital spaceflight services company.
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To claim this coveted title, Bezos dethroned Bill Gates, who now sits at spot number two with an estimated net worth of $109 billion. The American software developer is best known as the co-founder of Microsoft Corporation. Under his guidance and development, Microsoft would become the world's largest personal computer software company.
Bill Gates attends the Telluride Film Festival 2019 on Aug. 31, 2019, in Telluride, Colorado. (Paul Best/Getty Images)
Behind Gates sits French businessman Bernard Arnault, the chairman and chief executive of LVMH Moët Hennessy – Louis Vuitton SE (commonly known as LVMH), the largest luxury goods company in the world. Arnault's wealth hovers around $100 billion.
Bernard Arnault, chairman and CEO of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE, delivers a speech at the Viva Technology conference in Paris, France, June 16, 2017. (Reuters/Benoit Tessier)
However, those one-percenters are equally as prone to seeing their wealth decline, a point bolstered by fears surrounding the rapidly spreading coronavirus.
The world's wealthiest individuals saw their wealth plummet Monday as stocks around the world fell on worries that a new type of virus in China may ultimately hit profits for companies from Wuhan to Washington. Ten of the wealthiest people in the world lost $30 billion collectively
Bezos alone saw his net worth dwindle $4.8 billion as shares of the tech giant dipped roughly 4 percent.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. This story contains material from previous FOX Business reports.
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