Fortunes of world's top 10 billionaires soared over the past decade
Over the course of the past decade, the top 10 richest people in the world have gotten even richer.
Combined, the world’s 10 wealthiest people added an astonishing $534.8 billion to their collective fortune, according to an analysis of Forbes’ Real-Time Billionaires List, compared to Forbes' ranking of the wealthiest billionaires in 2010 (as of Aug. 25, 2010).
A large chunk of that stemmed from Amazon’s meteoric rise from an online bookseller to the largest e-commerce platform in the world. In 2010, CEO Jeff Bezos, then the 43rd richest in the world, was worth $12.3 billion; 10 years later, now the world’s richest, he’s worth a staggering $117.4 billion -- despite going through an incredibly expensive divorce.
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Even though Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett donated $37 billion, at the time the bulk of his fortune, to charity in 2006, he is ending the decade $42.3 billion richer.
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Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg also saw his fortune swell. At the beginning of the decade, Zuckerberg was worth $4 billion. Today, the 35-year-old is worth $76.8 billion, making him the world's sixth-richest.
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This comes amid a widening gap between the haves and the have-nots; last year, income inequality in the U.S. climbed to the highest level in more than 50 years, according to the Census Bureau.
Jeff Bezos:
2010 net worth: $12.3 billion
2019 net worth: $117.4 billion
Net worth change: $105.1 billion
Bernard Arnault (and family):
2010 net worth: $27.5 billion
2019 net worth: $110.8 billion
Net worth change: $83.3 billion
Bill Gates:
2010: $53 billion
2019 net worth: $108.5 billion
Net worth change: $55.5 billion
Warren Buffett:
2010 net worth: $47 billion
2019 net worth: $89.3 billion
Net worth change: $42.3 billion
Amancio Ortega:
2010 net worth: $25 billion
2019 net worth: $77.8 billion
Net worth change: $52.8 billion
Mark Zuckerberg:
2010 net worth: $4 billion
2019 net worth: $76.8 billion
Net worth change: $72.8 billion
Larry Ellison:
2010 net worth: $28 billion
2019 net worth: $66.1 billion
Net worth change: $38.1 billion
Carlos Slim Helu:
2010 net worth: $53.5 billion
2019 net worth: $64.1 billion
Net worth change: $10.6 billion
Larry Page:
2010 net worth: $17.5 billion
2019 net worth: $61.4 billion
Net worth change: $43.9 billion
Mukesh Ambani:
2010 net worth: $29 billion
2019 net worth: $59.4 billion
Net worth change: $30.4 billion