Famous Billionaires

Billionaires are the individuals who possess a net worth of at least one billion units of a given currency like United States dollar, the euro, or the pound sterling. Currently there are over 2,000 billionaires in the world and there are at least 67 countries which are home to at least one person valued at more than a billion dollars. American business magnate and co-founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates, is currently the richest man in the world and was the wealthiest overall from 1995 to 2014. With a net worth of $85 billion, Gates is slightly ahead of his closest competitor, Mexican Carlos Slim who boasts of a net worth of $83 billion. Slim was ranked as the richest person in the world from 2010 to 2013. Another American, Warren Buffett, with wealth valued at $76 billion is also consistently ranked among the world's wealthiest people. Buffet is considered to be the most successful investor of the 20th century and is noted for his commitment to philanthropic causes. Even though most of the world’s top billionaires are men, women are not much far behind. American philanthropist Christy Walton, widow of John T. Walton, is the world’s richest woman and the highest female philanthropist. This section provides you information about the life and works of famous billionaires from all over the world.