On more than one occasion we have heard that money does not bring happiness. And the truth is that as long as we have our basic needs satisfied and we consider that there is a fairness between what we do and what we get to have more or less money does not have to mean being more or less happy. Moreover, although the concept of wealth was born linked to money, today it is increasingly taken into account that there are many other types of wealth.

However, having a good economic capacity makes it easier to have experiences or simply to obtain more goods and services, something that the vast majority of people would like to have more capital. That is why there is often curiosity about who the richest people in the world are and how they have reached that position, something that has led to lists like those made every year by Forbes.

Throughout this article we will see which are the ten largest fortunes in the world at the economic level.

The 10 richest people in the world

Below we will see who are the richest people in the world, drawn from data obtained from the Forbes list of the world’s greatest fortunes for 2018.

1. Jeff Bezos

While his name may not be as well known as others who follow him on this list, Jezz Bezos is at 54 years of age the person who in 2018 had the largest fortune in the world: approximately 112 billion in assets . This amount not only makes him the richest person on the 2018 list, but it also makes him the richest person in history (as far as we know).

This huge amount doesn’t come out of nowhere: Jeff Bezos is the founder and CEO of Amazon (as well as owning 16% of that company), the world’s leading e-commerce site (among other things, as it gradually expands and adds services such as the recent Amazon Prime Video). And while this is his main source of wealth, he is also a majority shareholder of “The Washington Post” and the aerospace company Blue Origin . Interestingly, he has been elected as one of the worst bosses in the world by the unions in 2014.

2. Bill Gates

Until recently the richest man in the world (being surpassed by Jeff Bezzos in the last year), Bill Gates is at 62 years old one of the two founding members of Microsoft , the company from which he derives most of his immense fortune. That fortune is estimated at $91.3 billion.

However, his stake in Microsoft is currently minimal: although he is still a member of the company’s board he holds less than 1% of the shares, having sold or given up the majority of them. In addition, he has made multiple investments, and is highly regarded for creating with his wife the largest private charitable foundation: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. In addition, he has also been the protagonist of several campaigns that sought other great fortunes to contribute to a better world and to participate in charitable works.

3. Warren Buffett

At 87 years of age, the so-called Oracle of Omaha has about $87 billion. He is one of the most successful entrepreneurs and investors and has a keen eye for business, and owns a large number of businesses and companies, including Duracell. Together with Bill Gates, he is one of the entrepreneurs who has also decided to do great charitable work. He is one of the owners of the Berkshire Hathaway holding company.

4. Bernard Arnault

The fourth position among the richest people in the world is for a citizen of French origin. At the age of 69, Bernard Arnault has a fortune of $75 billion (approximately 72 billion euros). He is the president of the conglomerate Louis Vuiton Moët Hennessy or LVMH , a multinational group that owns brands as well known as Louis Vuitton itself, Loewe, Christian Dior, Sephora or Bulgari.

5. Mark Zuckerberg

The fifth richest person in the world and the youngest on this list is none other than the creator of the most widely used social network in the world: Facebook. He owns around 17% of the shares of the company , which he founded even without having finished his career at Harvard, and enjoys a fortune of 73.2 billion dollars. He has also given away a large part of his shares and contributes to various research and charity projects.

6. Amancio Ortega

The sixth position on this list, which is mainly made up of US citizens, goes to one of the best known Spanish businessmen: Amancio Ortega, 81 years old. He is the founder of Inditex , a group that includes brands such as Zara, Pull & Bear, Massimo Dutti and Bershka. He has also participated in other businesses such as real estate. Its assets amount to approximately 71,000 million dollars.

7. Carlos Slim

With $67.1 billion in his possession, Carlos Slim is the sixth richest man in the world. This 78-year-old Mexican has made his fortune over the years, by running companies like Grupo Carso , which controls companies like the telephone operator Telmex or the mining and chemical company Frisco. He also owns companies such as Prodigy or a large part of the shares of The New York Times.

8 y 9. Charles and David Koch

At 82 and 77 respectively, these two American brothers hold an equivalent fortune (which is why they are jointly listed here), estimated at around $60 billion. This comes from their role as directors and co-owners of the Koch Industries group , which owns companies such as Invista or Koch Minerals. This group is mainly engaged in the extraction and preparation of oil and minerals and the manufacture of chemical products such as fertilizers and chemical equipment, among others.

10. Larry Ellison

The tenth largest fortune in the world is that of Larry Ellison, who has $58.5 billion in assets at age 73. This is the founder of Oracle Corporation, one of the most important technology companies and the first at the level of working with databases and in the cloud. This company has taken over systems like Siebel. However, he retired from the company’s management in 2014, although he remained as CEO.

Common elements

While each member of this list has his or her own life, personality characteristics, beliefs and opinions about different areas of life, it is possible to visualize how many of them have elements in common.

All of them have manifested throughout their lives the fact of having vision not only of business and entrepreneurship but also of the existence of social needs that might need to be addressed.

Also have been characterized by their perseverance and for knowing how to face the risks , going out of their comfort zone and risking to lose. On the other hand, they have demonstrated their capacity for flexibility and adaptation to change in a liquid society such as ours, and for dealing with multiple competitors by offering a differentiated product or service that is sufficiently different and original to be easily recognisable to the consumer.

While some large fortunes are the product of inheritance, it is relevant to note that most of the wealthiest people started from the bottom, and some even began working during adolescence. As regards training, all of them managed to start university training, although some would end up leaving it . In any case, other persons who have made great fortunes have done so regardless of their academic training.

However, despite these similarities, other personal attitudes can vary greatly: while some are known and controversial for their attitudes to the environment, their lack of empathy for their employees or their extreme political ideologies, others have been involved in major charity campaigns, helping to combat disease and trying to use and even give away some of their fortune in order to try to improve the situation for the rest of the world.

Also in some cases they try to lead a normalised and austere life regardless of their economic power, while others display rather more eccentric behaviours and ways of being.

Bibliographic references:

  • Forbes list.