Forbes Releases 2015 List of Top Billionaires: 5 Nigerians Made The List!

 

Forbes has released the 29th annual guide to the globe’s richest. Bill Gates is once again the world’s richest after his fortune grew by $3.2 billion over the past year. Five Nigerians also made the list.

The names of the Nigerians are: Aliko Dangote, Mike Adenuga, Folorunsho Alakija, Femi Otedola and Abdulsamad Rabiu.

Carlos Slim Helu of Mexico comes in again at No. 2 while revered American investor Warren Buffett took back the No. 3 spot from Spain’s Amancio Ortega (now No. 4); not even the largest IPO in history was enough to beat the Oracle of Omaha this year.

Buffett was the list’s biggest gainer, up $14.5 billion to $72.7 billion, thanks to Berkshire Hathaway’s rising share price.

Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg moves up 5 spots to number 16, his first time ranked among the world’s 20 richest. The youngest richest person on the list is 24 year old Evan Spiegel of Snapchat.

Silicon Valley tech companies have spawned 23 new billionaires, including cofounders of car-hailing service Uber co founders, Travis Kalanick and Garrett Cam. Silicon Valley alone has 131 individuals with 10-figure net worths, more than any other country besides China and the U.S.

The country that was lost the most ground by far was Russia, which now has 88 billionaires down from 111, less than not just the U.S. and China but now also Germany and India.

There’s no doubt that entrepreneurship is thriving globally. Fully 1,191 members of the list are self-made billionaires, while just 230 inherited their wealth. Another 405 inherited at least a portion but are still working to increase their fortunes.

See the comprehensive below:

1. Bill Gates
Net Worth: $79.2 B
Source of wealth: Microsoft
2. Carlos Slim Helu & family
Net Worth: $77.1 B
Source of wealth: telecom
3. Warren Buffett
Net Worth: $72.7 B
Source of wealth: Berkshire Hathaway
4. Amancio Ortega
Net Worth: $64.5 B
Source of wealth: Zara
5. Larry Ellison
Net Worth: $54.3 B
Source of wealth: Oracle
6. Charles Koch
Net Worth: $42.9 B
Source of wealth: diversified
6. David Koch
Net Worth: $42.9 B
Source of wealth: diversified
8. Christy Walton & family
Net Worth: $41.7 B
Source of wealth: Wal-Mart
9. Jim Walton
Net Worth: $40.6 B
Source of wealth: Wal-Mart
10. Liliane Bettencourt & family
Net Worth: $40.1 B
Source of wealth: L’Oreal
11. Alice Walton
Net Worth: $39.4 B
Source of wealth: Wal-Mart
12. S. Robson Walton
Net Worth: $39.1 B
Source of wealth: Wal-Mart
13. Bernard Arnault & family
Net Worth: $37.2 B
Source of wealth: LVMH
14. Michael Bloomberg
Net Worth: $35.5 B
Source of wealth: Bloomberg LP
15. Jeff Bezos
Net Worth: $34.8 B
Source of wealth: Amazon.com
16. Mark Zuckerberg
Net Worth: $33.4 B
Source of wealth: Facebook
17. Li Ka-shing
Net Worth: $33.3 B
Source of wealth: diversified
18. Sheldon Adelson
Net Worth: $31.4 B
Source of wealth: casinos
19. Larry Page
Net Worth: $29.7 B
Source of wealth: Google
20. Sergey Brin
Net Worth: $29.2 B
Source of wealth: Google
21. Georg Schaeffler
Net Worth: $26.9 B
Source of wealth: ball bearings
22. Forrest Mars Jr
Net Worth: $26.6 B
Source of wealth: candy
22. Jacqueline Mars
Net Worth: $26.6 B
Source of wealth: candy
22. John Mars
Net Worth: $26.6 B
Source of wealth: candy
25. David Thomson & family
Net Worth: $25.5 B
Source of wealth: media
26. Jorge Paulo Lemann
Net Worth: $25 B
Source of wealth: beer
27. Lee Shau Kee
Net Worth: $24.8 B
Source of wealth: real estate
28. Stefan Persson
Net Worth: $24.5 B
Source of wealth: H&M
29. George Soros
Net Worth: $24.2 B
Source of wealth: hedge funds
29. Wang Jianlin
Net Worth: $24.2 B
Source of wealth: real estate
31. Carl Icahn
Net Worth: $23.5 B
Source of wealth: investments
32. Maria Franca Fissolo & family
Net Worth: $23.4 B
Source of wealth: Nutella, chocolates
33. Jack Ma
Net Worth: $22.7 B
Source of wealth: e-commerce
34. Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud
Net Worth: $22.6 B
Source of wealth: investments
35. Steve Ballmer
Net Worth: $21.5 B
Source of wealth: Microsoft
35. Phil Knight
Net Worth: $21.5 B
Source of wealth: Nike
37. Beate Heister & Karl Albrecht Jr.
Net Worth: $21.3 B
Source of wealth: supermarkets
38. Li Hejun
Net Worth: $21.1 B
Source of wealth: solar power equipment
39. Mukesh Ambani
Net Worth: $21 B
Source of wealth: petrochemicals, oil & gas
40. Leonardo Del Vecchio
Net Worth: $20.4 B
Source of wealth: eyeglasses
41. Len Blavatnik
Net Worth: $20.2 B
Source of wealth: diversified
41. Tadashi Yanai & family
Net Worth: $20.2 B
Source of wealth: retail
43. Charles Ergen
Net Worth: $20.1 B
Source of wealth: Dish Network
44. Dilip Shanghvi
Net Worth: $20 B
Source of wealth: pharmaceuticals
45. Laurene Powell Jobs & family
Net Worth: $19.5 B
Source of wealth: Apple, Disney
46. Dieter Schwarz
Net Worth: $19.4 B
Source of wealth: retail
47. Michael Dell
Net Worth: $19.2 B
Source of wealth: Dell
48. Azim Premji
Net Worth: $19.1 B
Source of wealth: software
49. Theo Albrecht Jr & family
Net Worth: $19 B
Source of wealth: Aldi, Trader Joe’s
50. Michael Otto & family
Net Worth: $18.1 B
Source of wealth: retail, real estate

67. Aliko Dangote
Net Worth: $14.7 B
Source of wealth: cement, sugar, flour

393. Mike Adenuga
Net Worth: $4.2 B
Source of wealth: telcom, oil

949. Folorunsho Alakija
Net Worth: $1.9 B
Source of wealth:  oil

1741. Femi Otedola
Net Worth: $1 B
Source of wealth:  oil and gas

1741. Abdulsamad Rabiu
Net Worth: $1 B
Source of wealth:  cement, sugar, flour

Forbes