9 Richest Men in the world
Benjamin Franklin once said, “A penny saved is a penny earned”. Money is one thing that can never be enough. People strive very hard all their lives to earn money and become rich; some people succeed and some don’t.
Bill Gates
1. Bill Gates
William Henry Gates, popularly called Bill Gates, is the brain behind Microsoft. He has been consistently present in the Forbes list of richest men in the world, and has surpassed Carlos Slim recently to take the number one position. He is known to be the most amazing entrepreneur of all times, and brought a revolution in computer programming with Microsoft, which is the world’s biggest computer software company. Bill Gates was a dropout from Harvard University, but went out to become an inspiration to many people worldwide. His net income sums up to more than $70 billion.
Photo Courtesy: World Economic Forum
Carlos Slim Helu
2. Carlos Slim Helu
Carlos Slim Helu, a Mexican businessman, runs telecommunication companies called Telmex and America Movil. He is currently 73 years old and his net income comes up to $72.1 billion. For a brief period, he overtook Bill Gates and became the richest man in the world. Previously, Slim worked in the Mexican Stock Exchange as the vice-president, and he was also the president of Mexican Association of Brokerage Houses. Moreover, he was the first ever president of the Latin-American Committee of the New York Stock Exchange and worked there for 2 years.
Photo Courtesy: José Cruz/ABr
Amancio Ortega Gaona
3. Amancio Ortega Gaona
A Spanish fashion executive and founder of Inditex fashion group, Amancio Ortega Gaona is best known for the Zara fashion brand chain all over the world. Brought up by a railway worker father, Amancia had a very humble upbringing. He started working as in a shirt store, and from there he went on to become a billionaire by making gowns and lingerie with the help of his wife Rosalia Mera. The combined assets of this man sum up to be around US $57 billion.
Photo Courtesy: blogspot
Warren Buffett
4. Warren Buffett
The Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett has been time and again present in the Forbes list of the wealthiest men in the world. In 2008, he was on the first position, beating Bill Gates for a short period of time. Buffet is the primary shareholder of his company, and according to Time magazine, he is one of the most influential persons of all time. He is also a philanthropist, and his philosophies have been immensely celebrated and noted via the Gates Foundation. Having born and brought up in Omaha, he is also known as the “Wizard of Omaha”. His net worth is up to US $53.5 billion
Photo Courtesy: Mark Hirschey
Larry Ellison
5. Larry Ellison
Lawrence Joseph Ellison, also known as Larry Ellison is the co-founder and chief executive of Oracle Corporation, which is a multinational computer software company in the United States. He has an estimated net worth of US $43 billion. He is a dropout from university, but has still made his impact in the business world. Oracle is now the third largest software making company in the world, after Microsoft and IBM. He also served as the chairman of the board until Jeffery O. Henley replaced him in the year 2004. Ellison is also the top-paid chief executive in the world.
Photo Courtesy: Oracle Corporate Communications
Charles Koch
6. Charles Koch
Chairman and CEO of Koch Industries, Charles Koch one of the richest men in the world. Koch Industries is exclusively involved in oil refining and chemicals, along with manufacturing pollution control equipment and technologies. Along with his brother David, Charles has helped Koch Industries to flourish rapidly, making it the second-largest privately owned company. The net income of Charles Koch is around $35 billion.
Photo Courtesy: blogspot
David Koch
7. David Koch
Like his brother, David Koch is also an American businessman, philanthropist and a political activist, and is considered to be one of the richest and most influential people of all time. He is the co-owner and Executive Vice-President of Koch Industries. Academically, David Koch is a chemical engineer who made his fortune by his business. His net income is worth $34 billion, close to that of his brother.
Photo Courtesy: freddthompson
Li Ka-Shing
8. Li Ka-Shing
One of the most powerful figures in Hong Kong, Li Ka-Shing is a business magnate and an investor, who is known to be one of the richest and most influential men in Asia. His companies Hutchison Whampoa Limited (HWL) and Cheung Kong Holdings are considered to be the biggest operators of container terminals, along with being the world’s largest health and beauty retailer. He too was a school dropout like many others in the list. Thanks to his amazing business prowess, Li is known as the “Superman” of Hong Kong. The estimated net worth of Li Ka-Shing is around 31 billion US dollars.
Photo Courtesy: EdTech Stanford University School of Medicine
Bernard Arnault
9. Bernard Arnault
LVMH, better known by the brands Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior, is a French multinational company that manufactures luxury good items. The Chairman and CEO of these companies is Bernard Arnault. He is also a noted art collector and is famous for his contemporary art collections that range from Picasso to Yves Klein, Henry Moore and Andy Warhol. The estimated gross income of Arnault sums up to $29 billion. His products rule the fashion industry, and are some of the most celebrated brands of all time.
Photo Courtesy: nicogenin
From the ones who succeed, there are few who land up in the Forbes list of the richest men in the world. These are people who have great stories of leadership and hard work behind them; of passion and determination to be where they are today. One can definitely learn a thing or two from them.
