Biography and thoughts of the richest people in the world - instructions for those who want to be a billionaire. The richest people and their success stories. Billionaires of the world Life history of billionaires

Forbes annually publishes a list of the 400 richest people in the United States. This is not just a list of the rich, it is a story of opportunity. Many of them started out penniless. Stories like these are meant to remind us that grit and determination, seasoned with luck, can help you overcome adversity and achieve incredible success.

1. Jan Kum - from food stamps to WhatsApp

Equity: $7.7 billion.

Now Kumu is 37 years old. At 16 he moved from Ukraine to the USA. His family, trying to make ends meet, sold food stamps just a couple of blocks from WhatsApp's current office in Mountain View.

In 2009, Jan Koum and Brian Acton launched a messaging application that was supposed to replace SMS for people around the world. WhatsApp now has more than 600 million users, and Facebook bought the company for $19 billion earlier this year. This deal turned Koum into a billionaire.

2. Jack Ma - from teaching English to Alibaba

Equity:$20.2 billion.

Ma was born in China, in the city of Hangzhou. He grew up in poverty and was not hired even at the local KFC. Ma failed the government college entrance exam twice, but still managed to study and began teaching English.

In 1995, he first came to the United States and saw the Internet. Realizing that there was still little Chinese content online, he began building the website China Pages, a directory sometimes called China's first startup. He quickly failed.

And in 1999 he founded Alibaba. Today, the online retailer handles twice as many orders as Amazon, and after its September IPO, Ma became China's richest man.

3. Elizabeth Holmes - founded her own blood test processing company at age 19

Equity: $4.5 billion.

In 2003, she was 19 and a sophomore at Stanford University. That's when she founded Theranos, a company that made blood tests much cheaper.

Her Palo Alto-based startup currently employs 500 people. The company has reportedly received $400 million in funding and is valued at $9 billion.

Holmes has always been precocious - as a child in Houston, she taught herself Chinese as a hobby. Before entering Stanford, she worked in a patent office. Now she's a billionaire.

4. Ingvar Kamprad, founder of IKEA, grew up on a farm in Sweden

Equity:$3.9 billion.

As a seven-year-old boy in the early 20s, Kamprad began selling matches to his neighbors.

He soon moved on to pencils, cards and Christmas decorations, and at the age of 17 he founded a company called IKEA (this is the abbreviation: Ingvar Kamprad, Elmtaryd Farm, Agunnaryd Parish). The company began selling furniture when the founder was 22 years old - this is how the IKEA empire began.

Today it has 340 stores in 42 countries, annual sales of $36 billion, and New Yorker magazine calls the company "the invisible designer of the hearth."

This does not affect Kamprad's habits. He still lives a modest life and refuses to fly business class.

5. Starbucks founder Howard Schultz grew up in public housing

Equity:$2.1 billion.

In an interview with the British tabloid Mirror, Schultz says:

“As a child, I understood that we lived poorly. I knew that others had more money, more things, happier lives. And for some reason I wanted to climb to the top, to achieve something that others considered impossible. Don't look at me wearing a suit and tie. I remember where I come from and I remember what it’s like.”

Schultz ended up winning a football scholarship to Northern Michigan University, and after graduation he went to work for Xerox. Soon after, he headed a chain called Starbucks - then it included only 60 coffee shops. Since 1987, he has grown the company into a network of 16 thousand cafes scattered around the globe.

6. Oprah Winfrey was born poor and became the first black correspondent on TV.

Equity:$3 billion.

Born into a poor family in Mississippi, Winfrey won a scholarship to the University of Tennessee and became the state's first black television correspondent at age 19.

In 1983, she moved to Chicago to work on an AM talk show that would later become The Oprah Winfrey Show.

7. Businessman Shahid Khan once washed dishes for $1.20 an hour.

AP Photo/Sang Tan

Equity:$4.4 billion.

He is now one of the richest men in the world, but having come from Pakistan, he worked part-time washing dishes while attending the University of Illinois. He now owns Flex-N-Gate, one of the largest private companies in the United States, and two football clubs: the Jacksonville Jaguars of the NFL and Fulham of the Premier League.

8. John Paul DeJoria, owner of the hair care empire and Patron Tequila brand, lived in his car.

Equity:$3.2 billion.

DeJoria, a first-generation American, was not yet ten years old when his parents were forced to place him in foster care. Before entering military service, he managed to be a member of a street gang.

With a $700 loan, DeJoria created John Paul Mitchell Systems and peddled shampoo while living out of his car. He then founded Patron Tequila, and now invests in other industries.

9. Forever 21 co-founder Do Won Chang worked as a janitor, at a gas station, and in a cafe after arriving in the United States.

Equity:$5.2 billion.

Life hasn't always been kind to Forever 21 founders Do Won Chang and his wife Jin Sook. After moving to America from Korea in 1981, Do Won had to work three jobs at once to make ends meet. They opened their first clothing store in 1984.

Now Forever 21 is an international empire, with 480 stores and annual sales of $3 billion.

10. Ralph Lauren started thinking about men's ties while he was a clerk at Brooks Brothers.

Anton Oparin/Shutterstock.com

Equity:$7.8 billion.

Lauren graduated from high school in New York, in the Bronx. He later dropped out of college for military service. As a sales assistant at Brooks Brothers, Lauren decided to see if men were ready for wider, brighter ties. In 1967, he decided to make his dream come true and sold $500 thousand worth of ties. The following year he founded the Polo brand.

11. Leonardo Del Vecchio grew up in an orphanage, and then went to work in a factory, where he lost part of a finger

Equity:$18.4 billion.

His mother, a widow, could not raise five children, so Del Vecchio was sent to Orphanage. He later got a job at a factory producing molds for auto parts and eyeglass frames.

At the age of 23, Del Vecchio opened his own molding shop and founded Luxottica, which became the world's largest manufacturer of eyewear, including sunglasses under the Ray-Ban and Oakley brands.

12. Legendary trader George Soros survived the Nazi occupation of Hungary and arrived in London as a penniless college student

Equity:$24 billion.

To survive in Nazi-occupied Hungary, young George posed as the godson of a Hungarian Ministry employee. Agriculture. In 1947, he fled the country to London to live with relatives. Entering the London School economy, he simultaneously worked as a porter at the station and as a waiter.

After graduating from university, Soros worked in a gift shop, and only then received a position at a bank in New York. In 1992, his famous play against the British pound earned him a billion dollars.

13. Oracle founder Larry Ellison dropped out of college after the death of his adoptive mother and worked odd jobs for eight years.

Equity:$48 billion.

He was born in New York, in Brooklyn. Ellison grew up with an aunt and uncle in Chicago. After his aunt died, he dropped out of college and moved to California, where he worked odd jobs for the next eight years. In 1977, he founded the software company Oracle. Over time, it has become one of the largest technology companies in the world.

He recently stepped down as CEO but continues to lead an adventurous life.

14. Roman Abramovich was orphaned as a child. The Russian tycoon now owns Chelsea Football Club

AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis

Equity: $9.5 billion.

Abramovich was born in Saratov in 1966. When he was one and a half years old, his mother died, and when he was four, his father died. He grew up under the tutelage of his Moscow uncle and grandparents, who lived in the north, in Komi.

After graduating from the Ukhta Industrial Institute, he began trading oil in Western Siberia. The turning point came in 1992, when he met Boris Berezovsky, one of the leading tycoons of the new Russian capitalism.

After accusations of fraud, Berezovsky fled to the UK, and Abramovich took the reins of his empire, which included 80% of the shares of Sibneft, Russia's fifth largest oil company, 50% Rusal, Russian aluminum monopolies and 26% of Aeroflot, the national airline. He then moved into private investment.

Today Abramovich is one of the richest people in Russia. He loves toys: the world's largest yacht, a Boeing 767 and Chelsea Football Club.

Ksenia Sobchak is a name that is familiar to almost every resident of the former USSR. Her life is a shining example of determination and self-confidence. She was able to achieve considerable success in television, journalism, and journalism. The biography and personal life of Ksenia Sobchak often become the subject of discussion. We decided not to be like the “yellow press” and will briefly talk about the difficult path to recognition that she managed to go through.

Today we will talk about who Donald Trump is: biography, rise to the top of business, political Olympus and other main facts from his life. At the moment, Trump is the 45th President of the United States and therefore is in the spotlight, but there are many interesting points in his biography, which we will consider in this article.

Every year, the popular American magazine Forbes publishes a ranking of the richest people in the world. Moreover, not only men, but also women fall into it. These days women have financial independence- they build their own empires, earn billions, open charitable foundations and chase success. Strong women inspire all representatives of the fair half of humanity and serve as an example for them. Many people, and we are sure not only women, will be interested in reading the latest statistics from Forbes Woman magazine. We will talk about all the successful ladies who made it to the top of the list of rich people in 2016 in our article. Enjoy reading!

Robert Kiyosaki is one of the most successful investors and businessmen of our time. His life principle is not to go with the flow, but to always look for innovative ways to solve problems in the business sphere. This approach motivated the entrepreneur to write a whole series of motivational books, the main of which, according to experts and critics, is “Rich Dad, Poor Dad.” Now Kiyosaki conducts trainings all over the world. His books have been translated into 51 languages ​​and are sold in more than one hundred countries.

Carlos Slim owns the holding company, which he began developing in the late 60s, and the telecommunications corporation America Movil. The richest man in the world believes that the main thing is to change his children for the better, and not to give them something ready-made.

The richest people in the world and on earth

Let's see who they are - the richest people in the world. Most people associate wealth with the success of its owner in society. This is true and not true. Hundreds of thousands of people consider themselves successful people without having significant means. They live in abundance, but do not have wealth. Since the wealth of individuals arises, and what is needed to become rich: life goal constant enrichment; luck or luck; unique abilities or talent; high education and knowledge? Let's look at these people, their biographies, and maybe we will understand what the mystery and answer to acquiring wealth lies.

The generally accepted ranking of the world's rich is published annually by the American magazine Forbes, the first copy of which appeared in 1917, and the first ranking of rich people was published in 1918 and John Rockefeller occupied the first place. In Russia, the magazine has been published for 10 years, annually assessing the wealth of the richest people in Russia. This is the most authoritative source of information about people's wealth and its rating on the pages of the magazine is considered the most reliable.

Forbes ranking of rich people 2015

Forbes lists the world's richest people as 1,826, with $7 trillion in wealth, with an average wealth of about $4 billion. Of course, the magazine does not list all 1826 people on its pages, but only lists the 300 richest people in the world, and we will only list the top ten richest people in the world:

1. Bill Gates (USA) - founder of Microsoft with a fortune of $79.2 billion;
2. Carlos Slim Helu (Mexico) - owner of a telecommunications network with a fortune of $77.1 billion;
3. Warren Buffett (USA) is the largest investor with a fortune of $72.7 billion;
4. Amancia Ortega (Spain) - founder and owner of Zara, worth $64.5 billion;
5. Larry Elison (USA) - founder of the software company Oracle with a fortune of $54.3 billion;
6. Charles Koch (USA) - construction and oil refining business with a fortune of $42.9 billion;
7. David Koch (USA) - construction and oil refining business with a fortune of $42.9 billion;
8. Christy Walton (USA) - co-owner of the trading Wal-Mart chains with a net worth of $41.7 billion and the richest woman in the world;
9. Jim Walton (USA) - banker and co-owner of the Wal-Mart retail chain with a fortune of $40.6 billion;
10. Liliane Bettencourt (France) is the owner of the L’Oreal cosmetics empire and the richest woman in Europe with a net worth of $40.6 billion.

Forbes ranking of rich people in Russia 2015

1. Vladimir Potanin - owner of TMK Norilsk Nickel, worth $15.4 billion;
2. Mikhail Fridman - controls the financial and industrial company Alfa Group, worth $14.6 billion;
3. Alisher Usmanov - owns the assets of the metallurgical giant Metalloinvest, the mobile operator Megafon and a number of other assets, worth $14.4 billion;
4. Viktor Vekselberg - owner of the Renova group of companies and a number of other assets, worth $14.2 billion;
5. Alexey Mordashov is the owner of Severstal with a fortune of $13 billion;
6. Vagit Alekperov is the owner of the largest private oil company Lukoil, worth $12.2 billion;
7. Leonid Mikhelson - owner of Novatek with a fortune of $11.7 billion;
8. Vladimir Lisin - owner of the Novolipetsk Metallurgical Plant, worth $11.6 billion;
9. Gennady Timchenko is the owner of many assets with a fortune of $10.7 billion;
10. Mikhail Prokhorov is a banker, media tycoon, co-owner of the world's largest producer of potash fertilizers, Uralkali, worth $9.9 billion.

Of course, the richest people in Russia are not limited to this list and their distribution within the list very often changes, for example, for the last two years it was headed by Alisher Usmanov.

Biographies of the richest people on the planet

Analyzing the life path of each of the richest people on the planet, they can be divided into heirs of huge fortunes and people who rose to this list from the very bottom, or who achieved their fortune through organizational talent, a sense of timing and other abilities necessary for a successful business.

The biography of the richest people in the world shows the peculiarities of the ways each of them achieved wealth. Of the top ten richest people in the world according to Forbes, only three inherited huge capital: Christy Walton, Jim Walton - heirs of the largest retail chain Wal-Mart, and Liliane Betancourt, who inherited the L'Oreal company from her father Eugene Sheller. Of course, there are quite a lot of rich people on the Forbes lists, whose fortunes were made by their fathers and even grandfathers. Among them are well-known names: Rockefellers, Morgans and others. Preserving inherited wealth is also not an easy task, but it is much easier than amassing a multi-billion dollar fortune from scratch.

The richest people in the world are described. There are not as few rich people as it seems at first glance.

The ranking of the richest people in the world begins with Bill Gates (William Bill Gates), a man who made his fortune with his intellect, organizational talents, and the gift of foresight. His company, Microsoft, is the world's leading software manufacturer personal computers, the universal development of which Gates foresaw. He didn’t even finish his studies at Harvard University and, leaving his third year, founded Microsoft. Gates actively participated in the development of software products and developed Microsoft's development strategy.

The list of the richest people in the world was occupied by representatives of the United States, but for some time, from 2010 to 2013, it was headed by a representative of Mexico, of Arab origin, Carlos Slim Helu, a man who achieved everything he has through his work, perseverance, knowledge and desire to win. It must be said that the basis of Carlos Slim Helu’s future capital was put together by his father. After graduating from the National University in Mexico City and receiving an engineering degree, at the age of 25 he began to create the future Grupo Carso empire. In 1982, taking advantage of the crisis in Mexico, he bought shares of many well-known companies for next to nothing, and at the beginning of 1990 he bought the telecommunications company Telmex (Telefonos de Mexico). He further specializes in this industry and buys telecommunications companies throughout Latin America. IN Forbes list he gets there already in 2002.

Warren Buffett, the richest and no less famous investor in the world, was born into the family of a stock trader and was familiar with financial transactions and the stock exchange from childhood. He made his first stock purchase at age 11, buying several shares of Cities Service for $38. The shares quickly fell to $27, but later rose to $40. Warren immediately sold them, earning $5. And a few days later the shares jumped in price to $200. After this, Buffett formed one of the most important principles of investing: “patience pays off.” Unlike Bill Gates, Buffett received an excellent education, graduating from Columbia University and for his further work as a successful investor received the nickname “The Oracle of Omaha.” "The main secret to successful investing is to choose good stocks in right time and hold them as long as these stocks remain good" - this principle of Buffett is used by thousands of investors around the world.

The biographies of Russian billionaires are not so impressive. Although it is believed that their wealth was created from scratch, the rich people of Russia made their fortunes through certain financial schemes, the legal purity of which is questionable. And biographical information is not always available.

Among the dozen names of Russian billionaires, Mikhail Prokhorov looks like an example of a typical rise from a simple entrepreneur to the Forbes list. Prokhorov in 1989, after graduating from the Financial Academy, worked until 1992 at the International Bank for Economic Cooperation, where Vladimir Potanin became his business partner until 2008. Then he went his own way, developing his business.

It is difficult to find a person who would not like to live in abundance. And if some have to work hard every day to earn a penny, then for others fate has given huge fortunes in the form of an inheritance.

1. Wealth without happiness is an empty ringing of coins

Unfortunately, most of us are not the darlings of fate, and there is no end in sight to our everyday troubles. But many rich people created their first capital thanks to resourcefulness and the correct use of their talents, on which their entire biography was based. And thoughts, as time shows, are united in one thing - to work as much as possible with your mind and not to be lazy.

The famous French writer and philosopher Stendhal believed that man lives on earth not in order to become rich, but in order to become happy. Achieving high well-being does not mean finding peace and joy in life. Direct proof of this is the biographies of the world's richest people. Many billionaires, drowning in luxury, still remained lonely and unhappy.

2. Biography and thoughts of the richest people in the world, and also kind ones

The successful people of this world are known to everyone. Bill Gates, for example, has been one of the And where did he start for a number of years? I just loved technology, was interested in computers and created the Microsoft program. He simply took a risk, but he took a calculated risk, realizing that the product was necessary for personal computer users. His main motto is not to stop there. It was he who suggested that intellectual property has a shelf life for bananas.

Let's look at the other one successful lady. Oprah Winfrey, a black American woman, lived in a poor family and studied in a simple school. Only self-improvement, curiosity and a diligent attitude towards everything she does brought her to the bench of the history department. Perhaps it was the biography and thoughts of the richest people in the world, about whom she learned from history books, that taught her a lot. “Don't give up on your dreams. Don't be disappointed in yourself. Your persistence will still pay off!” - these are her words. They are a direct confirmation of her determination. A sharp mind, a desire to delve deeper into the destinies of people, and purity of speech made her OWN program the most popular and in demand among viewers. So not all biographies of the richest people in the world are full of gifts of fate.

3. Acquired or appropriated?

I don’t really want to find out how Russian tycoons got rich, the whole point is that here, in addition to intelligence and resourcefulness, the “freebie” effect worked. Many Russian rich people became owners of property left over from the Soviet period: factories, factories, combines, etc. The biography and thoughts of the richest people in the world regarding Russian billionaires are losing their instructiveness and meaning. Everything was earned fraudulently in the dashing 90s through the appropriation of someone else's or state capital.

American billionaire Donald Trump is another matter. He was brought up in an ordinary family with four children. Donald was a difficult child, and in order to at least slightly curb the boy’s difficult temperament, at the age of 13 he was sent to the Military Academy. And there he learned discipline and toughness. He perfectly described his character with the words: “In business it is better to be impudent, even impudent, than tough and intractable.” Studying was a morale booster, and Donald decided to be more aggressive to get the results he wanted. The owner of numerous casinos and hotels scattered around the world began by reconstructing the Commodore Hotel with the support of the state, together with his father. The biography of the richest people in the world - Donald and Fred Trump - tells that there are no easy paths to wealth. Life rewards those who are not afraid of difficulties.

The biography of the richest people in the world often begins with shocks of a moral and psychological nature. The main thing is to be able to do so and not deviate from the intended goal.

Famous financial sharks who managed to build a business from scratch A whole book would not be enough to name and describe all the happy owners of billions of dollars in capital.

Most of the participants in the Forbes rating lists are businessmen who have amassed capital through the privatization of assets large enterprises and companies. But we will talk about those who created their financial empires starting from the very bottom.

So, who is among the top ten businessmen who own multi-billion dollar companies built from absolute scratch?

The first place is taken Russian businessman Sergei Galitsky, director of the Magnit retail chain. Galitsky began his career as a student, helping the deputy manager of a Krasnodar bank. Such a dusty position allowed him to acquire useful connections and influential acquaintances.

Having managed to obtain an initial capital of $30,000, Galitsky chose to invest it in the purchase of a popular product at that time, namely cosmetics and perfumes. This first investment was fully justified and paid off in full, after which Galitsky registered the first distribution company Trans-Asia, which became the prototype of the future Magnit.

At the moment, the businessman’s general condition is estimated at $3 billion.

Billionaire Aras Agalarov took second place. In a short period of time, the businessman turned from a graduate of the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions school into an influential general director of the Crocus company.

Agalarov took his first steps in business by exporting souvenirs from Russia, and in return importing computer equipment and components. Despite the successes in trade, it was decided to stop this type of activity and establish a new, exhibition format of business.

Aras Agalarov is the creator of the first Moscow boutique, located on Stoleshnikov Lane. At the moment, Agalarov’s main business brings him income in the amount of $1.5 billion is his company for the construction of large shopping centers.

Third place went to the alcohol magnate with Georgian roots, Rustam Tariko, whose determination one can only envy (naturally, white envy). Occupying the position of Chairman of the Board of Directors of Russian Standard Bank, he successfully provided assistance to Italian tourism operators, placing tourists in the Rossiya Hotel, which was inaccessible at that time.

The emergence of new influential acquaintances from among Italian businessmen helped Tariko conclude a contract for the supply of elite Martini alcohol. It was an unheard of success that gave a financial boost to further development Empire of Tariko.

The businessman's fortune is estimated at $1.5 billion.

Fourth place rightfully belongs to Alexander Japaridze (net worth about $1.1 billion). Success came to him after Japaridze, being an ordinary geologist as part of a geophysical expedition, headed a joint project with the Americans, the purpose of which was seismological exploration of the area.

After the collapse Soviet Union Alexander Japaridze managed to buy the necessary equipment and provide seismic exploration services on a private basis.

Fifth place was headed by the owner of Fashion Continent, and concurrently the governor of the Tula region, Vladimir Gruzdev. I received my starting capital by issuing a loan from Sberbank in the amount of $500,000. This became possible after successful management activities under the leadership of the famous entrepreneur Oleg Boyko.

The governor's net worth is estimated at $950 million.

The sixth place is taken former employee Institute of Oceanology Andrey Rogachev, with a modest capital in $900 million. The idea of ​​creating a business did not initially arise in the entrepreneur’s head, but in the late 80s Rogachev introduced unusual idea on the supply of concentration measuring instruments to enterprises harmful substances in products.

This is how the first LEK cooperative was created. Having received a long-awaited loan, Rogachev was engaged in the supply of similar equipment for three years. The subsequent source of income was the business of relocating communal apartments. After Andrei Rogachev left for banking business, was founded by everyone's favorite commercial network"Pyaterochka".

Seventh place went to insurance magnate Sergei Sarkisov (capital $950 million). Favorable ground for creating an insurance company was provided by connections in Ingosstrakh.

Fluent in Spanish, Sarkisov was able to attract Spanish insurance company Iberia Seguros, which made a significant contribution to the development of a unified “Russian-European Insurance Company”.

Eighth place was taken by the founder of the Maxi-Invest company, Nikolai Maksimov. Together with his wife, he was engaged in the wood and paper trade, after previously receiving a loan in the amount of 75,000 rubles. Over the years of its existence, the Niktan company could boast of millions in turnover. Guided by the desire to expand the business, Maksimov began buying up shares of large metallurgical plants. This was the beginning of the creation of the now famous Maxi-Group. The capital is almost $950 million.

Ninth place belongs to Viktor Kharitonin, owner of the Ufa pharmaceutical company Pharmstandard. Total capital is estimated at $900 million.

Mine career path, Kharitonin, began while still studying at the institute, opening the intermediary organization Kreditinform LLP. Later, having moved to Moscow, he became the founder brokerage company, specializing in exchange trading in vouchers. A big breakthrough in creating a large business was the purchase of shares in the Ufa-Vita company.

Tenth place is proudly taken by Samvel Karapetyan, President construction company"Tashir". Karapetyan is a graduate of Yerevan Polytechnic Institute. He achieved his first financial success by creating the Zenit sewing cooperative, specializing in sewing work uniforms and T-shirts that were fashionable at that time with images of pop stars.

After moving to Kaluga from his native Kalinino, Karapetyan became the head of the Kalugaglavsnab company, and it was on its basis that the Tashir corporation was created. The company's core business is the construction and operation of shopping centers and exhibition halls.

And finally, Reading a short history careers of each of the 10 people mentioned, one might get the impression that the process of creating a business from scratch is an elementary procedure that does not require ordinary mental and financial capabilities. Only if financial issue can be solved by applying for loans, but with ingenuity it’s not so simple. These people are definitely special in their own way if they were able to achieve such heights. All that remains is to wish them good luck and professional success.

Today I want to tell you the stories of some of the richest people on our planet who were able to earn more than a billion dollars thanks to their brilliant ideas, hard work and desire to get rich. What’s most interesting is that all these people did not inherit a huge fortune or win the lottery; they all started their business practically from scratch. Very interesting, read on.

Li Ka-shing – $26.5 billion

Li Ka-shing was born and lived in China until he left the country in 1940 and moved to Hong Kong. Due to the death of his father, he had to leave school at the age of 14 and go to earn money. His first job was in a company selling plastic products and he had to spend 16 hours there.
The first ten years, plus frugality, led to the opportunity to open my own business, Cheung Kong Industries. Like Ka-shing's previous place of work, it was engaged in plastics, but over time, it turned into the largest investment corporation in Hong Kong. Li Ka-shing himself is considered one of the richest Chinese.

Sheldon Adelson – $26 billion

Sheldon Adelson, the son of a taxi driver from Boston, began his entrepreneurial journey at age 12 by selling newspapers. After that, he was a court reporter, mortgage broker, investment advisor and financial consultant. There was a period when he tried to sell toiletries and charter tours.
But the organization of the computer exhibition COMDEX in 1979 was a serious success. In the next 2 decades, it was the leading exhibition in the computer field in the USA.
And in 1988, he and his partners acquired a casino and hotel in Las Vegas (Sands Hotel & Casino), after which he quickly began to get rich.

Sergey Brin – $24.9 billion

This is a new wave of billionaires who began to earn money in the age of computerization and the Internet. Sergey Brin, the 40-year-old owner of Google and a former Russian, was born in Moscow, and then moved to the USA with a family of mathematicians. He started working on search engines (that's the correct name for Google.com itself) at Stanford together with his classmate Larry Page. The system was tested at the university, and then they began to look for investors. The name Google is a mispronunciation of gugol, a word said during one of the project's presentations.
Brin and Page entered the list of billionaires in 2004, when they were 30 years old. Today, Brin is mainly involved in the development of new projects and areas, such as augmented reality glasses and an unmanned vehicle.

Larry Page – $24.9 billion

The co-founder and co-owner of Google has been leading the company itself since 2011 and is actually responsible for its strategic development. In addition to Google, he is actively involved in the development of the clean energy sector, in particular, together with Brin, he invested in Tesla Motors, which produces high-level electric cars (this is a normal car that is powered by batteries).

Roman Abramovich – $23.5 billion

A widely known personality in narrow circles, Roman Abramovich, a billionaire, is an orphan who was raised by his grandparents. I went into business while still a student, creating a cooperative for the production of toys and various polymers. After this there were many other companies and cooperatives, both in production and trade.
But, as some sharp tongues say, Abramovich’s main talent is that he knows how to be in the right place at the right time - thus, he was able to gain control of Sibneft, which allowed him to become a billionaire.

Amancio Ortega – $20.2 billion

Until I read who it was, the name meant absolutely nothing to me - Amancio Ortega. If we say that this is the founder and owner of Zara, then a lot will fall into place.
He began sewing his first suits in his living room with the help of 25 dollars and his wife. He opened his first clothing store in 1975, and after a while became the owner of the popular clothing chain Zara. In addition to the Zara chain, he has chains of clothing stores for children, for young girls, lingerie stores, etc. In total, Ortega has more than 3 thousand stores in 64 countries.

Mark Zuckerberg – $19 billion

29-year-old Mark Zuckerberg is an icon modern world. Young, lazy, creative and rich. The creator of the largest social network Facebook, which created a system for its university - Harvard - but in the end could not finish it, because... there was no time left. Helped in the creation of Chris Hughes, Dustin Moskowitz, plus Eduardo Saverin. The first major investment came from Peter Thiel, the founder of PayPal.
Now Facebook is a public company, which at first lost a lot in value, and then (in 2013) began to rise in price. Zuckerberg now has a 17% stake, making him the youngest billionaire in history.

Kirk Kerkorian – $16 billion

A now elderly man, 96 years old, dropped out of school in the 8th grade for the sake of boxing. At that time, he achieved great success and even became the welterweight champion in the Pacific Non-Professional Boxing Championship. After the Second World War, he retired from the ring to the airfield and began flying airplanes, but in 1944 he ended up in Las Vegas, where he was stuck for 3 years. Having squandered a lot of money, he finally said goodbye to gambling and bought the air transportation company Trans International Airlines for 60 thousand dollars. After some time, he was able to sell it for $104 million to Transamerica.
And since 1968, he went into Hollywood - he made money at MGM, United Artists, Columbia Pictures and 20th Century Fox.

Elon Musk – $6.7 billion

Elon Musk is one of those new rich people who are capturing the market with their brains, hands and business acumen. My first big deal was at the age of 12 - I wrote a program that I sold for $500 (at that age I only spent my pocket money on ice cream and buns). At the age of 25, together with his brother, he created a company dealing software for news companies, and after 4 years he was able to sell it at a price of 307 million. He invested this money in the creation of PayPal, which, in turn, sold to eBay for $1.5 billion.
Today he is involved in the Space X space program and has contracts from NASA. The aforementioned Tesla Motors is also involved.

Dustin Moskowitz – $5.2 billion

One can also say about this young man that he was in the right place at the right time. Dustin Moskowitz is Mark Zuckerberg's roommate and helped him create Facebook. At the moment he owns 5% of the shares and this is the basis of his fortune. Facebook is not his main project now - he is currently working on the Asana project. This is a web application for effective collaboration on projects. Among the interesting things - he rides a bicycle to work and participates in the Giving Pledge project (a philanthropic project from Bill Gates and Warren Buffett). The essence of the project is that half of the members’ wealth goes to charity.

Ken Griffin – $4.4 billion

It's not just computers that make billions. Ken Griffin is the owner of Citadel hedge funds. He had his first positive experience of playing on the stock exchange at the age of 18 and has not stopped working since then. He became one of the most famous specialists in his field. After 2008, the funds lost half their value, but are now gradually recovering.

John Arnold – $2.8 billion

Another successful stock market player, John Arnold, got his start at the now-deceased Enron. At 27, he made $1 billion for the company and received his $8 million bonus. It was this money that I used to invest for myself and leave the boring company.
In 2012, he surprised the whole world by announcing that he was leaving trading after 17 years of successful experience. Now he and his wife charitable foundation with a budget of $1.4 billion, and is also part of the Giving Pledge project, which we mentioned above.

Oprah Winfrey – $2.5 billion

Oprah Winfrey is a whole layer of American culture. This is the Cinderella of our days, who did not drop her shoe on the stairs, but plowed like a horse and used every opportunity. The beginning of life is harsh, you can’t say anything: a strict mother, she was first abused at the age of 9, at 14 she gave birth to a child who died in infancy. But when I was in school, I first got to work at a radio station. At the age of 19, she already hosted local news, then daytime talk shows. The next serious achievement is to promote a completely unpopular show so as to become a celebrity, and then, with experience and a name, create your own production company.
At 32, Oprah became a millionaire, and her show is a national treasure. Since 1994, it has become so popular that the check for the year exceeded 9-figure amounts. Oprah Winfrey became the first African-American woman to appear on the Forbes list.
Today, if you get on air with Oprah, you can become a celebrity in 1 day. For example, this was done to Robert Kiyosaki in 1997 (of course, we will not belittle the achievements of Robert himself).

Mikey Jagtiani – $2.5 billion

Mikey Jagtiani, a representative of the Middle East on our list of billionaires, was going to become an accountant, but his studies didn’t work out because... living in London turned out to be too expensive, plus exams were also not going smoothly. To survive, I had to work as a taxi driver and cleaner.
At the age of 21, Mikey Jagtiane ends up in Bahrain alone with 6 thousand dollars (that’s all the family had) and opens a children’s goods store with this money. And today it is a retail chain on the list of the most profitable in the Middle East.
A corporation called Landmark includes 280 stores throughout the Middle East and brings Mike Jagtiani up to 650 million in profit per year.

Michael Rubin – $2.3 billion

Another representative of modern billionaires, Michael Rubin, CEO Kynetic. He began his entrepreneurial journey as a child and sold seeds to neighbors. At the age of 10, he already hired 5 guys to remove snow from neighbors’ lawns for money. At the age of 14, this future billionaire had already opened his first store, persuading his father to sign a lease agreement. At 23, he was already a director in a company with sales of $50 million.
But he saw his destiny in e-commerce, which was just beginning to develop. He invested about 80 million in his online store, but, despite increasing sales, he could not make this business sustainable. However, eBay came to the rescue and bought the company from Rubin for 2.4 billion. The price is much higher than the actual cost of this project, but eBay was behind in the race with Amazon, so they shelled out the money.
Today Rubin is involved in Fanatics clothing stores and websites of various types, in which he has already invested 500 million.

Eduardo Saverin – $2.2 billion

Another person who made a fortune on Facebook. Saverin was Zuckenberg's first investor and was the commercial director of the young project. But while Saverin was in New York practicing, Zuckerberg attracted new investors and artificially lowered the stake from 34% to 0.03%. Eduardo sued and regained his share to 5%.
This 5% allowed him to get on the list of billionaires. In addition, the man turned out to be reasonable and, before Facebook filed for an IPO, renounced his US citizenship and became a citizen of Brazil, which allowed him not to pay American taxes. And although his passport is Brazilian, he lives in Singapore and invests in online projects: an application that scans the barcode of a product and offers it at the lowest price on the Internet or online payments with a credit card using a webcam.

Sean Parker – $2 billion

Another co-owner of Facebook, Sean Parker, started out as a talented programmer and hacker. Already at the age of 16, he was arrested for hacking the websites of companies that were on the Forbes list. He also had a hand in creating the Internet resource Napster, through which one could exchange music. It was a breakthrough of sorts, although closed due to “some” friction with the law. At 24, he meets Zuckerberg and is the president of Facebook. True, then he is removed, which, however, does not prevent him from retaining 3% of the shares and becoming a billionaire.
Today he is engaged in his own startups.

Richard Desmond – $2 billion

Richard Desmond's life was also not pampering at first: his parents divorced, they lived together in a small apartment, he dropped out of school at the age of 14 to play the drums and help his mother earn money.
His first real job was at Thomson Newspaper, but by the age of 21 he was the owner of two record stores. But the media experience also continued - in 1974, Desmond became the publisher of the International Musician and Recording World magazine.

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