LGBTQ billionaires
Within the LGBTQ community, approximately twelve individuals have been identified as billionaires, according to Forbes magazine. Among them, entrepreneur and venture capitalist Peter Thiel and Italian fashion icon Giorgio Armani stand out as the wealthiest people who openly identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or transsexual.
History
The first openly gay billionaire was record executive and media magnate David Geffen, who came out in 1992.
In 1999, billionaires and co-founders of Dolce and Gabbana, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, revealed publicly that they were a gay couple.
The year 2000 saw Jon Stryker, heir to the medical technologies leader Stryker Corporation, come out as gay while establishing his philanthropic organization, the Arcus Foundation, which focuses heavily on supporting LGBT initiatives.
On August 16, 2013, Jennifer Pritzker declared her identity as a woman in all facets of life, becoming the first transgender billionaire to be publicly recognized worldwide.
In 2014, billionaire and CEO of Apple, Tim Cook, became the inaugural openly gay leader of a Fortune 500 firm.
Norway’s second wealthiest billionaire, Stein Erik Hagen, came out as bisexual during an appearance on the talk show Skavlan in October 2015.
At the 2016 Republican National Convention, tech investor and billionaire Peter Thiel expressed pride in his sexual orientation by stating he was "Proud to be Gay."
Throughout much of his career, fashion designer Giorgio Armani maintained privacy regarding his personal life; however, in 2024 he spoke openly about his sexuality and relationships with male partners.
In 2024, Forbes assessed transgender entrepreneur and founder of United Therapeutics, Martine Rothblatt, as a billionaire following significant appreciation in her company’s stock value.
List
| Name | Net worth US$ (billions) |
LGBTQ Identification | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|
| Template:Sortname | 16.3 | Gay man |
|
| Template:Sortname | 11.8 | Bisexual man | Italy |
| Template:Sortname | 8.7 | Gay man | United States |
| Template:Sortname | 5.6 | Gay man | United States |
| Template:Sortname | 4.7 | Bisexual man | United States |
| Template:Sortname | 2.5 | Gay man | United States |
| Template:Sortname | 2.5 | Bisexual man | Norway |
| Template:Sortname | 2.5 | Trans woman | United States |
| Template:Sortname | 2.4 | Gay man | Italy |
| Template:Sortname | 2.4 | Gay man | Italy |
| Template:Sortname | 2.2 | Gay man | United States |
| Template:Sortname | 1.5 | Gay man | United States |
| Template:Sortname | 1.1 | Trans woman | United States |