The World's Billionaires 2015
| Company type | Annual ranking |
|---|---|
| Industry | Media, Publishing |
| Founded | 1987 |
Area served | Global |
Key people | Bill Gates (top billionaire) |
| Products | Billionaires ranking list |
| Website | www |
The World's Billionaires 2015 represented the 29th consecutive annual ranking published by Forbes magazine, assessing the estimated net worth of the planet's wealthiest individuals. The list was made available online on March 2, 2015, with Bill Gates securing the top position for the 16th occasion.
Annual list
Once again, Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, was recognized as the richest individual worldwide. Mexican entrepreneur Carlos Slim held onto second place, followed by Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway in third. Amancio Ortega, the creator of Zara, dropped to fourth place, while Larry Ellison, founder of Oracle, completed the top five. Christy Walton was the highest-ranked female billionaire, positioned eighth. At 24 years old, Snapchat co-founder Evan Spiegel became the youngest billionaire, whereas 99-year-old David Rockefeller was the oldest on the roster.
This 29th edition included a total of 1,826 billionaires whose combined wealth amounted to $7.05 trillion, an increase from $6.4 trillion recorded in 2014. Among them were forty-six individuals under 40 years old. A record-breaking 290 newcomers appeared on the list, with China leading by contributing 71 first-time billionaires, followed by the United States with 57, India with 28, and Germany with 23. Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's founder, was ranked 16th with a net worth of $33.4 billion. Self-made billionaires accounted for the majority at 1,191; meanwhile, 230 inherited their fortunes outright and 405 inherited part of their wealth but actively grew it further.
The United States continued to have the highest number of billionaires overall. Russia experienced the most significant reduction in billionaire count, falling from 111 to 76 and consequently ranking below China, Germany, and India. Iceland reappeared on the list after a five-year absence thanks to Björgólfur Thor Björgólfsson's inclusion. Guatemala made its debut with billionaire Mario Lopez Estrada.
Members of royal families and monarchs were excluded from this ranking.
Wealth rankings
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Icon | Description |
|
Unchanged compared to last year |
|
Increased since previous year |
| Template:Loss | Decreased compared to last year |
| No. | Name | Net worth (USD) | Age | Citizenship | Source(s) of wealth | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Template:Nts |
Template:Sortname | $79.2 billion |
60 | United States | Microsoft | |
| Template:Nts |
Template:Sortname | $77.1 billion |
75 | Mexico | Telmex | |
| Template:Nts |
Template:Sortname | $72.7 billion |
84 | United States | Berkshire Hathaway | |
| Template:Nts Template:Loss | Template:Sortname | $64.5 billion |
78 | Spain | Inditex Group | |
| Template:Nts |
Template:Sortname | $54.3 billion |
70 | United States | Oracle Corporation | |
| Template:Nts |
Template:Sortname | $42.9 billion |
79 / 74 | United States | Koch Industries | |
| Template:Sortname (David H. Koch) | Koch Industries |
| 8 |
Template:Sortname | $41.7 billion |
60 | United States | Wal-Mart |
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Top 100
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