The Combined Net Worth Of The World's Billionaires Is $8 Trillion

The combined fortune of every billionaire in the planet is a mind-boggling $8 trillion, up 16 percent from a year ago.

According to the Hurun Global Rich List 2017, there are 2,257 billionaires in the world — 69 more than there were a year ago and 804 more compared to five years ago.

For the second straight year, China accounted for the highest number of billionaires at 609 — 41 more than a year ago. Also, the city of Beijing was crowned the "billionaire capital of the world."

The United States accounts for 552 billionaires, up 17 from a year ago. Germany ranked third with 109 billionaires, followed by India with 100 billionaires.

Bill Gates: Still The Richest

Bill Gates saw his net worth rise by 1 percent from a year ago to $81 billion. Warren Buffett's net wealth rose by an impressive 15 percent to $78 billion but pales in comparison to Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN 0.06%'s CEO Jeff Bezos, whose net worth soared 37 percent to $72 billion.

Among the world's top 10 richest, eight are American. Spain's Amancio Ortega ranked fourth with a net worth of $69 billion, and Mexico's Carlos Slim Helu and family ranked seventh with a net worth of $46 billion.

The world's youngest billionaire is Mark Zuckerberg, the 32-year old co-founder and CEO of Facebook Inc FB 0.4% with a net worth of $58 billion (not including his plans to donate 99 percent of his Facebook fortune).

David Rockefeller Sr is the oldest billionaire at 101.

Jayson Derrick

Source:https://www.benzinga.com/general/education/17/03/9153734/the-combined-net-worth-of-the-worlds-billionaires-is-8-trillion

Here are the places where millionaires are moving

Australia, the U.S. and Canada are now the favorite countries for millionaires to move to, according to a new study.

An estimated 11,000 millionaires moved to Australia last year, according to New World Wealth, making it the number one country for millionaire migrants. The U.S. ranked second with 10,000, followed by Canada with 8,000.

The overall number of millionaire migrants is rising. Last year, 82,000 millionaires migrated worldwide, up from 64,000 in 2015.

 

The overall number of millionaire migrants is rising. Last year, 82,000 millionaires migrated worldwide, up from 64,000 in 2015.

Andrew Amoils of New World Wealth, said that when it comes to deciding whether to move and where to live, millionaires are looking mainly for a good education for their kids and personal safety.

"They want the best schools for their children and to feel safe," he said. "Climate, health care and cleanliness all follow those top two."

When it comes to where millionaires are moving from, New World said, France tops the list. Fully 12,000 millionaires left France last year. China ranked second in millionaire flight, with 9,000 leaving, followed by Brazil with 8,000.

Millionaires are leaving France because of high taxes on the wealthy as well as rising religious tensions, Amoils said. 

"At least in China, the millionaires who are leaving are being replaced by an ever larger number of new millionaires," Amoils said. "But you could argue that France is not creating as many, so it's a cause for concern."

For its study, New World looks at millionaires who are physically moving to a country for at least six months — as opposed to millionaires who may get citizenship or a house in a country but rarely live there. They define millionaires are those with $1 million or more in assets, minus their primary residence.

Here are the top five countries by net inflows and net outflows of millionaires who are migrating.

Top 5 by net inflows:

Australia: 11,000

USA: 10,000

Canada: 8,000

New Zealand: 4,000

Top 5 by net outflows are:

France: 12,000

China: 9,000

Brazil: 8,000

India: 6,000

Turkey: 6,000

Robert Frank

Source: http://www.cnbc.com/2017/02/21/here-are-the-places-where-millionaires-are-moving.html

Amancio Ortega Overtakes Bill Gates As Richest Person In The World

Amancio Ortega, the Spanish retail genius who started Zara, passed Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates to become the richest man in the world on Wednesday. Shares of Ortega’s business Inditex, parent company to Zara, Massimo Dutti and Pull & Bear, ticked up 2.5% Wednesday, boosting his personal fortune by $1.7 billion. That lifted Ortega’s net worth from $77.8 billion to $79.5 billion. Gates is worth an estimated $78.5 billion.

The richest man in the world stands at the A Coruna International Show Jumping competition in Arteixo, Spain on July 31. / Photo credit: MIGUEL RIOPA/AFP/Getty Images

The son of a railway worker from La Coruña, Spain, Ortega is as reclusive as he is rich. He started his career as a store clerk in his hometown before opening his own business. Beginning with less than $100, he and his wife Rosalia Mera began making lingerie, pajamas and nightgowns in their living room.

In 1975, the couple (who eventually divorced) decided to open a store named Zara. Eight years later, Ortega had expanded to nine locations around Spain. In 1984, he opened a 10,000 square foot logistics hub.

Unlike most retailers, Inditex hardly relies on advertising. Ortega has instead devoted most of his resources into turning his company into the most efficient retailing operation in the world. When companies like Gap and H&M were taking five months to design, make, distribute and sell new products in the early 2000s, Zara was doing it in three weeks. That meant Ortega’s companies could keep up with the whims of shoppers much more easily than its competitors — and also had to spend less on warehousing.

Ortega took the business public in 2001 and debuted on the Forbes billionaires list the same year, with a net worth of $6.6 billion. By then, Gates was already the richest man in the world, with a fortune of $58.7 billion.
From 2001 to 2002, as most billionaires struggled to hold onto their riches amid the dot-com crash, Ortega gained an additional $2.5 billion and became the world’s 25th-richest man. He repeated the trick seven years later, when the world plunged into crisis. From 2009 to 2013, while the Spanish economy was reeling, Ortega personally gained $39 billion.

Ortega briefly took the title of world’s richest man for the first time in October 2015, when Inditex shares hit an all-time high and boosted Ortega’s net worth to $80 billion. But the stock quickly dipped, and Gates once again claimed the throne. The two billionaires will likely continue to exchange the title as the stock prices of their holdings continue to bounce up and down.

Gates has donated nearly $31 billion in stock and cash to his foundation over his lifetime. If the Microsoft cofounder were not such a prolific philanthropist, neither Ortega nor anyone else on Earth would be anywhere close to as rich as Gates.

Dan Alexander ,  

FORBES STAFF

Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/danalexander/2016/09/08/amancio-ortega-richest-bill-gates-world-spain-inditex-microsoft-zara/#54160f29264d