Mukesh Ambani Takes The #13 Spot As The Only Indian In Forbes’ Top 20 Billionaires List

In a brief scene in ‘Don 2’, Shah Rukh Khan comments on the fact that Indians are progressing rapidly and that we are everywhere. And all these years after, that remark is turning out to be very true. We currently have the largest statue in the world, we’re creating history in athletics and we’re stealing everyone’s thunder at The Ellen DeGeneres show. Now, in addition to all that, we’ve entered Forbes’ Top 20 Billionaires list, courtesy of Mukesh Ambani.

According to Forbes, for the second year in a decade, both the number of billionaires and their total wealth has gone down. Right now there are 2153 billionaires in the world, which’s 55 lesser than it was a year ago.

The survey says that the ultra-rich are worth $8.7 trillion. However, a significant chunk of people (billionaires) has dropped out of the ranks. The Asia-Pacific has been hit the hardest, with China leading dip with 49 fewer billionaires than a year ago. Europe, the Middle East and Africa have also witnessed similar drops. But Brazil and the U.S. have kept the Americas afloat with a record 607 billionaires in the U.S.

So, without further ado, here are the top 20 billionaires in the world with Mukesh Ambani at #13.

1. Jeff Bezos & family

Jeff Bezos is the founder and CEO of Amazon with a 16% stake in the company. In 2018, Amazon pulled in $230 billion in revenues and $10 billion in net profit. And if he goes ahead with the divorce, Mackenzie will end up becoming the richest woman in the world because according to Washington state law she’ll be getting up to half of Jeff’s assets.

2. Bill Gates

While Gates remains as a board member of Microsoft, it’s the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that has brought him into this list. The foundation works to save lives and improve global health. Till date, he has donated $35.8 billion worth of Microsoft stock to the Gates Foundation.

3. Warren Buffett

Warren Buffett is one of the most successful investors of all time. He runs Berkshire Hathaway, which owns more than 60 companies, like Geico, Duracell and Dairy Queen. He has promised to give away over 99% of his fortune, starting with the large chunk of $3.4 billion that has gone to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

4. Bernard Arnault & family

Bernard Arnault oversees 70 brands that include Louis Vuitton and Sephora. In 2018, his luxury good group, LVMH, posted record sales and profits. He’s also behind the $135 million Frank Gehry-designed Foundation Louis Vuitton museum near Paris. His daughter Delphine is the executive vice president of Louis Vuitton and a member of LVMH’s executive committee.

5. Carlos Slim Helu & family

Carlos Slim Helu is Mexico’s richest man. He and his family control América Móvil, Latin America’s biggest mobile telecom firm. He also owns stakes in Mexican construction, consumer goods, mining and real estate companies and 17% of The New York Times. His son-in-law Fernando Romero designed the Soumaya Museum in Mexico City.

6. Amancio Ortega

Amancio Ortega is one of the richest men in Europe and the wealthiest retailer in the world. He has co-founded Inditex (which’s famous for its Zara fashion chain) with his ex-wife Rosalia Mera. He owns about 60% of Madrid-listed Inditex and earns more than $400 million in dividends a year.

7. Larry Ellison

Larry Ellison co-founded software firm Oracle. However, he gave up the role of the CEO of the company and is now serving as the chairman of the board and chief technology officer. In addition to that, Ellison has launched a wellness startup called Sensei and joined Tesla’s board after purchasing 3 million of its shares.

8. Mark Zuckerberg

Despite facing flak for fake news and abuse on Facebook, CEO Mark Zuckerberg continues to churn in the big bucks. After making the social networking website public in 2012, he owns nearly 17% of its stocks. That said, he and his wife, Priscilla Chan, has pledged to give away 99% of their Facebook stake over their lifetimes.

9. Michael Bloomberg

Michael Bloomberg co-founded financial information and media company Bloomberg LP in 1981. He owns 88% of the business, which brings in more $9 billion. FYI, he was fired after working for Salomon Brothers for 15 years. And now he has donated more than $5 billion to gun control, climate change and other cause. He also plans to spend at least $500 million to defeat Donald Trump in 2020.

10. Larry Page

Larry Page co-founded Google in 1998 with Sergey Brin. Now he’s the head of Google’s parent company Alphabet, healthcare division Calico, smart home appliance division Nest and more. Page served as Google’s first CEO until 2001. He reprised the position in 2011.

11. Charles Koch

Charles Koch has been the chairman and CEO of Koch Industries since 1967. The company has around $110 billion in revenues from businesses like pipelines, chemicals, Dixie cups etc. He owns a 42% stake in the firm and so does his brother David Koch. His son Chase is in charge of the company’s venture capital arm.

12. David Koch

As mentioned before, David Koch holds a good portion of Koch Industries’ stake. He stepped down from his role of executive vice president in July 2018 due to his health. Davi is a well-known philanthropist and is a done to New York’s Lincoln Center and Memorial-Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

13. Mukesh Ambani

Mukesh Ambani owns the $60 billion worth oil and gas company Reliance Industries. He’s also the leading name in India’s hyper-competitive telecom market with the help of the 4G phone service Jio. Apparently, Jio has 280 million customers and offers free domestic voice calls, dirt-cheap data services and virtually free smartphones.

14. Sergey Brin

Sergey Brin is the co-founder of Google and now works as the president of its parent firm, Alphabet. He was previously in charge of Google X, which made the ill-fated Google glasses.

15. Francoise Bettencourt Meyers & family

Francoise Bettencourt Meyers is the richest woman in the world. She’s the granddaughter of L’Oreal’s founder, and she and her family own 33% of the companies stock. L’Oreal recorded record sales growth in 2018. She is the chairwoman of the family holding company and serves as the president of her family’s philanthropic foundation that pushes for French progress in sciences and arts.

16. Jim Walton

Jim Walton is the youngest son of Walmart founder Sam Walton. He is in charge of the family’s Arvest Bank, that has assets of more than $16 billion. He was on Walmart’s board for more than 10 years. But then he gave away the post to his son, Steuart in June 2016.

17. Alice Walton

Alice Walton, the only daughter of Walmart founder Sam Walton, has focused on curating art. In 2011, she opened the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville. Her personal art collection’s value is more than $100 million.

18. Rob Walton

Rob Walton is the eldest son of Walmart founder Sam Walton. He became the chairman of Walmart in 1992 and retired in June 2015. He’s still a member of Walmart’s board. Rob and other heirs of Sam Walton collectively own about half of Walmart’s stock.

19. Steven Ballmer

Steve Ballmer is the former CEO of Microsoft. He saw the company through one of its most difficult phases. In 2014, he retired and bought the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers for $2 billion. Since then he has focused on philanthropy and lifting Americans out of poverty.

20. Ma Huateng

Ma Huateng is the head of the Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings. Its popular social messaging app WeChat has more than 1 billion users. Tencent Music entered the New York Stock Exchange in December 2018.

It’s no easy task to enter the top 20 list of the world’s richest billionaires. So, congrats to Mukesh Ambani for doing such an unthinkable task. Let’s hope he takes his company to new heights in 2019 and appears on a higher ranking in 2020’s list.

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