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Whether you realize it or not, odds are you have probably contributed to these businessmen’s wealth in some way or another. Many found a way to exploit the increased prominence of technology in order to amass their wealth, while others just own a whole bunch of stores. Whatever way it is they obtained their wealth though, the point is that they are richer than you, and apparently, according to The Guardian just the eight richest of them have a combined wealth equal to the poorest half of the globe’s population. Yes, you read that right, these guys have the same worth as about 4 billion people! We’re not here to talk about wealth inequality though, we’re here to talk about some real rich dudes so here it goes!
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Patrick Drahi Net Worth: $19.7 billion

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Dietrich Mateschitz Net Worth: $20 billion
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Paul Allen Net Worth: $20 billion
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Leonardo Del Vecchio Net Worth: $20 billion

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Sir Evelyn De Rothschild Net Worth: $20 billion
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Alain Wertheimer Net Worth: $21 billion
Len Blavatnik Net Worth: $21.8 billion
Wang Wei Net Worth: $22 billion
Li Ka-shing Net Worth: $22 billion
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Hui Ka Yan Net Worth: $22 billion
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Lee Shau Kee Net Worth: $22 billion

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Masayoshi Son Net Worth: $22 billion
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Dieter Schwarz Net Worth: $22 billion

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Laurene Powell Jobs Net Worth: $23 billion
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Maria Franca Fissolo Net Worth: $23 billion
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Jorge Paulo Lemann Net Worth: $23 billion
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Forrest Mars Jr. Net Worth: $23.4 billion
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Vladimir Potanin Net Worth: $24 billion
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Michael Dell Net Worth: $24 billion
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Forrest Mars Net Worth: $24.4 billion
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Joseph Safra Net Worth: $25 billion

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Stefan Persson Net Worth: $25 billion
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Giovanni Ferrero Net Worth: $27 billion

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Sheldon Adelson Net Worth: $29 billion

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Francois Pinault Net Worth: $30 billion
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David Thomson Net Worth: $32 billion
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Phil Knight Net Worth: $33 billion
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John Mars Net Worth: $37 billion
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Jacqueline Mars Net Worth: $37 billion
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Ma Huateng Net Worth: $38 billion
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Mukesh Ambani Net Worth: $42 billion

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Elon Musk Net Worth: $42 billion

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Jack Ma Net Worth: $44 billion
Françoise Bettencourt-Meyers Net Worth: $48 billion
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Carlos Slim Helu Net Worth: $48 billion
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Julia Flesher Koch Net Worth: $51 billion
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Charles Koch Net Worth: $51 billion
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S. Robson Walton Net Worth: $54 billion
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Jim Walton Net Worth: $54 billion
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Alice Walton Net Worth: $54 billion

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Steve Ballmer Net Worth: $62 billion

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10. Larry Page Net Worth: $53.5 billion
Larry Page was one of the co-founders of Google, which you probably used to find this article. Since its founding, Google has gone on to become the most popular search engine in the world, and Page’s net worth is clearly a reflection of that. Not only this but Google also owns some other incredibly prominent companies such as Youtube and Andriod which have only helped to increase Page’s worth.

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9. Larry Ellison Net Worth: $58.5 billion
As many did on this list, Larry Ellison made his fortune through software development as CEO and founder of the Oracle Corporation. Mainly focusing on Database technology, the company grew to become one of the largest database management firms out there, and as he owns 27% of the company he has been able to sell some of his stock in order to become one of the richest men alive today. He has used his wealth to become a real estate mogul as well and has properties in Japan, Malibu, Hawaii, San Fransisco and more. Unlike many on this list though, he has fully embraced the billionaire lifestyle and is said to own a yacht and home both apparently worth over $200 million dollars.
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8. (tie) Charles & David Koch Net Worth: $60 billion
As CEO and vice president of Koch Industries, it would appear that the Koch brothers aren’t doing too bad for themselves. The sons of Fred Koch, who invented a revolutionary way to refine oil, they inherited his business and went on to grow it into the empire that it is today. Koch Industries is considered to be one of, if not the largest privately owned company in the world and has subsidiaries involved in petroleum, energy, fiber, minerals, paper and a whole bunch of other important things that can make you a lot of money. The two of them combined are worth more than $100 billion and both are known to actively use their money to contribute to conservative and libertarian candidates.

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7. Carlos Slim Helú Net Worth: $67.1 billion
The richest man in Mexico, Carlos Slim Helú is a Mexican business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. The majority of his wealth comes from investments in a huge variety of businesses ranging from real estate to beverage distributors, airlines and many more. The majority of his wealth comes from telecommunications though, where he has a 57% stake in the mobile phone company America Movil, as well as being one of the primary investors of Telemax, which by 2006 operated 90% of Mexican telephone lines. Helú has since transferred many of his stakes to his six children, but still, Silm is the patriarch of the fortune and therefore gets credit for the wealth he has amassed.

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6. Amancio Ortega Net Worth: $70 billion
Amancio Ortega is a man who typically tries to avoid the public eye, so it might be a surprise to see his name so high on this list. Don’t let his lack of prominence fool you though, because as the founder of clothing company Inditex, Ortega has amassed a huge fortune and built an empire of clothing stores around the world. Starting from very humble beginnings with the clothing store Zara, Ortega turned the store into a huge chain with over 6,000 locations. In recent years he has gotten involved in real estate as well, and is said to own property in New York, Madrid, and London.

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5. Mark Zuckerberg Net Worth: $71 billion
Mark Zuckerberg, has there recently been controversy about him selling massive amounts of public information? Yes, but has that stopped him from being one of the richest people on the planet? Well, you’re reading about him on this list right now so you can probably figure that one out. Gaining his wealth as the CEO and founder of Facebook, Zuckerberg operates what is currently the most popular and widely used website and social media platforms of all time. Because many people put their personal information on the site as well, it’s the perfect platform for advertisers to use to target their ideal customers. Because of this the site probably takes in more ad revenue than any other platform which is why Zuckerberg has accumulated the massive amounts of wealth he has today.
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4. Bernard Arnault Net Worth: $72 billion
CEO and chairman of the worlds largest luxury goods company, LVMH, Bernard Jean Étienne Arnault is considered to be the richest person in France, and one of the richest in the world. His company oversees hundreds of independently run luxury clothing brands, but it was a recent deal he closed in 2017 that puts him so high on this list. While just a year ago Arnault wouldn’t have had a spot here, last April he closed a $13.1 billion dollar deal to acquire prominent luxury brand Christian Dior. This deal boosted him from being your average run-of-the-mill billionaire to your above average even wealthier than normal billionaire. Obviously, he is partaking in all the things that go with being a billionaire as well, and in 2015 was said to have bought an island that at the time was available for rent at $300,000 a week.

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3. Warren Buffett Net Worth: $84 billion
Considered one of the most successful investors in the world, Warren Buffet has amassed his fortune as the CEO of investment firm Berkshire Hathaway. His company at this point owns huge shares in some of the most prominent companies in the world such as Apple, Bank of America, Coca-Cola and plenty more. He is one of the most active philanthropists as well and has joined The Giving Pledge, which is a campaign in which the world’s billionaires swear to give more than half of their wealth away to charity. Not only this, but he is also known for living extremely humbly despite his incredible amounts of wealth, and his home is reported to be worth only about $600 thousand.

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2. Bill Gates Net Worth: $92.2 billion
Certainly not a surprise to see on this list, Bill Gates has been known for years to be one of the wealthiest men on the planet. Coming up with the initial rise of developing software as a product, Gates went on to create Microsoft, which has since become the standard for practically all computers that exist. This, of course, is how he initially obtained his massive amounts of wealth, but what he is doing with it now is worth discussing as well. Bill Gates is one of the most active philanthropists there is, and together with his wife has started The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. This organization has done incredible things over the years, the most notable being almost completely eradicating Malaria in Africa through widespread vaccination to countries that otherwise wouldn’t have access to that kind of medicine.

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1. Jeff Bezos Net Worth: $112 billion
The first person to top $100 billion on the Forbes list of billionaires, Jeff Bezos is absolutely killing it right now. Starting out as a humble books dealer from his garage, it’s really astounding the empire Bezos has been able to build in just a little over twenty years. Amazon has become the premier dealer for pretty much everything you could want to buy online and has given the public the ability to instantly have anything we could ever want, whenever we need it (i.e that time I ordered that pound bag of only green gummy bears). If a successful business is about supply and demand, then Bezos has found a way to supply everything that is in demand which is why he is currently sitting at number one on this list.