These titans of industry, innovation, and investment, often referred to as billionaires, wield immense economic influence and shape the contours of our world. Their names resonate through the halls of finance, technology, and commerce, their ventures shaping economies and societies.
Among the most coveted accolades in this realm is inclusion in the prestigious Forbes Billionaires List, a definitive compendium that chronicles the ever-shifting landscape of wealth accumulation. I like to watch how real-time updated data changes very fast every single month.
We will not discuss traders, especially forex traders. I covered that in another article about how many forex traders are there. In this article, I want to analyze the richest investors and traders with proven records.
Now, here are the data:
There are 2692 billionaires on Forbes’ list, while around 218 billionaires are from the Financial and trading industry. However, most billionaires have several income streams and are not strictly traders. Most billionaires are investors, not typical traders.
In my article about the wealthiest traders in the world, I mention top investors (traders) that everybody knows. However, other not-so-famous investors deserve attention, so here is a longer list.
Here is the complete list of billionaires in the Financial industry for 2024:
– Warren Buffett – $133 B, United States
– Michael Bloomberg – $106 B, United States
– Stephen Schwarzman – $38.8 B, United States
– Ken Griffin – $36.4 B, United States
– Thomas Peterffy – $34 B, United States
– Changpeng Zhao – $33 B, China
– Masayoshi Son – $32.7 B, Japan
– Jim Simons – $31.4 B, United States
– Abigail Johnson – $29 B, United States
– Jeff Yass – $27.6 B, United States
– Andrea Pignataro – $27.5 B, Italy
– R. Budi Hartono – $26.5 B, Indonesia
– Daniel Gilbert – $26.2 B, United States
– Vicky Safra & family – $20.6 B, Brazil
– David Tepper – $20.6 B, United States
– Steve Cohen – $19.8 B, United States
– Renata Kellnerova & family – $18 B, Czech Republic
– Michael Platt – $18 B, United States
– Ray Dalio – $15.4 B, United States
– Philip Anschutz – $15.3 B, United States
– Leon Black – $14 B, United States
– Uday Kotak – $13.3 B, India
– George Roberts – $12.7 B, United States
– Israel Englander – $12.4 B, United States
– Edward Johnson, IV. – $11.8 B, United States
– John Doerr – $11.7 B, United States
– Henry Kravis – $11.7 B, United States
– Andrew Beal – $11.5 B, United States
– Brian Armstrong – $11.2 B, United States
– Mikhail Prokhorov – $11 B, Russia
– David Velez & family – $10.8 B, Brazil
– Suleiman Kerimov & family – $10.7 B, Russia
– Patrick Ryan – $10.7 B, United States
– Antony Ressler – $10.5 B, United States
– Alexander Gerko – $10.4 B, Russia
– Graeme Hart – $10.4 B, New Zealand
– Yu Yong – $10.3 B, China
– Gong Hongjia & family – $10.2 B, China
– Vincent Bolloré & family – $10 B, France
– Mat Ishbia – $9.9 B, United States
– Elizabeth Johnson – $9.9 B, United States
– Charles Schwab – $9.8 B, United States
– Michael Kim – $9.7 B, United States
– Christopher Hohn – $9.5 B, United Kingdom
– Ludwig Merckle – $9.4 B, Germany
– Giancarlo Devasini – $9.2 B, Italy
– Robert F. Smith – $9.2 B, United States
– Francine von Finck & family – $9.2 B, Canada
– Tom Gores – $9.1 B, United States
– Ramzi Musallam – $9 B, United States
– Orlando Bravo – $8.7 B, Puerto Rico
– Ken Fisher – $8.7 B, United States
– Ken Langone – $8.7 B, United States
– Carl Bennet – $8.5 B, Sweden
– Rekha Jhunjhunwala – $8.5 B, India
– Eric Wittouck – $8.5 B, Belgium
– Josh Harris – $8.4 B, United States
– David Shaw – $8.3 B, United States
– Paul Tudor Jones, II. – $8.1 B, United States
– Guillaume Pousaz – $7.8 B, Switzerland
– Jaime Gilinski Bacal – $7.7 B, Colombia
– Bruce Kovner – $7.7 B, United States
– Thomas Hagen – $7.6 B, United States
– Peter Thiel – $7.5 B, United States
– Jonathan Gray – $7.4 B, United States
– Don Hankey – $7.4 B, United States
– John Overdeck – $7.3 B, United States
– Jean Salata – $7.3 B, France
– Luis Carlos Sarmiento – $7.3 B, Colombia
– David Siegel – $7.3 B, United States
– Andreas Halvorsen – $7.2 B, Norway
– Douglas Leone – $7.2 B, United States
– Nadia Thiele – $7.1 B, Germany
– Arthur Dantchik – $7 B, United States
– John Grayken – $6.9 B, United States
– Daniel Ziff – $6.9 B, United States
– Dirk Ziff – $6.9 B, United States
– Robert Ziff – $6.9 B, United States
– Todd Boehly – $6.1 B, United States
– Philippe Laffont – $6.1 B, France
– Karen Pritzker – $6.1 B, United States
– Paul Singer – $6.1 B, United States
– Mark Walter – $6 B, United States
– Carl Icahn – $5.9 B, United States
– Yuri Milner – $5.9 B, Russia
– Vyacheslav Kim – $5.8 B, Russia
– Chase Coleman, III. – $5.7 B, United States
– Michael Moritz – $5.6 B, United Kingdom
– Lin Li – $5.5 B, China
– Thomas Secunda – $5.4 B, United States
– Charles B. Johnson – $5.3 B, United States
– Walther Moreira Salles Junior – $5.3 B, Brazil
– Daniel Tsai – $5.3 B, Taiwan
– Andre Koo, Sr. – $5.2 B, Taiwan
– Mikhail Lomtadze – $5.2 B, Russia
– Richard Tsai – $5.2 B, Taiwan
– Ron Baron – $5.1 B, United States
– Justin Ishbia – $5.1 B, United States
– Sami Mnaymneh – $5.1 B, United States
– Tony Tamer – $5.1 B, United States
– Jed McCaleb – $2.9 B, United States
– James Packer – $2.9 B, Australia
– Karthik Sarma – $2.9 B, India
– Daniel Sundheim – $2.9 B, United States
– Felix Baker – $2.8 B, United States
– Julian Baker – $2.8 B, United States
– Harindarpal Banga – $2.8 B, India
– Chen Fashu – $2.8 B, China
– Leon G. Cooperman – $2.8 B, United States
– Christian Latouche & family – $2.8 B, France
– Doug Ostrover – $2.8 B, United States
– Lirio Parisotto – $2.8 B, Brazil
– Gerald Ford – $2.7 B, United States
– Peter Hargreaves – $2.7 B, United Kingdom
– Michael Hintze – $2.7 B, Australia
– Thomas James – $2.7 B, United States
– Hans Melchers – $2.7 B, Netherlands
– John Pritzker – $2.7 B, United States
– Nik Storonsky – $2.7 B, United Kingdom
– Cameron Winklevoss – $2.7 B, United States
– Tyler Winklevoss – $2.7 B, United States
– John Elkann – $2.6 B, Italy
– Stephen Lansdown – $2.6 B, Guernsey
– Henry Laufer – $2.6 B, United States
– Daniel Pritzker – $2.6 B, United States
– Bernard Saul, II. & family – $2.6 B, United States
– Juan Abello – $2.5 B, Spain
– Joseph Edelman – $2.5 B, United States
– Stuart Hoegner – $2.5 B, Canada
– Stephen Mandel, Jr. – $2.5 B, United States
– Michael Novogratz – $2.5 B, United States
– Scott Shleifer – $2.5 B, United States
– Alexander Svetakov – $2.5 B, Russia
– T.Y. Tsai – $2.5 B, Taiwan
– Bruce Karsh – $2.4 B, United States
– Liang Xinjun – $2.4 B, China
– Andreas Pohl – $2.4 B, Germany
– Ivan Tavrin – $2.4 B, Russia
– Leonard Abess – $2.3 B, United States
– Egon Durban – $2.3 B, United States
– Rolf Gerling – $2.3 B, Germany
– Noam Gottesman – $2.3 B, United States
– Kenneth Hao – $2.3 B, United States
– Greg Mondre – $2.3 B, United States
– Reinfried Pohl, Jr. – $2.3 B, Germany
– Christopher Rokos – $2.3 B, United Kingdom
– Guilherme Benchimol – $2.2 B, Brazil
– Julio Bozano – $2.2 B, Brazil
– Dermot Desmond – $2.2 B, Ireland
– Lawrence Golub – $2.2 B, United States
– Alec Gores – $2.2 B, United States
– Kristo Käärmann – $2.2 B, Estonia
– Howard Marks – $2.2 B, United States
– Scott Nuttall – $2.2 B, United States
– Jennifer Pritzker – $2.2 B, United States
– Larry Robbins – $2.2 B, United States
– Pierre van der Mersch – $2.2 B, Belgium
– David Booth – $2.1 B, United States
– Chen Jinxia – $2.1 B, China
– Jack Cockwell – $2.1 B, Canada
– Jamie Dimon – $2.1 B, United States
– James Dinan – $2.1 B, United States
– Alfredo Egydio Arruda Villela Filho – $2.1 B, Brazil
– David Golub – $2.1 B, United States
– Bennett Rosenthal – $2.1 B, United States
– T. Denny Sanford – $2.1 B, United States
– Stephan Schmidheiny – $2.1 B, Switzerland
– Thaksin Shinawatra – $2.1 B, Thailand
– Peter Sondakh – $2.1 B, Indonesia
– Wichai Thongtang – $2.1 B, Thailand
– Ion Tiriac – $2.1 B, Romania
– Michael Ashcroft – $2 B, United Kingdom
– Joseph Bae – $2 B, United States
– Tim Draper – $2 B, United States
– Conni Jonsson – $2 B, Sweden
– David Kaplan – $2 B, United States
– Dominika Kulczyk – $2 B, Poland
– Edward Lampert – $2 B, United States
– Marc Lipschultz – $2 B, United States
– Thomas Steyer – $2 B, United States
– Henry Swieca – $2 B, United States
– Thomas Wu – $2 B, Taiwan
– Oren Zeev – $2 B, Israel
– Marc Andreessen – $1.9 B, United States
– Michael Arougheti – $1.9 B, United States
– Samuel Chen – $1.9 B, Taiwan
– Mark Coombs – $1.9 B, United Kingdom
– Ana Lucia de Mattos Barretto Villela – $1.9 B, Brazil
– Jayme Garfinkel & family – $1.9 B, Brazil
– Jay Hennick – $1.9 B, Canada
– Roberto Hernandez Ramirez – $1.9 B, Mexico
– Hal Jackman – $1.9 B, Canada
– Marc Lasry – $1.9 B, United States
– Peter Lim – $1.9 B, Singapore
– Oei Hong Leong – $1.9 B, Singapore
– Liora Ofer – $1.9 B, Israel
– Shunsaku Sagami – $1.9 B, Japan
– Riaz Valani – $1.9 B, United States
– Gavril Yushvaev & family – $1.9 B, Russia
– Scot French – $1.1 B, United States
– Antonio Gracias – $1.1 B, United States
– Christian Herz – $1.1 B, Germany
– Michaela Herz – $1.1 B, Germany
– Jonas Kamprad – $1.1 B, Sweden
– Mathias Kamprad – $1.1 B, Sweden
– Peter Kamprad – $1.1 B, Sweden
– Lev Kvetnoi – $1.1 B, Russia
– Max Levchin – $1.1 B, United States
– Stanley Motta – $1.1 B, Panama
– Niti Osathanugrah – $1.1 B, Thailand
– Motilal Oswal – $1.1 B, India
– Michael Patterson – $1.1 B, United States
– Andrei Rappoport – $1.1 B, Russia
– Weijian Shan – $1.1 B, Hong Kong
– Shin Chang-Jae – $1.1 B, South Korea
– Vlad Tenev – $1.1 B, United States
– Ruben Vardanyan & family – $1.1 B, Armenia
– Eugene Wu – $1.1 B, Taiwan
Billionaires often invest in businesses differently from typical traders in several ways:
- Long-Term Perspective: Billionaires usually have a long-term perspective when investing in businesses. They focus on acquiring and building companies with sustainable competitive advantages rather than engaging in short-term trading for quick profits. They aim to create value over time, often through strategic acquisitions, organic growth, and operational improvements.
- Diversification: While some billionaires may concentrate their investments in a particular industry or sector where they have expertise, many also diversify their portfolios across various industries to reduce risk. This diversification strategy helps them weather economic downturns and mitigate the impact of industry-specific challenges.
- Private Equity and Venture Capital: Billionaires often invest significant sums in private and venture capital funds. These investments expose early-stage startups and private companies with high growth potential. By backing promising entrepreneurs and innovative ideas, billionaires aim to generate substantial returns over the long term.
- Direct Investments: Many billionaires make direct investments in private companies independently or through family offices and investment vehicles. These direct investments allow them greater control over the businesses they invest in and influence their strategic direction and operations activities. Ventures: Some billionaires allocate a portion of their wealth to philanthropic ventures and impact investing. They invest in projects and initiatives that address social, environmental, and economic challenges while generating financial returns. These investments align with their values and contribute to positive social change.
- Real Estate: Real estate is another famous investment avenue for billionaires. They often acquire commercial properties, residential developments, hotels, and resorts, generating rental income and capital appreciation over the long term. Real estate investments provide diversification and serve as a hedge against inflation.
- Strategic Partnerships and Joint Ventures: Billionaires frequently partner with other investors, corporations, and institutions to pursue large-scale investment opportunities. These partnerships allow them to leverage their resources, expertise, and networks to capitalize on lucrative business prospects and create value collaboratively.
- Hedging Strategies: While billionaires primarily focus on long-term investments, they may also employ hedging strategies to protect their portfolios against market volatility and downside risk. These strategies may include derivatives, options, and other financial instruments to offset potential losses during adverse market conditions.
In summary, billionaires approach investing in businesses with a long-term perspective, diversification across industries, and a combination of private equity, venture capital, direct investments, real estate, strategic partnerships, and philanthropic ventures. Their investment strategies are often characterized by patience, discipline, and a willingness to take calculated risks in pursuit of sustainable wealth creation and positive societal impact.