After all, there are things in the world that can only be bought with money and one of them is membership in the “USD 100 Billion Club”, an elite collection of billionaires who own twelve-figure capitals. This year the club has a record number of members – 14 people, while last year there were half as many – only 6 people, and in 2020 it was only one. Many of them became rich thanks to the development of their technology companies.
Overall, the planet's billionaires are 120% richer than a decade ago. However, club members who became 255% richer over the same time period outperformed the average billionaire. Their capital has grown faster than inflation (+32 %) and the stock market (S&P 500 +182 %), putting them on par with National Football League franchises (+257 %) in growth rates. The total wealth of these 14 businessmen is 2 trillion. USD. This means that 14% of the total wealth of all billionaires in the world is owned by just 0.5% of the 2,781 people on the list.
Not so long ago, 100 billion USD was considered something unattainable even for billionaires. In 1987, when Forbes published its first ranking of the world's richest people, there were only two people on the list (both from Japan) whose wealth exceeded $10 billion (equivalent to USD 27 billion today, the amount that the ranking for 2024 will bring its owners only 69th place).
The world owes the appearance of a 100 billion USD man to the “.com bubble”. In 1999, Microsoft shares for a short period of time made Bill Gates the first owner of a twelve-digit capital, but soon a crisis broke out, reducing his fortune almost 2 times. Over the next nearly two decades, no one came close to that figure, even as markets soared before and after the global financial crisis.
Everything changed when, at the end of 2017, Jeff Bezos finally crossed the seemingly unattainable bar, and thanks to the fact that Amazon's market capitalization jumped to 1 trillion. USD, became the second owner in history of a fortune of USD 100 billion, but nevertheless he remained the only member of the club until 2021, when he was joined by Elon Musk, Bernard Arnault and Bill Gates.
Today, as capital continues to grow steadily around the world, club membership can become more affordable. No. 15 on the list of the richest, L’Oréal heiress Françoise Bettencourt-Meyers (personal wealth: USD 99.5 billion) is already on the threshold, followed by the tech mogul Michael Dell (USD 91 billion). But for now, let me introduce you to the current membership list of the most exclusive club on earth.