It’s been a tumultuous start to 2016 for many public companies, but tech billionaires continue to dominate the ranks of the world’s wealthiest
people. Four of the 10 richest people on the planet made their fortunes
in tech. In total, there are 159 tech billionaires on the FORBES 2016
Billionaires List,
Soaring stock prices for Facebook FB -1.09% and Amazon, both up more than 30% in the past 12 months, have propelled the CEOs of those two tech giants into the ranks of the world’s 10 richest people. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is the biggest gainer in the world this year, adding $11.2 billion to his fortune and climbing 10 spots in a year to become the sixth richest person in the world. With his net worth up $10.4 billion since last year, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is now the second richest person in tech and the world’s fifth richest person, with a net worth of $45.2 billion. Despite Zuckerberg and Bezos’ rapid rise to the top, Microsoft MSFT -0.64% founder Bill Gates remains the richest person in technology—and the world—with a net worth of $75 billion. He’s worth $29.8 billion more than Bezos, despite a $4.2 billion drop in his fortune in the past year.
Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison is tech’s biggest loser this year: Oracle stock dropped 19% in the past year, and his net worth is down $10.7 billion. Despite this, 71-year-old Ellison is still the 7th richest person in the world with a net worth of $43.6 billion. Ellison has plenty of company: 40% of tech billionaires have smaller fortunes this year due to a volatile stock market.
Workday founder David Duffield’s net worth is down $3 billion this
year to $4.4 billion, after Workday stock dropped 46% in the past
year. LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman’s net worth is down $2.3 billion
from $4.7 billion last year. In February, LinkedIn stock plummeted 40%
in a single day after the company’s forecast for 2016 didn’t meet
analysts’ expectations.
Twitter stock is down nearly 70% in the past year, shaving $1.3
billion off Twitter cofounder Ev William’s net worth, leaving him with
$1.3 billion. Twitter and Square CEO Jack Dorsey has been hit not only
by Twitter’s plunging stock but also the market’s response to Square’s
November IPO. The micropayments company, which was valued at $6 billion
at its last private funding round, now has a market cap of $3.5 billion.
Dorsey’s net worth is down $1.2 billion since the IPO, and he barely
made it onto this year’s Billionaires List with a net worth of $1
billion. GoPro founder Nick Woodman wasn’t so lucky; GoPro stock dropped
nearly 80% in the past year, knocking him out of the three comma club
entirely. (Note: Forbes used stock prices and exchange rates from Feb.
12, 2016 to calculate net worths for the 2016 list. Some people’s
fortunes have changed since then.)
The United States and China continue to be the home of the majority of tech billionaires. There are 71 American tech billionaires, 53 of whom live in California. Alibaba CEO Jack Ma, the richest tech billionaire outside of the U.S, is one of 41 Chinese billionaires in technology. He’s the world’s 33rd richest person with a net worth of $20.5 billion. China’s next richest tech billionaire is Tencent cofounder Ma Huateng who’s worth $16.6 billion, followed by Baidu’s Robin Li with a net worth of $11 billion.
There are only 10 female billionaires who made or inherited their fortunes from technology. The richest is Steve Job’s widow, Laurene Powell Jobs, who is worth $16.2 billion, largely due to her stake in Disney. She’s followed by newcomer Zhou Qunfei, who is the world’s richest female tech founder with a net worth of $5.9 billion. After growing up poor in mainland China, Zhou founded Lens Technology, which makes glass covers for mobile phones and tablets. Zhou owns 88% of the company, which went public in March 2015.
There are two other female Asian newcomers in tech on this year’s list. With a net worth of $1.3 billion, 73-year-old Chen Baozhen of Hong Kong owns 21% of Shenzhen-listed Wangsu Science & Technology; she founded its predecessor in retirement. Jane Yan is CEO of China network security product supplier Beijing Venustech and has a net worth of $1 billion.
Soaring stock prices for Facebook FB -1.09% and Amazon, both up more than 30% in the past 12 months, have propelled the CEOs of those two tech giants into the ranks of the world’s 10 richest people. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is the biggest gainer in the world this year, adding $11.2 billion to his fortune and climbing 10 spots in a year to become the sixth richest person in the world. With his net worth up $10.4 billion since last year, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is now the second richest person in tech and the world’s fifth richest person, with a net worth of $45.2 billion. Despite Zuckerberg and Bezos’ rapid rise to the top, Microsoft MSFT -0.64% founder Bill Gates remains the richest person in technology—and the world—with a net worth of $75 billion. He’s worth $29.8 billion more than Bezos, despite a $4.2 billion drop in his fortune in the past year.
Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison is tech’s biggest loser this year: Oracle stock dropped 19% in the past year, and his net worth is down $10.7 billion. Despite this, 71-year-old Ellison is still the 7th richest person in the world with a net worth of $43.6 billion. Ellison has plenty of company: 40% of tech billionaires have smaller fortunes this year due to a volatile stock market.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is now the world’s sixth richest person. (Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg)
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The United States and China continue to be the home of the majority of tech billionaires. There are 71 American tech billionaires, 53 of whom live in California. Alibaba CEO Jack Ma, the richest tech billionaire outside of the U.S, is one of 41 Chinese billionaires in technology. He’s the world’s 33rd richest person with a net worth of $20.5 billion. China’s next richest tech billionaire is Tencent cofounder Ma Huateng who’s worth $16.6 billion, followed by Baidu’s Robin Li with a net worth of $11 billion.
There are only 10 female billionaires who made or inherited their fortunes from technology. The richest is Steve Job’s widow, Laurene Powell Jobs, who is worth $16.2 billion, largely due to her stake in Disney. She’s followed by newcomer Zhou Qunfei, who is the world’s richest female tech founder with a net worth of $5.9 billion. After growing up poor in mainland China, Zhou founded Lens Technology, which makes glass covers for mobile phones and tablets. Zhou owns 88% of the company, which went public in March 2015.
There are two other female Asian newcomers in tech on this year’s list. With a net worth of $1.3 billion, 73-year-old Chen Baozhen of Hong Kong owns 21% of Shenzhen-listed Wangsu Science & Technology; she founded its predecessor in retirement. Jane Yan is CEO of China network security product supplier Beijing Venustech and has a net worth of $1 billion.
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