The quantity of individuals who might believe a banana costs $10 has dramatically increased over the past few decades. The US has 902 billionaires this year, an increase from 66 in 1990, when the economy was less than half its present scale and $410 million held the same purchasing power as $1 billion today.
TL;DR
- Emulating Warren Buffett is the most probable path to billionaire status, with 15% from finance.
- Inheritance or marrying into wealth are frequent routes, with one-third owing significant fortune to it.
- US leads globally with 902 billionaires, followed by China, India, Germany, and Russia.
- Most billionaire wealth is tied up in stocks, making it difficult to fully cash out.
Forbes data, analyzed by Americans for Tax Fairness, indicates that US billionaires possess a combined net worth of approximately $7.6 trillion. This figure represents roughly 4.5% of the total wealth owned by Americans, despite billionaires constituting only.0003% of the nation's populace.
Who (and where) are they?
The United States holds the top spot, housing nearly a third of the globe's 3,028 individuals with a net worth exceeding $1 billion. Following the US are China with 450, India with 205, Germany with 171, and Russia with 140, according to Forbes.
Cities are where people who can afford a Ferrari on a whim, much like you might decide to take an Uber to the airport, tend to reside. Forbes identified New York City as the top billionaire center, with 123 residents, followed by Moscow, Hong Kong, London, and Beijing.
Women make up only 13% of global billionaires, reflecting a male-dominated landscape, as indicated by The Altrata Billionaire Census—however, this figure is growing.
Tracing the benjamins
Certain paths have a higher probability of admitting you into the select group comprising Bill Gates, Ronaldo, Selena Gomez, French fashion leaders, and Russian oil magnates:
- Inheriting a substantial portion of one's fortune or marrying into affluence are the most frequent paths to becoming a billionaire, as one-third of billionaires owe a significant part of their wealth to inheritance.
- The likeliest professional path to billionaire status is to follow in Warren Buffett’s footsteps, as 15% of billionaires derive their net worth from the finance and investment industry.
- Technology accounted for 13% of billionaires, with manufacturing close behind at 11%, followed by fashion and retail (10%), healthcare (7%), food and beverage (7%), real estate (7%), diversified industries (7%), media and entertainment (4%), and energy (4%).
Most can’t fully cash out: Billionaires typically aren’t able to build a castle out of hundred-dollar-bill stacks, since 66% of their net worth is tied up in stocks (often in a company they started), which they can’t sell easily, according to Altrata.—SK
This report was originally published by Morning Brew.