Billionaire - wikipedia Billionaire Billionaire, centibillionaire, and centi - billionaire redirect here. For other uses, see Billionaire ( disambiguation ). A billionaire, in countries that use the short scale number naming system, is a person with a net worth of at least one billion ( 1,000,000,000, i.e. a thousand million ) units of a given currency, usually major currencies such as the United States dollar, the euro or the pound sterling. Additionally a centibillionaire ( or centi - billionaire ) is commonly used to reference a billionaire worth one hundred billion dollars ( 100,000,000,000 ). The American business magazine Forbes produces a complete global list of known U.S. dollar billionaires every year and updates an Internet version of this list in real time. The American oil magnate John D. Rockefeller became the world 's first confirmed U.S. dollar billionaire in 1916. As of 2017, there are over 2,000 U.S. dollar billionaires worldwide, with a combined wealth of over US $7.7 trillion. According to a 2017 Oxfam report, the top eight richest billionaires own as much combined wealth as `` half the human race ''. Many current billionaires are extremely successful businesspeople, including Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Larry Ellison, Michael Dell, and Meg Whitman. They created their wealth through the ownership and control of major corporations. Some billionaires have inherited their wealth through family owned corporations such as Mars, Walton, Rockefeller, and Koch. Contents 1 Current U.S. dollar billionaires 2 Billionaires who own the same wealth as half the world 3 Statistics 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading Current U.S. dollar billionaires See also : The World 's Billionaires According to the Forbes report released in March 2017, there are currently 2,043 U.S. dollar billionaires worldwide, from 66 countries, with a combined net worth of $7.67 trillion, which is more than the combined GDP of 152 countries. The majority of billionaires are male, as fewer than 11 % ( 197 of 1,826 ) on the 2015 list were female billionaires. In 2015, there were ten LGBT billionaires. The United States has the largest number of billionaires of any country, with 536 as of 2015, while China, India and Russia are home to 213, 90 and 88 billionaires respectively. As of 2015, only 46 billionaires were under the age of 40, while the list of American - only billionaires, as of 2010, had an average age of 66. Billionaires who own the same wealth as half the World Number of billionaires who together own the same wealth as half the world population and what transport they would fit on between years 2010 to 2016 According to a 2016 Oxfam report, the wealth of the poorest 50 % dropped by 41 % between 2010 and 2015, despite an increase in the global population of 400 million. In the same period, the wealth of the richest 62 people between the World 's Billionaires increased by $500 bn ( £ 350bn ) to $1.76 tn. This number has fallen dramatically from 388 as recently as 2010. More recently, in 2017 an Oxfam report noted that just eight billionaires own as much combined wealth as `` half the human race ''. Statistics The table below lists numerous statistics relating to billionaires, including the total number of known billionaires and the net worth of the world 's wealthiest individual for each year since 2008. Data for each year is from the annual Forbes list of billionaires, with currency figures given in U.S. dollars. Year Total number of billionaires Combined wealth of known billionaires Number of U.S. billionaires Number of Chinese billionaires Number of Russian billionaires Number of Indian billionaires World 's wealthiest individual Wealthiest individual 's net worth 2017 2,043 $7.71 trillion 565 319 101 Jeff Bezos $99.6 billion 2016 1,810 $6.48 trillion 540 251 75 Bill Gates $75 billion 2015 1,826 $7.05 trillion 536 213 88 90 Bill Gates $79.2 billion 2014 1,645 $6.4 trillion 492 152 111 56 Bill Gates $78 billion 2013 1,426 $5.4 trillion 442 122 110 -- Carlos Slim $73 billion 2012 1,226 $4.6 trillion 425 95 96 -- Carlos Slim $73 billion 2011 1,210 $4.5 trillion 413 115 101 -- Carlos Slim $74 billion 1,011 $3.6 trillion 404 ( est. ) 89 62 -- Carlos Slim $53.5 billion 2009 793 $2.4 trillion 359 28 32 -- Bill Gates $40 billion 2008 1,125 $4.4 trillion 470 ( est. ) -- 87 -- Warren Buffett $62 billion See also Foundation Forbes 400 ( Americans only ) Bloomberg Billionaires Index world - encompassing List of countries by the number of billionaires List of universities by number of billionaire alumni List of wealthiest families Black Billionaires List of wealthiest historical figures Millionaire References Jump up ^ Communications, Forbes Corporate. `` Forbes ' 32nd Annual World 's Billionaires Issue ''. Forbes. Retrieved 2018 - 04 - 07. Jump up ^ `` Jeff Bezos Is Worth $112 Billion, Overtaking Bill Gates as the Richest Man in the World ''. Maxim. Retrieved 2018 - 04 - 07. Jump up ^ Miller, Matthew ; Kroll, Luisa ( 10 March 2010 ). `` Bill Gates No Longer World 's Richest Man ''. Forbes. Retrieved 7 June 2010. Jump up ^ O'Donnell, Carl ( 11 July 2014 ). `` The Rockefellers : The Legacy Of History 's Richest Man ''. Forbes. Retrieved 7 January 2014. ^ Jump up to : Kroll, Luisa ; Dolan, Kerry A. `` Forbes 2017 billionaires list : Meet the richest people on the planet ''. Forbes. Retrieved 12 March 2018. ^ Jump up to : Ratcliff, Anna ( 16 January 2017 ). `` Just 8 men own same wealth as half the world ''. Oxfam. Retrieved 16 January 2017. ^ Jump up to : Mullany, Gerry ( 16 January 2017 ). `` World 's 8 Richest Have as Much Wealth as Bottom Half of Global Population ''. New York Times. Retrieved 16 January 2017. ^ Jump up to : `` Behind the Numbers in Forbes ' Billionaires List ''. U.S. News & World Report. 2 March 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2018. ^ Jump up to : `` Inside The 2015 Forbes Billionaires List : Facts And Figures ''. Forbes. 2 March 2015. Retrieved 3 March 2015. ^ Jump up to : `` A Record 90 Indians On Forbes Billionaires List 2015 ''. Forbes. 3 March 2015. Retrieved 9 August 2015. Jump up ^ Rappeport, Alan ( 9 March 2011 ). `` Brics becoming billionaire factory ''. Financial Times. Retrieved 20 May 2011. ^ Jump up to : `` 62 people own same as half world -- Oxfam ''. Oxfam. Jump up ^ `` Billionaires ''. Forbes. 3 March 2014. Retrieved 17 March 2014. Jump up ^ `` Indian Billionaires 2014 : Big Winners, Big Losers ''. Forbes. 3 March 2014. Retrieved 9 August 2015. Jump up ^ `` Inside The 2013 Billionaires List ''. Forbes. 25 March 2013. Retrieved 20 October 2014. Jump up ^ `` Forbes World 's Billionaires 2012 ''. Forbes. 7 March 2012. Retrieved 20 October 2014. Jump up ^ `` World 's Billionaires 2011 : A Record Year In Numbers, Money And Impact ''. Forbes. 9 March 2011. Retrieved 1 April 2012. Jump up ^ `` Bill Gates No Longer World 's Richest Man ''. Forbes. 10 March 2010. Retrieved 1 April 2012. Jump up ^ `` The World 's Billionaires ''. Forbes. 11 March 2009. Retrieved 1 April 2012. Jump up ^ `` World 's Billionaires ''. Forbes. 5 March 2008. Retrieved 1 April 2012. Further reading Ritholtz, Barry ( 26 December 2016 ). `` Map of World Billionaires by Country and by Origin of Wealth ''. The Big Picture. Extreme Wealth Concepts Billionaires Capital accumulation Distribution of wealth Dynastic wealth Economic inequality Geography and wealth High - net - worth individual UHNWI Millionaires National wealth Oligarchy Overaccumulation Paper wealth Plutocracy Plutonomy Wealth Wealth concentration Wealth effect Wealth management Wealth and religion Wealth tax Lists of people Female billionaires ‎ Wealthiest Americans Richest royals Wealthiest families Wealthiest historical figures Forbes list of billionaires Lists of organizations Companies by profit and loss Largest companies by revenue Largest financial services companies by revenue Largest manufacturing companies by revenue Public corporations by market capitalization Wealthiest organizations Other lists Cities by number of billionaires Countries by number of billionaires Most expensive things Wealthiest animals See also Business magnate Business oligarch Philanthropy The Giving Pledge The rich get richer and the poor get poorer Upper class Nouveau riche Vieux riche Religion and poverty Lists of people by net worth By citizenship Australia Austria Belgium Brazil Canada China ( PRC ) Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Egypt Finland France Germany Greece Hong Kong Hungary India Indonesia Iran Ireland Israel Italy Japan Kazakhstan Kenya South Korea Kuwait Lebanon Malaysia Mexico Monaco Netherlands New Zealand Nigeria Norway Oman Pakistan Philippines Poland Portugal Russia Saudi Arabia Singapore South Africa Spain Sweden Switzerland Taiwan ( ROC ) Thailand Turkey Uganda Ukraine UAE United Kingdom United States Venezuela Vietnam By region Arab League South Asia South East Asia Africa World Forbes lists 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Forbes 400 In history List of wealthiest historical figures List of richest Americans in history Other Bloomberg Billionaires Index Forbes Fictional 15 Financial Review Rich List ( Australia ) Hurun Muslims Royals Sunday Times Rich List ( UK ) Women Wealthiest Americans ( 1957 ) By alumni Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Billionaire&oldid=835256241 '' Categories : Billionaires Distribution of wealth Hidden categories : Wikipedia indefinitely move - protected pages Use dmy dates from July 2013 Pages using div col with deprecated parameters Talk Contents About Wikipedia Wikiquote Cymraeg Dansk Español Esperanto فارسی Français 한국어 Kurdî Malagasy Nederlands Norsk Română Саха тыла Simple English Suomi Svenska Tiếng Việt ייִדיש 中文 11 more Edit links This page was last edited on 7 April 2018, at 15 : 23. 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Question: the world's first billionare made his fortune in what industry
Answer: oil