
Last year I listed the top ten world’s richest people 2006 and made a few observations. Forbes.com recently announced the top ten world’s richest people for 2007. They are (courtesy Forbes.com):
- Bill Gates … $56 billion

- Warren Buffet … $52 billion
- Carlos Slim Helu … $49 billion
- Ingvar Kamprad … $33 billion
- Lakshmi Mittal … $32 billion
- Sheldon Adelson … $26.5 billion
- Bernard Arnault … $26 billion
- Armancio Ortega … $24 billion
- Li Ka-shing … $23 billion
- David Thomson … $22 billion
Breaking into the top ten list this year are Sheldon Adelson, his fortune based on casinos & hotels; Armancio Ortega, from the apparel industry; and David Thompson, inherited money. A notable change is that Paul Allen of Microsoft has fallen out of the top ten, down to #19. And all of the Waltons have fallen out of the top twenty, while Waltons were five of the top ten richest just two years ago.
One thing that caught my attention is that seven of the top ten world’s wealthiest are considered “self-made.” That is, they earned their money not through inheritance, but through their own hard work, creativity, ingenuity, and industry. I think that’s impressive, and highlights the beauty of capitalism and personal, individual effort, and the ability to make your own fortune in this world.
Also noteworthy is that Bill Gates has now been the world’s richest person for 12 of the last 13 years. Incredible. However, the gap to Gates is narrowing—just a few years ago he held $10 billion more than his next closest billionaire, and now it’s only $4 billion.
The amount of wealth these men hold—$343.5 billion between the ten of them—and the business successes they represent is simply mind-boggling.






Posted by: Naveen Jain | March 15, 2007 11:35 PM | Permalink to Comment