There are 1,645 billionaires in the world, 492 of which live in the United States. Below is a just a small selection of the world's billionaires. Flip each billionaire's card to see an interesting fact about them.
In his forthcoming Brookings Institution Press book, Billionaires: Reflections on the Upper Crust, Darrell West examines the political use of great wealth, including campaign expenditures, activism through nonprofit organizations and foundations, holding public office, media ownership, policy thought leadership, and behind the scenes influence.
Hover Over / Tap On Each Billionaire's Photo to See More Details
Bill & Melinda Gates
Country: USA
Did You Know?
If Bill Gates were a country, he would be the 65th richest nation in the world.
Jeffrey & MacKenzie Bezos
Country: USA
Did You Know?
Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos gave $2.5 million to support a same-sex marriage referendum in the state of Washington.
Sheldon Gary Adelson
Country: USA
Did You Know?
Sheldon Adelson is estimated to have lost $25 billion in 2009, when the global economy plunged.
Prince Al-Waleed Bin Talal Al Saud
Country: Saudi Arabia
Did You Know?
Prince Al-Waleed Bin Talal sued Forbes over estimating his net worth at $20 billion instead of his estimate of $30 billion.
Silvio Berlusconi
Country: Italy
Did You Know?
Silvio Berlusconi was convicted of tax evasion and sentenced to four years in prison. His sentence was reduced to ten months of community service in a Catholic nursing home.
Clive Frederick Palmer
Country: Australia
Did You Know?
Clive Palmer is building a replica of the Titanic and opened a dinosaur park called "Palmersaurus." He created has own political party named Palmer United and won a house seat in 2013.
Pierre & Pamela Omidyar
Country: USA
Did You Know?
Pierre Omidyar created and financed First Look Media, a journalism venture that includes Glenn Greenwald, Laura Poitras, and Jeremy Scahill.
Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani
Country: India
Did You Know?
Mukesh Ambani lives in the most expensive private home in the world.
Alice Louise Walton
Country: USA
Did You Know?
Alice Walton contributed to Ready for Hillary, a Hillary Clinton Super PAC.
Warren Buffett
Country: USA
Did You Know?
Warren Buffet made his first investment at age 11. He spent $120. Buffet is also a notable philanthropist, having pledged to give away 99% of his fortune to philanthropic causes, primarily through the Gates Foundation.
Carlos Slim Helu
Country: Mexico
Did You Know?
Carlos Slim Helu bought his first stock at age 12 and was ranked at the richest person in the world by Forbes from 2010 to 2013.
Petro Poroshenko
Country: Ukraine
Did You Know?
Petro Poroshenko was elected President of Ukraine in 2014.
Penny Sue Pritzker
Country: USA
Did You Know?
Penny Pritzker was appointed Secretary of Commerce by President Obama in 2013 and is the cousin of Jennifer Pritzker, born James Pritzker, the first known transgender billionaire.
George Soros
Country: USA
Did You Know?
Bono, Nancy Pelosi, and World Bank President Jim Yong Kim were guests at George Soros's 2013 wedding.
David Hamilton Koch
Country: USA
Did You Know?
David Koch survived a plane crash in 1991 and ran as the vice presidential candidate for the Libertarian Party in 1980.
