The top 20 wealthiest people in our country are worth a collective $1.836 trillion. If there’s one commonality between many of them it’s that they grew their wealth building technology platforms that reached mass adoption. But there are a few who built wealth through more conventional channels. Here are the 20 richest Americans and how they got there.
20. Len Blavatnik, $36.7 billion
Access Industries
Born in Soviet Ukraine, Len Blavatnik is the wealthiest man in the United Kingdom. He got there through a series of investments in petrochemicals and entertainment companies like Warner Music Group and DAZN Group as well as his company Access Industries.
His initial fortune was made from industrial oil and chemicals companies, and he was eventually knighted for his work.
19. Stephen Schwarzman, $37.4 billion
The Blackstone Group
Stephen Schwarzman is one of the most powerful people on Wall Street as the CEO and chairman of The Blackstone Group.
He made his fortune by managing other people’s money through Lehman Brothers before starting his own private equity firm, which is one of the largest asset managers in the world.
18. Michael Dell, $50.1 billion
Dell Computers
Michael Dell is the founder, chairman and CEO of Dell Technologies, a company he founded in 1984 selling personal computers through a then-unique direct-to-consumer online model.
It has grown into one of the largest technology infrastructure companies in the world via its 2015 acquisition of EMC Corporation.
17. Julia Koch, $51 billion
Koch Industries
Julia Koch is the wife of David Koch, one half of the Koch brothers. Her husband, 20 years her senior, died in 2019.
Together, she and their three children inherited 42 percent of Koch Industries after David’s death. That also put her on the board of directors and makes her one of the richest women in the world.
16. Charles Koch, $51 billion
Koch Industries
Charles Koch and his brother David inherited Koch Industries from their father Fred Koch when it initially specialized in oil, chemicals, and plastics.
It produces a wide range of consumer products like Lycra spandex, Quilted Northern tissue, and Dixie Cups. The brothers are also heavily involved in politics and often donate large sums to the Republican Party.
15. MacKenzie Scott, $58.5 billion
Amazon.com
MacKenzie Scott is a novelist and philanthropist who earned her fortune in a divorce settlement from Amazon (AMZN) founder Jeff Bezos.
She owns a four percent stake in the multi-trillion-dollar company and is still one of the wealthiest people in the world, despite donating $8.5 billion to charity in 2020 and 2021.
14. Phil Knight, $59.9 billion
Nike
Phil Knight is the co-founder of Nike (NKE) and served as its long-time chairman and CEO. He grew the company from a simple athletic shoe company into one of the most valuable and recognizable brands in the world.
This marketing prowess helped him scale a global brand. Since then, he has leveraged his power and money to help his sons with their business ventures too.
13. Rob Walton, $67.6 billion
Walmart
Rob Walton is the eldest son of Walmart founder Sam Walton and served as the chairman of Walmart two days after his father’s death in 1992.
He served in that capacity until 2015 and did a great job at the company after having already served in a variety of roles, like general counsel, vice chairman, and senior vice president.
12. Alice Walton, $67.9 billion
Walmart
Alice Walton is the second-richest woman in the world, behind Francoise Bettencourt Meyers.
The daughter of Walmart founder Sam Walton and brother of Rob, she spent more of her time focused on civics and the arts than running the Walmart business.
She’s also a major contributor to politics and philanthropy.
11. Jim Walton, $68.8 billion
Walmart
Jim Walton is the youngest of the Walton siblings and played a part in the company’s real estate expansion during the 1970s.
He is the company’s largest shareholder and focuses on running the family’s Arvest Bank. He also joins his sister Alice in philanthropic efforts.
10. Michael Bloomberg, $70 billion
Bloomberg LP
Michael Bloomberg is the co-founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP and was once mayor of New York City.
His creation, the Bloomberg Terminal, is a necessary tool for financial firms, providing breaking news and data to help guide them through the business sector. He remains an influential figure in both business and politics.
9. Steve Ballmer, $96.5 billion
Microsoft
Steve Ballmer took over Microsoft for Bill Gates from 2000 to 2014 after being hired in 1980. He was given eight percent of the company and sold half in 2003 for a sum of $955 million.
In 2014, he bought the Los Angeles Clippers after the Donald Sterling Scandal. It was during his tenure that Microsoft (MSFT) lost ground to mobile solutions like Alphabet’s (GOOG) Android.
8. Warren Buffett, $102 billion
Berkshire Hathaway
Known as the Oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffett is one of the most famed investors in the world. He bought Berkshire Hathaway and converted it from a textiles manufacturer into a holding company for his insurance-based investments, wholly-owned subsidiaries and equity holdings.
These days, his investment decisions influence financial markets in what’s known as the Buffett effect, but he’s still as folksy as ever.
7. Larry Ellison, $117.3 billion
Oracle
Larry Ellison is the co-founder and CTO of Oracle (ORCL), a technology giant he built from the ground up. This enterprise technology company is one of the largest software companies in the world and sells a variety of database, cloud, and other enterprise software.
He’s an enthusiast of yachts, planes, and Hawaiian islands. He’s also renowned for his philanthropic efforts.
6. Sergey Brin, $118.5 billion
Alphabet
As a co-founder of Google, Sergey Brin also served as the president of Alphabet Inc until 2019. The conglomerate started as a search engine in now YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki’s garage.
It is the premier brand in search, both text and video, and has become one of the biggest companies in the world. The firm’s search algorithms remain the gold standard which has translated to a dominant market share and a wide moat.
5. Larry Page, $123 billion
Alphabet
Larry Page co-created the PageRank search ranking algorithm Google uses and has served as both Google and Alphabet’s CEO.
He stepped down as Alphabet CEO in 2019, making way for Sundar Pichai’s reign at the helm. Larry owns a superyacht and properties around the world.
4. Bill Gates, $134 billion
Bill Gates and Paul Allen co-founded Microsoft in New Mexico in 1975.
Gates commercial acumen translated to him becoming a technology titan. His ruthless leadership made the company unstoppable in the 1990s, and it wasn’t until he stepped down that the company lost its market dominance – in part due to government threats that he did step down to avoid a company break-up.
He is fully dedicated to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which has invested in philanthropic endeavors globally.
3. Mark Zuckerberg, $134.5 billion
Meta Platforms
Mark Zuckerberg co-founded Facebook as a social media platform. He acquired Instagram and Whatsapp in the intervening years.
Now Zuckerberg is moving onto Facebook 2.0 aka Meta Platforms, a global technology giant.
He was the world’s youngest self-made billionaire in 2007, and Zuck’s net worth only continues growing, as does the same antitrust talk that plagued Microsoft decades earlier.
2. Elon Musk, $190.5 billion
Tesla/SpaceX
Elon Musk founded so many companies at this point, it’s hard to list them all. He originally gained prominence as part of the PayPal (PYPL) mafia in Silicon Valley, which earned him $100 million when eBay acquired it.
That money got rolled into SpaceX, Tesla, The Boring Company, and Neuralink. Whatever you think of Elon, his ability to allocate capital to create value is virtually unparalleled.
1. Jeff Bezos, $201 billion
Amazon.com
When he founded Amazon (AMZN) in 1994, it was an online bookstore. But CEO Jeff Bezos had bigger plans and grew the company into an ecommerce and cloud computing giant. These days Bezos is more focused on Blue Origin, his space exploration firm.
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