Forbes reports 15% rise in number of dollar billionaires

Howard Lake | 15 March 2006 | News

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• Recruitment and people
• Research and statistics

Business magazine Forbes reports that there are now 793 dollar billionaires around the world, a rise of 15% in just one year.

The 20th annual list of billionaires published by Forbes reveals that these people have a combined net worth of $2.6 trillion. Microsoft’s Bill Gates once again tops the list with a personal net worth of $50 billion (£29 billion).

Indeed, nearly half of the world’s billionaires are American.

According to the BBC, the top six billionaires in the UK are:

* Philip & Christina Green: $7bn

* The Duke of Westminster: $6bn

* Reuben Brothers: $3.6bn

* Bernie Ecclestone: $3.4bn

* Barclay Brothers: $2.8bn

* Richard Branson: $2.8bn

Forbes research has thrown up some interesting contrasts: for example, Russia’s 33 billionaires have a combined wealth of $172 billion, over twice the combined wealth of Saudi Arabia’s 11 billionaires.

Similarly, Japan’s 27 billionaires have a total net worth of $67 billion yet India has fewer but wealthier billionaires: the 23 Indian billionaires are worth $99 billion together.

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About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale. He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.