Forbes World's Billionaires List 2021 sets record, Bezos tops for 4th consecutive year

Forbes’ annual world’s billionaires list, unveiled recently, include a record-breaking 2,755 billionaires despite the unprecedented repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic on the wealth of the world’s richest persons across the globe. Amazon.com Inc founder Jeff Bezos topped the list for the fourth consecutive year, said the media company on April 6 while Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk jumping to the second spot on the list from 31st position last year.

Musk was followed by Luxury goods firm LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg by rounding out the top five of the world’s richest billionaires. The ranks of these ultra-billionaires are expanding after a year that witnessed novel coronavirus tightening its grip on all nations, upended world economies, and threatened the livelihoods of millions of people. The combined worth of this year’s billionaires, according to Forbes, is worth $13.1 trillion which is a surge from $8 trillion in 2020.

The number of billionaires on Forbes’ 35th annual list this year was 660 more than that of 2020 as the world’s wealthiest exploded to an unprecedented 2,755. Further, the number of newcomers in the list also broke the record as 493 people were included in the billionaire’s list for the first time, meaning there’s “roughly one new billionaire every 17 hours” including 210 from China and Hong Kong and 98 from the United States. The richest newcomer with $38.2 billion is Miriam Adelson from Nevada, who inherited husband Sheldon Adelson’s casino empire after his death in January.

India has the third-highest number of billionaires

Forbes also noted that India has the third-highest number of billionaires with 140 people included in the list. While Beijing churned out most billionaires, the 1,149 billionaires from Asia-Pacific countries are worth $4.7 trillion. India’s richest person to make it to Forbes’ annual world’s billionaires list is Reliance Industries Ltd. chairman, Mukesh Ambani and reclaimed his title of Asia’s richest person, said the media company. 

In India’s top 10 billionaires list by Forbes, Ambani is followed by the founder of the Adani Group, Gautam Adani, chairman of HCL Technologies Limited Shiv Nadar, founder of DMart Radhakishan Damani, managing director of Kotak Mahindra Bank Uday Kotak, CEO of ArcelorMittal Lakshmi Mittal.

Image credits: AP