Money
Mapping Out the Richest Billionaires in Each Country
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Mapping Out The Richest Billionaires in Each Country
While there are nearly 8 billion people in the world, just over 3,000 are billionaires as of November 2022. This tiny group of people is worth nearly $11.8 trillion—Equivalent to about 11.8% of global GDP.
Where do these billionaires live? This graphic by Truman Du uses data from Forbes to map out the richest billionaires around the world.
The Full List
As it turns out, billionaires are a lot more geographically concentrated than you might think.
In fact, of the 195 officially recognized countries around the world, only 76 are home to billionaires. And even within these countries, there’s vast disparities between the quantity of billionaires.
Here’s a breakdown of all the countries that have at least one billionaire. For countries with more than one, we’ve highlighted the billionaire with the highest net worth as of November 28, 2022:
Country/territory | Name | Net worth ($B) | Main source of wealth (sector) |
---|---|---|---|
🇩🇿 Algeria | Issad Rebrab | 5.1 | food |
🇦🇷 Argentina | Marcos Galperin | 4.0 | e-commerce |
🇦🇲 Armenia | Ruben Vardanyan | 1.3 | investment banking |
🇦🇺 Australia | Gina Rinehart | 27.9 | mining |
🇦🇹 Austria | Georg Stumpf | 7.9 | real estate, construction |
🇧🇩 Bangladesh | Muhammed Aziz Khan | 1.0 | power |
🇧🇧 Barbados | Rihanna | 1.4 | music, cosmetics |
🇧🇪 Belgium | Eric Wittouck | 9.0 | investments |
🇧🇿 Belize | Kenneth Dart | 4.0 | investments |
🇧🇷 Brazil | Jorge Paulo Lemann | 15.6 | beer |
🇧🇬 Bulgaria | Georgi & Kiril Domuschiev | 1.9 | animal health, investments |
🇨🇦 Canada | David Thomson | 53.2 | media |
🇨🇱 Chile | Iris Fontbona | 19.6 | mining |
🇨🇳 China | Zhong Shanshan | 66.7 | beverages, pharmaceuticals |
🇨🇴 Colombia | Luis Carlos Sarmiento | 6.3 | banking |
🇨🇾 Cyprus | John Fredriksen | 11.4 | shipping |
🇨🇿 Czechia | Renata Kellnerova | 16.0 | finance, telecommunications |
🇩🇰 Denmark | Anders Holch Povlsen | 11.9 | fashion retail |
🇪🇬 Egypt | Nassef Sawiris | 7.2 | construction, investments |
🇪🇪 Estonia | Kristo Kaarmann | 1.4 | payments, banking |
🇫🇮 Finland | Antti Herlin | 3.9 | elevators, escalators |
🇫🇷 France | Bernard Arnault | 179.5 | LVMH |
🇬🇪 Georgia | Bidzina Ivanishvili | 4.8 | investments |
🇩🇪 Germany | Beate Heister & Karl Albrecht Jr. | 35.1 | supermarkets |
🇬🇷 Greece | Vicky Safra | 7.1 | banking |
🇬🇬 Guernsey | Stephen Lansdown | 2.3 | financial services |
ðŸ‡ðŸ‡° Hong Kong | Li Ka-shing | 33.0 | diversified |
ðŸ‡ðŸ‡º Hungary | Sandor Csanyi | 1.1 | finance, real estate |
🇮🇸 Iceland | Thor Bjorgolfsson | 2.5 | investments |
🇮🇳 India | Gautam Adani | 133.6 | infrastructure, commodities |
🇮🇩 Indonesia | R. Budi Hartono | 23.4 | banking, tobacco |
🇮🇪 Ireland | John Collison & Patrick Collison | 8,1 | payments software |
🇮🇱 Israel | Eyal Ofer | 14.4 | real estate, shipping |
🇮🇹 Italy | Giovanni Ferrero | 34.4 | Nutella, chocolates |
🇯🇵 Japan | Tadashi Yanai | 29.2 | fashion retail |
🇰🇿 Kazakhstan | Vladimir Kim | 5.0 | mining |
🇱🇧 Lebanon | Taha Mikati | 2.8 | telecom |
🇱🇮 Liechtenstein | Christoph Zeller | 2.2 | dental materials |
🇲🇴 Macau | Hoi Kin Hong | 1.2 | real estate |
🇲🇾 Malaysia | Quek Leng Chan | 10.2 | banking, property |
🇲🇽 Mexico | Carlos Slim Helu | 86.2 | telecom |
🇲🇨 Monaco | Stefano Pessina | 9.3 | drugstores |
🇲🇦 Morocco | Aziz Akhannouch | 1.8 | petroleum |
🇳🇵 Nepal | Binod Chaudhary | 1.5 | diversified |
🇳🇱 Netherlands | Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken | 15.0 | Heineken |
🇳🇿 New Zealand | Graeme Hart | 10.1 | investments |
🇳🇬 Nigeria | Aliko Dangote | 12.9 | cement, sugar |
🇳🇴 Norway | Andreas Halvorsen | 6.6 | hedge funds |
🇴🇲 Oman | Suhail Bahwan | 2.0 | diversified |
🇵🇪 Peru | Carlos Rodriguez-Pastor | 4.3 | finance |
🇵🇠Philippines | Manuel Villar | 7.0 | real estate |
🇵🇱 Poland | Michal Solowow | 6.0 | investments |
🇵🇹 Portugal | Maria Fernanda Amorim | 4.5 | energy, investments |
🇶🇦 Qatar | Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani | 1.9 | hotels |
🇷🇴 Romania | Ion Stoica & Matei Zaharia | 1.6 | data analytics |
🇷🇺 Russia | Andrey Melnichenko | 27.0 | coal, fertilizers |
🇸🇬 Singapore | Li Xiting | 16.6 | medical devices |
🇸🇰 Slovakia | Ivan Chrenko | 1.6 | real estate |
🇿🇦 South Africa | Johann Rupert | 9.0 | luxury goods |
🇰🇷 South Korea | Jay Y. Lee | 7.9 | samsung |
🇪🇸 Spain | Amancio Ortega | 62.5 | Zara |
🇰🇳 St. Kitts and Nevis | Myron Wentz | 1.3 | health products |
🇸🇿 Swaziland (Eswatini) | Nathan Kirsh | 5.4 | retail, real estate |
🇸🇪 Sweden | Stefan Persson | 15.3 | H&M |
🇨ðŸ‡Switzerland | Guillaume Pousaz | 23.0 | fintech |
🇹🇼 Taiwan | Zhang Congyuan | 6.7 | shoes |
🇹🇿 Tanzania | Mohammed Dewji | 1.5 | diversified |
🇹🇠Thailand | Sarath Ratanavadi | 12.2 | energy |
🇹🇷 Turkey | Ibrahim Erdemoglu | 6.5 | carpet |
🇺🇦 Ukraine | Rinat Akhmetov | 4.3 | steel, coal |
🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates | Pavel Durov | 15.1 | messaging app |
🇬🇧 United Kingdom | Michael Platt | 15.2 | hedge funds |
🇺🇸 United States | Elon Musk | 191.2 | Tesla, SpaceX |
🇻🇪 Venezuela | Juan Carlos Escotet | 3.2 | banking |
🇻🇳 Vietnam | Pham Nhat Vuong | 4.7 | diversified |
🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | Strive Masiyiwa | 1.2 | telecom |
The United States is well known to have one of the highest concentrations of billionaires. It’s home to over 900, with Elon Musk the wealthiest of them all with a staggering net worth of over $191 billion in November 2022. That makes him not just the richest billionaire in America, but the richest person in the world.
China has the second highest concentration of billionaires, with 400 ultra-wealthy that have a combined net worth of $1.45 trillion. China’s richest billionaire, Zhong Shanshan, is the founder of the Nongfu Spring beverage company.
Interestingly, there are no clear patterns when it comes to the type of industry or sector that these billionaires are involved in. The exception is the U.S., where a significant number of billionaires are linked to the tech industry.
And it’s important to note that some heads of states are reportedly billionaires, and in many cases might be the wealthiest people in their respective countries. But their wealth is often a state secret, well-diversified, and too difficult to accurately estimate.
Male vs. Female Billionaires
One trend that does stand out is the number of men versus women who are billionaires. Of the 76 billionaires on the list, only 7 are women.
This pattern is also evident when looking at the entire billionaire population—of the 3,311 billionaires worldwide, only 12.9% are women.
It’s worth mentioning that this population of billionaire women is rising. According to Forbes, the 2021 list included 328 women, 36% more than in 2020.
This article was published as a part of Visual Capitalist's Creator Program, which features data-driven visuals from some of our favorite Creators around the world.
Markets
Top 10 Countries Most in Debt to the IMF
Argentina tops the ranking, with a debt equivalent to 5.3% of the country’s GDP.
Top 10 Countries Most in Debt to the IMF
This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.
Established in 1944, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) supports countries’ economic growth by providing financial aid and guidance on policies to enhance stability, productivity, and job opportunities.
Countries seek loans from the IMF to address economic crises, stabilize their currencies, implement structural reforms, and alleviate balance of payments difficulties.
In this graphic, we visualize the 10 countries most indebted to the fund.
Methodology
We compiled this ranking using the International Monetary Fund’s data on Total IMF Credit Outstanding. We selected the latest debt data for each country, accurate as of April 29, 2024.
Argentina Tops the Rank
Argentina’s debt to the IMF is equivalent to 5.3% of the country’s GDP. In total, the country owns more than $32 billion.
Country | IMF Credit Outstanding ($B) | GDP ($B, 2024) | IMF Debt as % of GDP |
---|---|---|---|
🇦🇷 Argentina | 32 | 604.3 | 5.3 |
🇪🇬 Egypt | 11 | 347.6 | 3.1 |
🇺🇦 Ukraine | 9 | 188.9 | 4.7 |
🇵🇰 Pakistan | 7 | 374.7 | 1.8 |
🇪🇨 Ecuador | 6 | 121.6 | 4.9 |
🇨🇴 Colombia | 3 | 386.1 | 0.8 |
🇦🇴 Angola | 3 | 92.1 | 3.2 |
🇰🇪 Kenya | 3 | 104.0 | 2.8 |
🇬🇠Ghana | 2 | 75.2 | 2.6 |
🇨🇮 Ivory Coast | 2 | 86.9 | 2.3 |
A G20 member and major grain exporter, the country’s history of debt trouble dates back to the late 1890s when it defaulted after contracting debts to modernize the capital, Buenos Aires. It has already been bailed out over 20 times in the last six decades by the IMF.
Five of the 10 most indebted countries are in Africa, while three are in South America.
The only European country on our list, Ukraine has relied on international support amidst the conflict with Russia. It is estimated that Russia’s full-scale invasion of the country caused the loss of a third of the country’s economy. The country owes $9 billion to the IMF.
In total, almost 100 countries owe money to the IMF, and the grand total of all of these debts is $111 billion. The above countries (top 10) account for about 69% of these debts.
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