Subscribe

Gates still world's richest techie

Staff Writer
By Staff Writer, ITWeb
Johannesburg, 06 Aug 2015
Bill Gates is the richest tech tycoon in the world with an estimated net worth of $79.6 billion.
Bill Gates is the richest tech tycoon in the world with an estimated net worth of $79.6 billion.

Bill Gates is the richest tech tycoon in the world, according to Forbes' first '100 Richest People In Tech' list.

This is not surprising, as Gates is also the richest person on the planet overall, with a net worth of $79.6 billion. The Microsoft founder and philanthropist has held the Forbes title of the world's richest person for 16 of the past 21 years.

Coming in second place is Larry Ellison, founder of database software firm Oracle, with a net worth of around $50 billion. Right behind him is Amazon chief Jeff Bezos, estimated to be worth $47.8 billion. Forbes says Bezos' fortune has surged by $13 billion since the beginning of the year, propelling him into the top 10 richest in the world for the first time.

Facebook leader Mark Zuckerberg is worth $42.2 billion, giving him fourth place on the list; and Google CEO Larry Page rounds off the top five with a net worth of $34.2 billion.

Just seven women made the list, with the richest being Laurene Powell Jobs, widow of Steve Jobs, with an estimated net worth of $21.4 billion. Four of the female tech billionaires to make the list are based in the US, while the others hail from Switzerland, China and Hong Kong.

Just over half of the Forbes tech list are American, while tech barons from Asia are on the rise and make up a third of the list. Alibaba founder Jack Ma tops the list of Asian tech billionaires, coming in seventh place overall due to his fortune of $23.2 billion.

To qualify for the list, candidates need to be worth a minimum of $2 billion. Forty of the top 100 live in California.

South Africa-born Elon Musk comes in at number 15 on the list, with the Tesla Motors and SpaceX CEO's estimated net worth at $14.1 billion. Eight billionaires from Europe made the cut, along with two from the Middle East and one from Latin America.

In total, the world's 100 richest techies are worth $842.9 billion. The average age of the group is 53, which is a decade younger than the average age of all billionaires.

Fifteen of the 100 are under the age of 40. The youngest to make the list is Snapchat founder and CEO Evan Spiegel, who is 25 and worth an estimated $2.1 billion. The oldest is Intel co-founder Gordon Moore, who is 86 and worth an estimated $6 billion.

Share