Meet the 20 richest tech billionaires in 2017
Forbes has published its third annual Richest In Tech list, documenting the 100 richest people shaping the world of technology in 2017.
For the first time, self-made tech billionaires are worth more than $1 trillion. Their combined net worth of $1.08 trillion is up 21% from last year, buoyed by a rise in stock prices at companies like Facebook, Amazon.com and Chinese social media behemoth Tencent, Forbes said.
Half of the $189 billion increase came from the 10 richest tech billionaires. More than three-quarters of the list’s billionaires have bigger fortunes than a year ago. The cut-off to make this year’s Richest In Tech list was $2.6 billion, up from $2.2 billion last year, Forbes said.
Microsoft founder Bill Gates maintains his spot as the richest person in tech – and the richest person in the world, despite Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos surpassing Gates for a single morning in late July.
Gates’ net worth is up $6.5 billion in the past year, despite the fact that he gave $4.6 billion worth of Microsoft stock this summer to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He now owns just 1.3% of Microsoft’s outstanding shares.
Read: Meet South Africa’s tech billionaires
The biggest dollar gainer this year is the third richest tech billionaire, Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg. He’s one of only 16 billionaires on the list under the age of 40 and is the fifth youngest overall.
Zuckerberg is $15.6 billion richer than a year ago, as Facebook stock has climbed 34% in the past 12 months. Bezos gained nearly as much as Zuckerberg; his fortune surged $15.5 billion as Amazon stock rose 25%, Forbes said.
Eleven of the 100 richest tech billionaires got poorer over the past year. Of those, some their fortune shrink by more than $1 billion. The biggest dollar loser on the list is China’s Lei Jun, whose net worth dropped $2.9 billion to $6.9 billion, as his smartphone maker Xaiomi lost market share in China amidst stiff competition.
Uber cofounders Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp also saw their net worth decline.
There are seven newcomers on the list and two more who returned after falling off in 2016.
Snap CEO Evan Spiegel returns to the list with a $3.2 billion fortune and is joined for the first time by his co-founder Bobby Murphy – despite Snap shares diving 40% since its IPO in March 2017.
Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang is also a newcomer with a $4 billion fortune, joining the list after Nvidia stock climbed an astounding 117% in the past year.
BusinessTech lists the top 20 richest tech billionaires as identified by Forbes Magazine.
| Name | Net Worth | Source of wealth |
|---|---|---|
| Bill Gates | $84.5 billion | Microsoft |
| Jeff Bezos | $81.7 billion | Amazon.com |
| Mark Zuckerberg | $69.6 billion | |
| Larry Ellison | $59.3 billion | Software |
| Larry Page | $43.9 billion | |
| Sergey Brin | $42.7 billion | |
| Jack Ma | $37.4 billion | S-commerce |
| Ma Huateng | $36.7 billion | Internet media |
| Steve Ballmer | $32.9 billion | Microsoft |
| Michael Dell | $22.4 billion | Dell Computers |
| Masayoshi Son | $22.4 billion | Internet, telecom |
| Elon Musk | $20.7 billion | Tesla Motors |
| Paul Allen | $20.5 billion | Microsoft, investments |
| Lee Kun-Hee | $18.3 billion | Samsung |
| Azim Premji | $18.2 billion | Software services |
| William Ding | $16.1 billion | Online games |
| Robin Li | $15.8 billion | Internet search |
| Shiv Nadar | $13.5 billion | Software services |
| Dustin Moskovitz | $13.3 billion | |
| Hasso Plattner | $12.6 billion | Software |
Loading ...