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Number of Billionaires Around the World Rises 13% in 2017

The U.S. is home to the most, Forbes finds

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Bill Gates remains the No. 1 spot on Forbes' World's Billionaires List. Pictured here is Bill Gates and his wife, Melinda, watching BNP Paribas Open on March 18, 2017 in Indian Wells, California.

Matthew Stockman / Getty Images
Bill Gates remains the No. 1 spot on Forbes' World's Billionaires List. Pictured here is Bill Gates and his wife, Melinda, watching BNP Paribas Open on March 18, 2017 in Indian Wells, California.
Matthew Stockman / Getty Images

There are 2,043 billionaires in the world, representing a 13% increase from last year’s tally of 1,810, according to the annual Forbes list published Monday.

The 233-person increase since 2016 was the highest jump in the 31 years that Forbes has been compiling its list of the world’s billionaires. The total net worth of billionaires increased 18% to $7.67 trillion, which is higher than the GDP in more than 60 countries.

America is the country most represented in the top-10 list, with Microsoft’s Bill Gates landing at No.1 for the fourth straight year with a net worth of $86 billion. Berkshire Hathaway's Warren Buffett jumped back to No. 2 from his No. 4 ranking last year, gaining $14.8 billion in 12 months. Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Zara’s Amancio Ortega of Spain and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg ranked third, fourth and fifth respectively. Mexico’s Carlos Slim Helu, the world’s richest man from 2010 to 2013, fell to sixth place.

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President Donald Trump is in a 19-way tie for the 544th spot on the list, a significant drop from 324th place in 2016. His net worth dropped to $3.5 billion, a $200 million decrease from before he was elected to office,  and representing a 22% drop for 12-month period.

The U.S. remains the top producer of billionaires throughout the list, with a record number of 565, up from 540 a year ago. China, including Hong Kong and Macau, came in second with 387. Germany and India have the third and fourth most billionaires, respectively.


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Among the 195 newcomers to the list, China’s mainland had 76, followed by the U.S., with 25 joining the billionaires’ club from the States.

There are also 15 new self-made female billionaires, 14 of whom are from Asia Pacific. The sole American woman to make the list is Thailand-born Thai Lee, who runs tech reseller SHI. And 10 of the self-made women are from China, accounting for two thirds of the richest women in the world.

A separate report released Tuesday of the world’s billionaires painted a different picture. According to the Wealth-X’s Billionaire Census 2017, the world lost a net of 76 billionaires in 2017, with the total number reaching 2,397. Their combined net worth totaled $7.4 trillion, according to that report.

The top five billionaire-producing countries, according to Wealth-X, are U.S., China, Germany, Russia and U.K.

Forbes used stock prices and exchange rates on February 17, 2017 from around the world to calculate net worths. The Wealth X report is based on data and insights the company has collected on ultra high net worth individuals as well as its proprietary valuation model that assess asset holdings.