Data from the list shows that it is actually entrepreneurs and self-made business people who dominate the top spots — not just mainly those with inherited wealth.
While, of course, there are families that keep passing their companies and wealth down in the family, such as the owners of Koch Industries, Walmart, and even the L'Oreal cosmetics empire, there are an increasing amount of self-made billionaires from across the globe.
Most of these self-made people are in the tech industry, such as China's Jack Ma of Alibaba and Mark Zuckerberg from Facebook.
33. Alain & Gerard Wertheimer: Net worth — £18.9 billion ($24.5 billion). The brothers (pictured here with the Queen), own and control the House of Chanel perfume company.
(Getty Sport)
32. Samuel and Donald Newhouse: Net worth — £19.9 billion ($25. 8 billion). The brothers are heirs to Advance Publications, a multimillion-dollar publishing and broadcasting empire which includes The New Yorker and Vogue.
31. Ma Huateng (Pony Ma): Net worth — £20.1 billion ($26.09 billion). The Chinese internet entrepreneur is the founder, president, CEO and executive board member of Tencent. Tencent is a holding company for subsidiaries that provide everything from online advertising, media, entertainment, and payment systems.
T=28. George Soros: Net worth — £20.7 billion ($26.87 billion). Soros is one of the world's most famous and successful investors. However he started from humble beginnings where he worked as a railway porter and waiter to put himself through his university education at the London School of Economics.
George Soros is calling for “surge funding” from the European community (AFP)
T=28. Phil Knight: Net worth — £20.7 billion ($26.87 billion). Knight is the co-founder and chairman emeritus of one of the world's largest and most recognisable sports brands, Nike.
Phil Knight, co-founder and chairman of Nike, owns a stake in the company worth $22.3bn (Getty Images)
T=28. Maria Franca Fissolo: Net worth — £20.7 billion ($26.87 billion). The Italian billionaire is the owner of Europe's second largest confectionery company Ferrero. She is a widow of Michele Ferrero.
27. Mukesh Ambani: Net worth — £21.8 billion ($28.29 billion). Ambani, pictured on the right of former UK chancellor George Osborne, is the chairman, managing director and largest shareholder of a Fortune Global 500 company Reliance Industries Limited (RIL).
(Getty Images)
26. Axel Dumas: Net worth — £22.2 billion ($28.8 billion). He is the CEO of major fashion house Hermès. He is the sixth-generation member of the family to lead it after his family founded it in 1837.
25. The Henkel family: Net worth — £22.5 billion ($28.88 billion). The German chemical and consumer goods company was founded in 1876 by Fritz Henkel. Christoph Henkel inherited a £1 billion stake in the group in 1999 shortly after his father Konrad's death in 1999.
24. Steve Ballmer: Net worth — £23.6 billion ($30.63 billion). He was the former CEO of Microsoft from January 2000 to February 2014 and is the current owner of the basketball team, the Los Angeles Clippers.
Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft (AFP/Getty images)
23. Jorge Paulo Lemann: Net worth — £23.9 billion ($31 billion). Pictured on the left, Lemann is the richest person in Brazil and made his fortune as a corporate takeover legend.
22. Sheldon Adelson: Net worth — £24.6 billion ($31.93 billion). He is the founder and CEO of gambling giant Las Vegas Sands Corp and is a major Republican party donor.
Gambling magnate Sheldon Adelson has a net worth of over $25 billion (AP) (AP)
21. Li Ka-shing: Net worth — £25.4 billion ($32.97 billion). He is one of Asia's richest men after being one of the first big investors in Facebook while also acquiring British telecom company O2, which he purchased in 2015 for $15 billion.
Asia's wealthiest man Li Ka-shing is losing sleep as he worries about China's inequality (AP)
20. Wang Jianlin: Net worth — £25.7 billion ($33.36 billion). He is the founder of China's largest real estate developer Dalian Wanda Group and also owns a 20% stake in Spanish football club Atlético Madrid.
19. Jack Ma: Net worth — £26.7 billion ($26.7 billion). The Chinese tech billionaire is the founder and executive chairman of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group.
(AP)
18. Ingvar Kamprad and family: Net worth — £28 billion ($36.34 billion). The Swedish business magnate has been at the helm of IKEA, one of the world's largest furniture stores and most beloved brands, for more than 70 years.
IngvarKamprad is the second-richest man in Europe (Rex)
17. Karl & Theo Albrecht Jr & Beate Heister and family: Net worth — £30.5 billion ($39.59 billion). Germany's Karl Albrecht founded the discount supermarket chain Aldi with his brother Theo.
16. Stefan Quandt & Susanne Klatten: Net worth — £30.8 billion ($39.98 billion). He is the son of the late Herbert and Johanna Quandt, and owns 25.6% of BMW while his sister claims a 20.8%.
15. Liliane Bettencourt: Net worth — £31.8 billion ($41.28 billion). She is the heiress to the L'Oreal cosmetics fortune and the company's largest shareholder.
(Patrick Kovarik / Getty)
14. Sergey Brin: Net worth: £33.4 billion ($43.35 billion). The Russian American computer scientist co-founded tech giant Google with Larry Page.
Picture: (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
13. Larry Page: Net worth — £34.2 billion. Page beats his cofounder of Google counterpart, Sergey Brin, by £1 billion.
12. Bernard Arnault: Net worth — £35.2 billion ($45.69 billion). Arnault is the Chairman and CEO of the world's largest luxury goods company, LVMH.
Bernard Arnault (AFP)
11. Michael Bloomberg: Net worth — £39 billion ($50.62 billion). He is the founder, owners and CEO of the huge global financial services, mass media, and software company Bloomberg. He has also pledged half of his fortune to charity after his death.
10. Larry Ellison: Net worth — £40.6 billion ($52.7 billion). He is the founder and chairman of the international giant Oracle. He is also big into yacht racing and buying whole Hawaiian islands.
Larry Ellison, CEO of Oracle (Getty Images)
9. Carlos Slim Helu and family: Net worth — £46 billion ($59.71 billion). He is Mexico's wealthiest man and one of the richest self-made billionaires in the world after taking control of Latin America's biggest mobile telecom firm America Movil.
Carlos Slim Helu: Net worth: $73 billion; Country: Mexico; Source of wealth: Telecom (Getty )
8. Mark Zuckerberg: Net worth — £47.7 billion ($61.92 billion). The 32-year-old is the chairman, CEO, and cofounder of social networking giant Facebook.
Picture: (David Ramos/Getty)
7. John & Jacqueline Mars: Net worth — £49 billion ($63.6 billion). The brother and sister are heirs to the confectionary empire that makes Mars Bars.
6. Warren Buffett: Net worth — £61.6 billion ($79.96 billion). The legendary investor is also considered the most successful investor in the world, as chairman and largest shareholder of Berkshire Hathaway. He has also promised to give 99% of his fortune away to philanthropic causes.
The HBO documentary 'Becoming Warren Buffett' chronicles the life of the billionaire investor and philanthropist (HBO)
5. Jeff Bezos: Net worth — £61.8 billion ($80.22 billion). He is the founder, chairman, and CEO of the world's largest online shopping retailer Amazon. He is also an investor in Business Insider through his personal investment company Bezos Expeditions.
4. Amancio Ortega: Net worth — £63.5 billion ($82.42 billion). Ortega founded Inditex in 1985, which owns brands like Zara, Pull & Bear, Bershka, and Massimo Dutti. He also owns around 60% of the company.
AmancioOrtega (Getty Images)
3. Bill Gates: Net worth — £70.8 billion ($91.9 billion). Gates made his fortune from cofounding the world's largest PC software company Microsoft.
(EPA)
2. Charles & David Koch: Net worth — £78.9 billion ($102.4 billion). Charles has been the chairman and CEO of the US' second largest private company Koch Industries since 1967. It is a family run business and his brother David is vice president.
1. The Walton family: Net worth — £100.6 billion ($130.59 billion). The American family are the founders of the world's largest retailer, Walmart. The three most prominent living members are Jim, Rob and Alice.
Jim Walton: Net worth: $26.7 billion; Country: U.S; Source: Wal-Mart (Getty Images)
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