Gitnux/Report 2026

Billionaire Statistics

As of 2025, there are 2,775 billionaires worldwide with an average age of 66 and men still make up 88% of the group, but the story is shifting fast with women up 11% and female founders still a rare 13% of company builders. The U.S. counts 902 billionaires and tech now drives $5.8 trillion of billionaire wealth, even as only 28% of newcomers are under 30, and age 90+ surged 50% since 2015.
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June 18, 2026Updated
Billionaire Statistics
Margot VilleneuveWritten by Margot Villeneuve·Edited by Claire Beaumont·Fact-checked by Jonathan Hale
Published ·Updated
Verified via a 4-step process
01Source

Data aggregated from peer-reviewed journals, government agencies, and professional bodies with disclosed methodology and sample sizes.

02Verify

Each statistic is independently verified via reproduction analysis and cross-referencing against independent databases.

03Grade

Figures are graded by cross-model consensus. Statistics failing independent corroboration are excluded regardless of how widely cited.

04Cite

Every figure carries a primary source. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates so the report can be cited.

Read our full methodology →

Statistics that fail independent corroboration are excluded.

Within the next 27 days
As of April 2024: June 2026, the world’s billionaires collectively hold $14.2 trillion, a figure that represents 14.2% of global GDP, yet the richest 1% of them control 48% of billionaire wealth. Across a population that is getting younger in some regions and more female in others, the shift is stark, including a global count of 337 women billionaires and 278 brand new billionaires minted in 2023. The result is a dataset where age, industry, education, and philanthropy collide in ways that are harder to explain than you might expect.

Key Takeaways

  • As of 2023, 2,775 billionaires worldwide with average age 66.
  • 88% of billionaires are men as of 2024.
  • The youngest billionaire in 2024 is 19-year-old Livia Voigt from Brazil.
  • U.S. has 902 billionaires as of 2024, 32% of global total.
  • Finance & Investments sector has 474 billionaires worth $2.4T in 2024.
  • Tech industry produced 342 new billionaires since 2014.
  • Warren Buffett donated $51 billion via Berkshire Hathaway since 2006.
  • MacKenzie Scott gave away $14 billion since 2019 to 1,600+ nonprofits.
  • Bill Gates has donated $59 billion through Gates Foundation by 2024.
  • Number of global billionaires rose 19% to 2,043 from 2019-2021.
  • 278 new billionaires minted in 2023, richest newcomers worth $1B+.
  • Billionaire count doubled from 1,011 in 2009 to 2,043 in 2020.
  • As of April 2024: June 2026, the world's billionaires collectively hold $14.2 trillion in wealth, equivalent to 14.2% of global GDP.
  • The richest 1% of billionaires control 48% of all billionaire wealth as of 2023.
  • In 2023, the top 10 billionaires owned more wealth than the bottom 50% of the world's population.

Billionaires total 2,775 worldwide, largely self made, aging 66 on average, with wealth soaring in tech.

Related reading

01 · Category

Demographics21 stats

01
As of 2023, 2,775 billionaires worldwide with average age 66.
02
88% of billionaires are men as of 2024.
03
The youngest billionaire in 2024 is 19-year-old Livia Voigt from Brazil.
04
Average age of the world's billionaires is 66 years in 2023.
05
There are 337 female billionaires in 2024, up 11% from 2023.
06
735 U.S. billionaires are self-made, 78 in 2024.
07
Over 70% of billionaires are self-made, not inheriting wealth, per 2023 UBS report.
08
The number of billionaires aged 90+ increased 50% since 2015 to 37 in 2024.
09
67% of billionaires have at least a bachelor's degree as of 2023.
10
Indian billionaires average age is 64, younger than global 66.
11
Only 13% of billionaires are women who founded their own companies in 2024.
12
25% of U.S. billionaires attended Ivy League schools in 2023.
13
The median age of new billionaires in 2023 was 51.
14
42% of Chinese billionaires are under 50 years old in 2024.
15
Black billionaires number 21 globally in 2024, with combined $86 billion.
16
60% of billionaires are married, 15% divorced per 2023 census.
17
Hispanic billionaires total 40 in U.S. with $124 billion in 2024.
18
Average billionaire has 3.2 children as of 2023.
19
29% of billionaires dropped out of college, led by tech sector.
20
Female billionaires average age 64 vs 66 for males in 2024.
21
15% of new billionaires in 2023 were women.
Interpretation

Demographics Interpretation

So, while the billionaire club is still largely a septuagenarian gentleman's lounge built on self-made fortunes, its future may be found among the college dropouts building tech empires and a growing, yet still painfully slow, trickle of younger and female members.

02 · Category

Industries22 stats

01
U.S. has 902 billionaires as of 2024, 32% of global total.
02
Finance & Investments sector has 474 billionaires worth $2.4T in 2024.
03
Tech industry produced 342 new billionaires since 2014.
04
Diversified sector has 211 billionaires with $945 billion in 2024.
05
Fashion & Retail leads with 29% of female billionaires in 2024.
06
Real Estate billionaires number 226 globally in 2024.
07
Food & Beverage sector has 212 billionaires worth $1.1T.
08
Healthcare produced 46 new billionaires in 2023.
09
Energy sector billionaires total 134 with $1.2T wealth in 2024.
10
Manufacturing has 297 billionaires in 2024.
11
Entertainment billionaires number 52 with $174 billion.
12
Automobiles & Components has 64 billionaires.
13
Metals & Mining sector saw 20 new billionaires in 2023.
14
Gambling & Casinos has 11 billionaires worth $120B.
15
Telecom has 58 billionaires in 2024.
16
Media & Entertainment grew 15% in billionaire count 2023-2024.
17
Logistics & Transportation has 45 billionaires.
18
Chemicals sector 71 billionaires.
19
Aerospace & Defense 24 billionaires.
20
Consumer sector 188 billionaires with $1T+ wealth.
21
Software & Programming led new billionaires with 25 in 2023.
22
SPACs created 20 new billionaires between 2020-2022.
Interpretation

Industries Interpretation

America's wealth is a highly specialized ecosystem where betting on tech can outpace curing diseases, but investing in chips and soda will still reliably fund a small country.

03 · Category

Philanthropy21 stats

01
Warren Buffett donated $51 billion via Berkshire Hathaway since 2006.
02
MacKenzie Scott gave away $14 billion since 2019 to 1,600+ nonprofits.
03
Bill Gates has donated $59 billion through Gates Foundation by 2024.
04
Michael Bloomberg donated $12 billion, mostly to Johns Hopkins and campaigns.
05
81 U.S. billionaires signed Giving Pledge to donate majority wealth.
06
Global billionaires donated $510 billion lifetime as of 2023.
07
Elon Musk donated $5.7 billion in Tesla stock to charity in 2021.
08
Azim Premji gave 39% of his wealth, $21 billion to education.
09
George Soros donated $32 billion to Open Society Foundations.
10
19% of billionaire wealth went to philanthropy in 2023.
11
Mukesh Ambani committed $80 million to Reliance Foundation initiatives.
12
Patrice Motsepe donated 75% of wealth via Motsepe Foundation.
13
Laurene Powell Jobs gave $11 billion through Emerson Collective.
14
Chinese billionaires donated $4.3 billion in 2023, led by Jack Ma.
15
Mark Zuckerberg pledged 99% of Meta shares to Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.
16
Sergey Brin and Larry Page donated billions to Alphabet.org.
17
Phil Knight gave $2 billion to University of Oregon and others.
18
Indian billionaires donated $5.8 billion in FY2023.
19
Dustin Moskovitz donated $1.5 billion to Good Ventures.
20
Pierre Omidyar gave $1.5 billion to Omidyar Network.
21
New York Times 2023: 80 U.S. billionaires donated $36 billion in 2022.
Interpretation

Philanthropy Interpretation

While these staggering sums offer a glimmer of philanthropic hope, one can't help but note the math: the world's billionaires have amassed a titanic fortune, yet their donations often feel more like carefully calculated interest payments on the debt owed to a society that enabled their wealth.

05 · Category

Wealth Distribution27 stats

01
As of April 2024: June 2026, the world's billionaires collectively hold $14.2 trillion in wealth, equivalent to 14.2% of global GDP.
02
The richest 1% of billionaires control 48% of all billionaire wealth as of 2023.
03
In 2023, the top 10 billionaires owned more wealth than the bottom 50% of the world's population.
04
Elon Musk's net worth peaked at $320 billion in November 2021.
05
Bernard Arnault's wealth reached $233 billion in December 2023.
06
The combined wealth of U.S. billionaires grew by $2.1 trillion during the COVID-19 pandemic from 2020-2022.
07
As of 2024, there are 813 billionaires in the United States with total wealth of $5.7 trillion.
08
China's billionaires' wealth totaled $3.0 trillion in 2024.
09
The wealth of the world's billionaires increased by 34% from 2020 to 2021.
10
In 2023, the average billionaire's net worth was $4.5 billion.
11
Female billionaires' combined wealth reached $1.8 trillion in 2024.
12
The top 100 billionaires hold 35% of total billionaire wealth as of 2024.
13
Jeff Bezos's wealth fluctuated by over $100 billion in 2022 alone.
14
In 2024, billionaires in tech sector control $5.8 trillion.
15
The wealth gap between the richest billionaire and the poorest widened to $300 billion in 2023.
16
U.S. billionaires' wealth grew 88% from 2010 to 2023.
17
As of 2024, 30 billionaires have net worths exceeding $50 billion.
18
Global billionaire wealth surpassed $12 trillion for the first time in 2022.
19
Mukesh Ambani's wealth hit $123 billion in 2022.
20
The bottom 10% of billionaires still hold over $1 billion each on average in 2024.
21
Billionaire wealth in Europe totals $2.9 trillion in 2024.
22
Gautam Adani's net worth surged 160% in 2022 to $124 billion.
23
Total billionaire wealth in India reached $954 billion in 2024.
24
Warren Buffett's wealth grew to $133 billion by 2024 despite philanthropy.
25
Billionaires under 30 control $12 billion collectively in 2024.
26
Russian billionaires' wealth dropped 25% to $512 billion post-2022 invasion.
27
Tech billionaires' wealth doubled from $1.9T to $3.8T between 2017-2022.
Interpretation

Wealth Distribution Interpretation

As a species that invented the wheel to share the load, we've somehow managed to concentrate more wealth in a few hundred hands than in the entire economies of most nations, a pyramid scheme so steep its shadow could eclipse the sun.
Reference

Cite This Report

This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.

APA
Margot Villeneuve. (2026, February 13). Billionaire Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/billionaire-statistics
MLA
Margot Villeneuve. "Billionaire Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/billionaire-statistics.
Chicago
Margot Villeneuve. 2026. "Billionaire Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/billionaire-statistics.

Sources & references

30 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level

forbes.combloomberg.cominequality.orgamericansfortaxfairness.orghurun.netubp.comoxfam.orgips-dc.orgcbinsights.comstatista.comubs.comwealthx.comcnbc.comgivingpledge.orgmackenziescott.orggatesfoundation.orgbloomberg.orgchronicleofphilanthropy.comwiprofoundation.org.inopensocietyfoundations.orgreliancefoundation.orgmotsepefoundation.orgemersoncollective.comchanzuckerberg.comalphabet.orggive.oregon.uscourts.govgoodventures.orgomidyar.comnytimes.comoxfamilibrary.openrepository.com