Forbes magazine annually lists the world's wealthiest individuals: The World's Billionaries. This list is not, however, comprehensive because it only accounts for publicly traded assets and personal wealth. The existence of vastly more wealthy individuals with sheltered private fortunes and holdings therefore cannot be ruled out based upon the Forbes list. Disambiguation: For the Boston Brahmin family of John Forbes Kerry, see Forbes family. ...
What follows is a list of billionaires, in US dollars, worldwide for 2006 compiled by Forbes, not including heads of state whose wealth is tied to their position (see list of heads of government and state by net worth). ... What follows is the list of billionaires, in US dollars, worldwide for 2005 by Forbes, not including heads of state whose wealth is tied to their position (see list of heads of government and state by net worth). ... What follows is the list of billionaires (in US dollars) worldwide, for 2002 by Forbes, not including heads of state whose wealth is tied to their position. ...
The Forbes 400 (est. ... The following is a 2005 list of billionaires by nationality: United States - 341 Germany - 57 Russia - 27 United Kingdom - 24 Japan - 24 Turkey - 21 Canada - 17 Hong Kong - 15 France - 14 India - 12 Italy - 10 Mexico - 10 Spain - 10 Sweden - 9 Brazil - 8 Switzerland - 8 Saudi Arabia - at least 7... Prominent billionaire divorces: ?: Ronald Burkle and Lisa Burkle - $2 billion supermarket empire - reported $30 million post-marital settlement 2006: Ron Perelman and actress Ellen Barkin - Net Worth: $6 billion - Barkin received $20 million per their prenuptial 2004: Alexander Otto and Carrie Otto - German familys fortune over $8 billion - prenup... The factual accuracy of this article is disputed. ... An overclass is the most powerful group in a social hierarchy. ... The term superculture has been coined to describe the international lifestyle of billionaires. ...
And fourth, the increase in billionaires is part of the larger trend of growing income inequality.
Among American billionaires, the top of the list is dominated by computers, Wal-Mart, and Mars bars: all mixed blessings, perhaps, but blessings nevertheless.
The notion that billionaires are inspired to accumulate more billions by the prospect of a third gigantic yacht is shared by vulgar capitalists and vulgar anti-capitalists, but as a theory of billionaire behavior it doesn't even describe reality.