• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
LeadershipBill Gates

Bill Gates Is Once Again the Richest Person in the World

By
Alicia Adamczyk
Alicia Adamczyk
and
Money
Money
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Alicia Adamczyk
Alicia Adamczyk
and
Money
Money
Down Arrow Button Icon
January 26, 2016, 1:04 PM ET
GERMANY-US-HEALTH-PHARMA-AID-GATES FOUNDATION
US billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates. TOBIAS SCHWARZ/AFP/Getty Images)Photograph by Tobias Schwarz — AFP/Getty Images

A fresh list of the wealthiest people in the world is out, and is it any surprise who claimed the number one spot? Bill Gates, Microsoft co-founder and one of the richest people in human history, once again comes out on top, with a net worth of $87.4 billion.

Wealth-X, a wealth-tracking website, provided Business Insider with its newest figures on the assets of the ultra-rich. Wealth-X collects information on more than 110,000 ultra-high-net-worth people, according to BI, tracking each person’s assets and adjusting “to account for currency-exchange rates, local taxes, savings rates, investment performance, and other factors.”

Gates crushes the second place finisher, Spain’s Amancio Ortega, by more than $20 billion. Ortega, founding chairman of clothing retailer Inditex, is pegged at a net worth of $66.8 billion (though forgive us for not feeling more sympathetic).

Other notable placements on the list? Potential presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg ranks as the ninth wealthiest person on earth, with a net worth north of $42 billion. Fellow political billionaire Donald Trump doesn’t make the list (sorry, Donald). Alice Walton, Walmart heiress, is the wealthiest woman, ranking #15 overall with a net worth of $33.2 billion.

L’Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt is the next woman on the list, sitting just below Walton at #17 with a net worth of $29 billion. The only other woman to crack the top 50 is Laurene Powell Jobs, widow of the late Steve Jobs, tied at 47th with $14.4 billion to her name.

The 10 Richest People in the World

NAMENET WORTH
Bill Gates$87.4 billion
Amancio Ortega$66.8 Billion
Warren Buffett$60.7 Billion
Jeff Bezos$56.6 Billion
David Koch$47.4 Billion
Charles Koch$46.8 Billion
Larry Ellison$45.3 Billion
Mark Zuckerberg$42.8 Billion
Michael Bloomberg$42.1 Billion
Ingvar Kamprad$39.3 Billion

 

To make the list, you’d have to have a net worth of at least $14.3 billion. Better luck next year. And don’t miss MONEY’s ranking of the richest people of all time (Gates barely makes the list).

This article was originally published on Money.com.

About the Authors
Alicia Adamczyk
By Alicia AdamczykSenior Writer
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon

Alicia Adamczyk is a former New York City-based senior writer at Fortune, covering personal finance, investing, and retirement.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
By Money
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Leadership

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Future of Work
Ford CEO has 5,000 open mechanic jobs with up to 6-figure salaries from the shortage of manually skilled workers: 'We are in trouble in our country'
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJanuary 31, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
'I just don't have a good feeling about this': Top economist Claudia Sahm says the economy quietly shifted and everyone's now looking at the wrong alarm
By Eleanor PringleJanuary 31, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Big Tech
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative cut 70 jobs as the Meta CEO’s philanthropy goes all in on mission to 'cure or prevent all disease'
By Sydney LakeFebruary 1, 2026
16 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Ryan Serhant starts work at 4:30 a.m.—he says most people don’t achieve their dreams because ‘what they really want is just to be lazy’
By Preston ForeJanuary 31, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Success
U.S. Olympic gold medalist went from $200,000-a-year sponsorship at 20 years old to $12-an-hour internship by 30
By Orianna Rosa RoyleFebruary 1, 2026
11 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Meet the first CEO of the IRS: A Jamie Dimon protégé facing a $5 trillion test this tax season
By Shawn TullyJanuary 31, 2026
2 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.


Latest in Leadership

MagazineFedEx
How FedEx CEO Raj Subramaniam is adapting to the era of ‘re-globalization’
By Nicholas GordonFebruary 1, 2026
4 hours ago
Arts & EntertainmentMovies
‘Melania’ documentary debuts with $7 million in ticket sales after Amazon MGM Studios spent $75 million for rights and marketing
By Jack Coyle and The Associated PressFebruary 1, 2026
7 hours ago
C-SuiteRetail
Meet Walmart’s new CEO, John Furner: Once an hourly worker, today he takes charge of the top company in the Fortune 500
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezFebruary 1, 2026
11 hours ago
SuccessOlympics
U.S. Olympic gold medalist went from $200,000-a-year sponsorship at 20 years old to $12-an-hour internship by 30
By Orianna Rosa RoyleFebruary 1, 2026
11 hours ago
dewar
CommentaryLeadership
The AI adoption story is haunted by fear as today’s efficiency programs look like tomorrow’s job cuts. Leaders need to win workers’ trust
By Carolyn DewarFebruary 1, 2026
14 hours ago
Workplace CultureProductivity
In the age of AI, better meetings might be your company’s secret weapon
By Claire ZillmanFebruary 1, 2026
15 hours ago