A billionaire is a person with a net worth of at least one billion units of a given currency, usually of a major currency such as the United States dollar, euro, or pound sterling. It is a sub-category of the concept of the ultra high-net-worth individual. The American business magazine Forbes produces a global list of known U.S. dollar billionaires every year and updates an internet version of this list in real time.[1] The American oil magnate John D. Rockefeller became the world's first confirmed U.S. dollar billionaire in 1916.[2]
As of April 2024, there are 2,781 billionaires worldwide, with a combined wealth of over US$14.2 trillion, up from US$12.2 trillion in 2023.[3][4] According to a 2024 Oxfam report, the world's top 1% of earners own more combined wealth "than 95% of humanity", and also stated that the world's top 1% of earners also owned 43% of all global financial assets.[5][6] As of October 2024, seventeen people have reached the status of USD centibillionaires, meaning that each has had a net worth of at least $100 billion.[7]

Current U.S. dollar billionaires

See also: The World's Billionaires

Global share of wealth by wealth group, Credit Suisse, 2021

Global share of wealth by wealth group, Credit Suisse, 2017
According to the UBS/PwC Billionaires Report 2019 report released in November 2019, there are currently 2,101 U.S. dollar billionaires worldwide, from 66 countries, with a combined net worth of $8.5 trillion.[8][9] Also according to the report, billionaires have a substantial positive impact on the sustainability and success of companies controlled by them. Billionaire-controlled companies listed on the equity market returned 17.8 percent, compared with the 9.1 percent of the MSCI AC World Index. According to the authors of the report, this Billionaire Effect is connected with smart risk-taking and willingness to plan and invest for the long term.
The majority of billionaires are male, as fewer than 11% (197 of 1,826) on the 2015 list were female billionaires.[10] The United States has the largest number of billionaires of any country, with 536 as of 2015,[10] while China, India and Russia are home to 213, 90 and 88 billionaires, respectively.[11][12] As of 2015, only 46 billionaires were under the age of 40,[10] while the list of American-only billionaires, as of 2010, had an average age of 66.[13]