The world’s most prestigious club currently has just two members—Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates. The pair are centibillionaires and are each worth over $100 billion.
Microsoft co-founder Gates, who used to be the world’s richest person before Amazon’s Bezos commandeered the throne, is once again a centibillionaire, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The index ranks the world’s 500 richest people, who combined are currently worth $5.3 trillion–$505.8 billion more than last year.
Overall, Bloomberg follows the wealth of an estimated 2,800 billionaires. About 145 of them are worth at least $10 billion, and they are known as decabillionaires. Gates and Bezos are on an entirely different level as centibillionaires.
Gates’ fortune hasn’t totaled $100 billion since the dot-com boom, noted Bloomberg. Bezos, meanwhile, is worth $145.6 billion. Bezos added $20.7 billion to his money pot this year alone, while Gates had added about half that amount.
The pair may not remain members of the elite centibillionaire club for too long. Gates contributed over $35 billion to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Gates also plans on giving away at least 50 per cent of his fortune through the Giving Pledge, which is “a commitment by the world’s wealthiest individuals and families to dedicate the majority of their wealth to giving back.”
As for Bezos, he is divorcing his wife Mackenzie. It’s likely it will be one of the most expensive splits in history. In all likelihood, Mackenzie will become the richest woman on earth. MacKenzie could receive over $60 billion in Amazon stock alone, reports CNN.
Gates’ and Bezos’ wealth emphasizes how the income gap in the United States continues to grow. But the rich are getting richer all over the globe. In France, for example, business magnet Bernard Arnault is worth $86.2 billion, which accounts for about three per cent of the country’s economy. In Spain, Zara clothing line founder Armancio Ortega is worth about $67.5 billion. And Georgia businessman and politician Bidzina Ivanishvili is worth about one third of his country’s gross domestic product.
