In its latest ranking, Forbes found a record 2,781 billionaires around the globe worth a collective $14.2 trillion.
Taylor Swift, Magic Johnson Make Forbes Billionaires List
The most famous of the 265 newcomers to the Forbes 2024 Billionaires List, of course, is pop star Taylor Swift, whose five-continent Eras Tour is the first to amass $1 billion. Forbes puts Swift’s worth at $1.1 billion, taking into account her tours, music catalog and real estate.
Earvin “Magic” Johnson, with an estimated net worth of $1.2 billion, is new this year, too. Johnson built his fortune investing in professional sports teams, movie theaters, Starbucks franchises, real estate and health care.
Another newcomer is French fashion designer Christian Louboutin, famous for his red-soled high heels, also estimated to be worth $1.2 billion.
Nineteen-year-old Livia Voigt also made the cut this year to become the world’s youngest billionaire. Voigt and her elder sister Dora Voigt de Assis inherited $1.1 billion each from their stakes in Brazilian turbine manufacturer WEG, co-founded by their late grandfather, Werner Ricardo Voigt.
The United States led the pack of the 265 total newcomers to the Forbes Billionaires List, contributing 67. The wealthiest is Todd Graves, founder of fast-food chain Raising Caine’s, with an estimated net worth of $9.1 billion.
China contributed the next largest number of new billionaires, 31. They include Ren Xiaoqing, who co-founded the tremendously popular Shein fast fashion chain.
The richest newcomer of all is 53-year-old Andrea Pignataro of Italy, worth an estimated $17.5 billion. After working as a bond trader for Salomon Brothers, Pignataro founded ION Group in 1999. The London-based financial software firm is now a major competitor of Bloomberg LP and FactSet.
Pignataro has also invested his wealth in luxury real estate, including the 1,280-acre Canouan Estate, a collection of villas and hotels in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Two of the richest of the 46 women to join the ranks this year are Sofia Högberg Schörling and her sister Märta Schörling Andreen. Daughters of the late Swedish investing tycoon Melker Schörling, each have estimated net worths of $5.6 billion.
Forbes points out that more than half of this year’s newly named billionaires are self-made, primarily through manufacturing and technology.
They include Charles Liang, the CEO and co-founder of Super Micro Computer, worth an estimated $6.1 billion.
The 37 arrivals with fortunes in finance and investments include Seth Boro, Scott Crabill and Holden Spaht, all managing partners of private equity firm Thoma Bravo, each worth an estimated $3.3 billion.