Billionaires are among the most powerful people on the planet: they wield significant influence over huge parts of the global economy and play key roles in everything from international politics to the media, from philanthropy to scientific innovation.
They have created companies that employ tens or even hundreds of thousands of employees around the world and are behind some of the most well-known brands, such as Microsoft, Amazon, Tesla, Google and Nike. Many billionaires hold much of their net worth in the shares of the company they founded.
When the stock price moves, their wealth moves with it.
In March 2021, the founder of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg was the fifth richest person in the world, with assets of $97 billion. Since then, Facebook ‘s shares (renamed Meta Platforms) have plummeted by more than 40 percent; Zuckerberg has dropped out of the top 10 richest people and as of January 31, 2023, is in 23rd place, with assets of $58 billion.
