00:00 There are now a record 2,781 people on the Forbes World's Billionaire List worth a record
00:07 $14.2 trillion in all.
00:09 These global billionaires hail from 78 countries, up from 77 in 2023.
00:15 The U.S. remains the country with the most billionaires, with 813 who are collectively
00:20 worth $5.7 trillion.
00:24 America's billionaire class is $1.2 trillion richer than last year, thanks in part to the
00:30 97 people who joined or rejoined the ranks this year, with notable newcomers including
00:34 Taylor Swift, NBA legend Magic Johnson, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
00:40 Fourteen of the top 20 richest people in the world are U.S. citizens.
00:45 However, the richest person in the world does not hail from the U.S.
00:49 France's Bernard Arnault, CEO of luxury goods giant LVMH, is worth an estimated $233 billion.
00:58 China has the second most billionaires, with 406 worth $1.3 trillion.
01:04 However, that's down from 576 people last year.
01:09 A major property slump is mostly to blame, along with a stock market rout that wiped
01:13 out billions for China's ultra-rich over the past 30 years.
01:18 India, the world's second most populous country, came in third.
01:22 The country saw a record 200 billionaires this year, including 25 newcomers.
01:27 In total, they are worth a collective $954 billion, a more than 40% jump from last year.
01:34 Two Indian citizens ranked in the top 20.
01:37 Mukesh Ambani, chairman of the sprawling conglomerate Reliance Industries, came in at number 9,
01:42 and Gwantam Adani, chairman of the Ahmedabad-based conglomerate Adani Group, ranked number 17.
01:49 Once again, Germany had the fourth highest number of billionaires, with 132 up from 126
01:56 last year.
01:57 Germans, as a group, are $59 billion richer than a year ago.
02:02 Among the newcomers are Martin Klang, Bastian Nomenacker, and Alexander Rienke, the three
02:07 co-founders of Munich-based data processing unicorn Solanus.
02:12 Rounding out the top five is Russia, a country that continues to enjoy a wealth rebound despite
02:17 its war with Ukraine.
02:19 The total number of Russian billionaires climbed to 120 this year, 15 more than last year and
02:24 37 more than 2022.
02:27 They are worth $537 billion in all.
02:30 The only new country to join the list this year is Luxembourg.
02:34 The tiny European nation, known as a tax haven for some of the world's wealthiest, now has
02:38 a billionaire citizen of its own in Michael Gons.
02:41 The Luxembourg-born minority owner of Supreme Group, a food, fuel and logistics provider
02:47 based in the Netherlands.
02:49 Uruguay is back in the ranks thanks to returning co-founders of Matavideo-based international
02:53 payment startup Dlocal, who had dropped off the list in 2023.
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