Editor’s note: This article was first published in April 2012. Ages, net worth figures and positions are April 2012 estimates, and several of these people have since left their CEO roles. Facebook’s IPO is described as imminent, and Eike Batista’s EBX group collapsed in 2013.
A new ranking of the world’s richest CEOs, compiled using figures from the firm Wealth X, which takes into account the executives’ net worth as well as their estimated salaries, dividends and investable assets. The vast majority of these executives inherited nothing, so they started from scratch. The oldest on the list was born in 1930 and the youngest in 1984. They run powerful companies; in fact, Forbes describes them as influential people, since most of their personal wealth comes from the shares they hold in the very company they run.
10. Aliko Dangote, 55
Forbes considers him the richest man in Africa. He is the founder and CEO of the Dangote Group, set up in 1977 as a trading company dealing in rice and sugar, and later cement. Thanks to the construction boom around the world, his flagship company, Dangote Cement, soared on the Nigerian stock exchange. He has just announced that it will list on the London Stock Exchange next year.
His net worth is estimated at $9.6 billion, and the shares he holds in his own company are one of his main assets. He made the news when it was reported that he might buy Arsenal Football Club, although in the end he did not go through with the purchase. He owns two private jets worth $45 million and $9 million respectively.
9. Mark Zuckerberg, 27
Mark Zuckerberg is the youngest CEO on this list, just as he is the youngest in the Forbes billionaires ranking. Founder and CEO of the world’s largest social network (Facebook), currently valued at $17.9 billion, his main asset is his 28% stake in the social network itself.
With Facebook about to go public, if expectations are met and the social network ends up valued at $100 billion, Mr Zuckerberg’s net worth could reach $28 billion, which would send him a long way up the ranking of the world’s richest people.
8. Larry Page, 39
Co-founder of Google with Sergey Brin, he was behind one of the biggest IPOs in history up to that point, when the company made its debut on the Nasdaq Stock Market. His stake in Google is estimated to be worth $16.4 billion.
Larry Page is considered a philanthropist of science and technology, as Google donates large sums of money to other technology companies (Twitter), to projects (Wikipedia) and to advanced scientific research into alternative energy.
7. Lakshmi Mittal, 61
Founder and CEO of ArcelorMittal, created in 1976. His family had a steel business. When Lakshmi took control of the company, he turned it into the largest steelmaker in the world. While the company was expanding, it ran into a strong competitor, Arcelor, and the two eventually agreed to merge.
His stake in the company is estimated to be worth $13.2 billion, and he also owns countless properties in India and Europe.
6. Sheldon Adelson, 78
Chairman and chief executive of Las Vegas Sands, one of the largest and most profitable casino businesses in the world. Adelson came from a poor family in Boston and worked very hard until he carved out a place for himself in the financial industry. He bought the Sands Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas and built the Sands Expo and Convention Center. In 1995 he built the Venetian Resort Hotel Casino with the profits from the sale of another of his companies, COMDEX, one of the world’s largest technology trade shows.
His holdings are estimated to be worth more than $14.8 billion, on top of several luxury apartments worth more than $6 million each and a house in Newton valued at $4.9 million. He is currently opening new casinos in China.
5. Charles G. Koch, 76
Current CEO of Koch Industries, a company counted among the world’s leading independent oil operators by revenue. The company was founded by his father in 1925, so Charles G. has simply had to carry on the business.
Even so, he diversified his father’s business model, moving into textiles and paper. His net worth is valued at more than $24 billion.
4. Eike Batista, 56
CEO of EBX, he had a tough start: by his own account, he had to sell a lot of insurance door to door in the poorest neighbourhoods of Brazil. He is currently considered the richest man in South America. Batista made his first fortune buying gold from miners in the Amazon in the early 1980s before moving on to EBX in 1983.
The group is currently made up of more than 10 companies. The conglomerate’s interests are quite diversified, spanning oil, logistics, mining, real estate and sports, although much of Batista’s success has come from his investments, as he is a shareholder in a great many companies, including several oil firms. His net worth is valued at more than $31.6 billion. His goal is to reach number one in the Forbes ranking as the richest man on the planet.
3. Lawrence J. Ellison, 67
Co-founder and CEO of Oracle, he is also the sixth-richest person in the world and the third-richest in the United States, according to Forbes. Ellison founded Oracle under the name Software Development Laboratories (SDL) in 1977. That same year the company signed a contract with the CIA to build a database program code-named “Oracle”. In 1980 the company had only eight employees and revenue of less than $1 million.
Today, Ellison’s stake in the company alone is worth more than $32 billion. His net worth is estimated at $35 billion.
2. Warren Buffett, 81
At this point, he needs no introduction. CEO and chairman of Berkshire Hathaway. The third-richest man in the world and probably the best investor around today, which makes his net worth very hard to calculate: we have to bear in mind that some of the shares Berkshire Hathaway holds he also holds personally, so it is very difficult to know the exact figure.
A man of simple tastes and a major investor in American Express, Coca-Cola, Costco, Moody’s… among many others. His net worth is estimated at $44.7 billion.
1. Carlos Slim, 72
In line with the Forbes ranking, Carlos Slim is also the richest man in the world. He is chairman and CEO of three of his companies: Telmex, América Móvil and Grupo Carso.
His net worth is estimated at $70 billion. In 2010 he took a heavy financial blow when he was fined $1 billion for allegedly charging customers illegal rates.
Featured image: World Economic Forum, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
