According to Forbes' Real Time Billionaires list as of February 19th, 2023, along with a brief overview of their business journeys:
- Elon Musk: Elon Musk is the founder and CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink, and The Boring Company. He has a net worth of $251.9 billion. Musk's entrepreneurial journey started when he founded Zip2, a web software company, which he later sold for $307 million.
- Jeff Bezos: Jeff Bezos is the founder and former CEO of Amazon. He has a net worth of $193.5 billion. Bezos founded Amazon in 1994 and turned it into the world's largest online retailer.
- Bernard Arnault & family: Bernard Arnault is the CEO of LVMH, the world's largest luxury goods company. He has a net worth of $174.3 billion. Arnault has been in the luxury goods business for over 30 years, and has grown LVMH by acquiring other luxury brands.
- Bill Gates: Bill Gates is the co-founder of Microsoft and the co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. He has a net worth of $120.6 billion. Gates founded Microsoft in 1975 and turned it into one of the world's most successful tech companies.
- Mark Zuckerberg: Mark Zuckerberg is the co-founder and CEO of Facebook. He has a net worth of $100.9 billion. Zuckerberg founded Facebook in 2004 while he was a student at Harvard University.
- Larry Ellison: Larry Ellison is the co-founder and former CEO of Oracle Corporation. He has a net worth of $98.2 billion. Ellison co-founded Oracle in 1977 and built it into one of the world's largest software companies.
- Larry Page: Larry Page is the co-founder of Google and the co-founder and CEO of Alphabet Inc. He has a net worth of $93.7 billion. Page co-founded Google with Sergey Brin in 1998 while they were Ph.D. students at Stanford University.
- Sergey Brin: Sergey Brin is the co-founder of Google and the co-founder of Alphabet Inc. He has a net worth of $90.4 billion. Brin co-founded Google with Larry Page in 1998 while they were Ph.D. students at Stanford University.
- Mukesh Ambani: Mukesh Ambani is the chairman and largest shareholder of Reliance Industries, India's most valuable company. He has a net worth of $90.1 billion. Ambani inherited the company from his father and has since expanded it into a diversified conglomerate.
- Steve Ballmer: Steve Ballmer is the former CEO of Microsoft and the current owner of the Los Angeles Clippers. He has a net worth of $84.6 billion. Ballmer joined Microsoft in 1980 and became CEO in 2000.
- Larry Fink: Larry Fink is the co-founder and CEO of BlackRock, the world's largest investment management company. He has a net worth of $79.9 billion. Fink co-founded BlackRock in 1988 and has grown the company through acquisitions and strategic partnerships.
- Jim Walton: Jim Walton is the youngest son of Walmart founder Sam Walton and is a member of the Walton family, which owns a controlling stake in Walmart. He has a net worth of $78.9 billion. Walton has served on the board of Walmart since 2005.
- Amancio Ortega: Amancio Ortega is the founder of Inditex, the parent company of fashion brand Zara. He has a net worth of $77.6 billion.
- Zhong Shanshan: Zhong Shanshan is the founder of Nongfu Spring, a Chinese bottled water company, and the pharmaceutical company, Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy. He has a net worth of $68.3 billion.
- Warren Buffett: Warren Buffett is the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, a conglomerate with holdings in a diverse range of industries. He has a net worth of $63.9 billion. Buffett is known for his value investing strategy and his long-term approach to investing.
- Francoise Bettencourt Meyers & family: Francoise Bettencourt Meyers is the heiress of the L'Oreal fortune and the chairwoman of the family holding company, Tethys. She has a net worth of $60.5 billion.
- Steve Cohen: Steve Cohen is the founder and CEO of Point72 Asset Management, a hedge fund. He has a net worth of $29.8 billion. Cohen started his career as a junior trader at Gruntal & Co. in the 1980s and later founded SAC Capital Advisors, which was shut down in 2013 after pleading guilty to insider trading charges.
- Michael Bloomberg: Michael Bloomberg is the co-founder and CEO of Bloomberg LP, a financial software and media company. He has a net worth of $26.8 billion. Bloomberg started his career at Salomon Brothers in the 1960s and later founded Bloomberg LP in 1981.
- Phil Knight: Phil Knight is the co-founder and former chairman of Nike, a sportswear company. He has a net worth of $25.7 billion. Knight co-founded Nike in 1964 as Blue Ribbon Sports and turned it into one of the world's largest sportswear companies.
- Mukesh D. Ambani: Mukesh D. Ambani is the chairman and largest shareholder of Reliance Industries, India's most valuable company. He has a net worth of $90.1 billion, making him one of the richest men in the world. Ambani inherited the company from his father and has since expanded it into a diversified conglomerate with interests in petrochemicals, refining, oil and gas exploration, and telecommunications.