Forbes rich list 2022: Tech moguls dominate
Forbes has published its rich list for 2022, an annual ranking of the 400 wealthiest Americans, and the top 20 is once again dominated by tech moguls.
There are fewer millionaires in the United States this year as a result of the COVID-19 lockdowns and the war in Ukraine which have raised the rate of inflation.
A total of 65 people on the 400 rich list made their wealth through technology and as many as eight tech billionaires feature in the Top 20.
Tech sector affected…
The collective wealth of the Forbes 400 list has dropped by half a billion dollars in comparison to last year, and two thirds of those losses are from the tech sector ($315 billion).
Jeff Bezos’ personal wealth dropped by $50 billion after Amazon shares slumped by 27%, which has seen him fall off first place for the first time since 2018.
Microsoft stock is down by 15%, meaning that its former CEO Steve Ballmer took a $13.5 billion hit while Zoom suffered a massive 73% loss which equated to a $10.6 billion decrease for Eric Yuan.
One of the most notable features of this year’s Top 10 is the absence of Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook. Zuckerberg finds himself outside the Top 10 for the first time since 2014.
This is mainly down to the plunge of Meta shares due to a drastic loss in advertising revenue and rising competition, causing the company to lose $74 billion.
… but no need for sympathy
With the world forced to turn to digital means to live through the virus, the wealth of tech billionaires soared. Now, despite a drop, the market share of the industries that tech companies influence is rising as we enter the Fourth Industrial Revolution, while small and medium-size enterprises face extinction, meaning that the rich will only get richer after this slump.
The 10 richest people in the United States (in dollars)
- Elon Musk. Net worth: 251 billion (up from 190.5 billion). Source: Tesla, SpaceX
- Jeff Bezos. Net worth: 151 billion (down from 201 billion). Source: Amazon
- Bill Gates. Net worth: 106 billion (down from 134 billion). Source: Microsoft
- Larry Ellison. Net worth: 101 billion (down from 117.3 billion). Source: Oracle
- Warren Buffett. Net worth: 97 billion (down from 102 billion). Source: Berkshire Hathaway
- Larry Page. Net worth: 93 billion (down from 123 billion). Source: Google
- Sergey Brin. Net worth: 89 billion (down from 118.5 billion). Source: Google
- Steve Ballmer. Net worth: 83 billion (down from 96.5 billion). Source: Microsoft
- Michael Bloomberg. Net worth: 76.8 billion (up from 70 billion). Source: Bloomberg
- Jim Walton. Net worth: 57.9 billion (from 68.8 billion). Source: Walmart
