- Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has lost a chunk of his net worth in 2019, and nearly lost his spot as world's richest person to Microsoft founder Bill Gates thanks to a dip in Amazon's share price.
- Most of the decline in his net worth is down to his costly divorce from MacKenzie Bezos.
- Business Insider used Bloomberg's Billionaires Index to rank the world's 20 richest tech billionaires and list out their gains for the year so far.
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The world's richest tech billionaires all saw massive gains in 2019 — except Amazon founder Jeff Bezos
Most of the world's richest tech billionaires have become richer in 2019 so far, with one notable exception.
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It's been a good year so far for billionaires working in tech.
The richest 20 technology billionaires have all seen massive additions to their net worth in 2019 to date, bar one notable exception.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos had a costly divorce from MacKenzie Bezos, which has dented his net worth in 2019. It's the primary reason for the decline in his overall worth, but he's still top of the billionaire pile.
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We've put together a list of the world's 20 richest tech billionaires, based on Bloomberg's Billionaires Index , which ranks the world's richest people on a daily basis.
The figures in this article were accurate as of October 302019.
20. Tencent founder Zhang Zhidong gained $184 million
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Also known as Tony Zhang, Chinese businessman Zhang Zhidong is the co-founder and former chief technology officer of Tencent, the Chinese tech conglomerate recently embroiled in the Blizzard-Hong Kong controversy (Tencent part owns Activision Blizzard, Blizzard's parent company).
Total net worth: $13.7 billion Year-to-date change in net worth: +$184 million
19. Europes only ultrawealthy tech billionaire Hasso Platner gained $2.78 billion
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Hasso Platner is cofounder of German multinational software giant SAP. Though Bill McDermott announced his resignation as SAP's CEO this month after nearly a decade , he left on a high, as the firm's stock has reportedly climbed 21% over the past year and 75% over the past half-decade.
Total net worth: $14.7 billion Year-to-date change in net worth: +$2.78 billion
18. Ex-Googler Eric Schmidt is up $2.28 billion
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Today, Eric Schmidt has largely left the private sector behind, having served as Google's CEO for most of the 2000s and Alphabet's executive chairman between 2015 and 2017. He currently serves as chairman of the US Department of Defense's innovation board.
Total net worth: $14.7 billion Year-to-date change in net worth: +$2.28 billion
17. Shiv Nadar, founder of Indian consultancy HCL, gained $2.24 billion
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Shiv Nadar is founder and chairman of HCL, an Indian IT and consulting firm founded in 1976. His firm is enjoying a profitable year after US tech behemoth IBM sold a $1.8 billion chunk of its software business to HCL in December 2018.
Total net worth: $15.8 billion Year-to-date change in net worth: +$2.24 billion
16. Chinese gaming magnate William Ding got a $3.02 billion bump
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The founder and CEO of NetEase, William Ding also known as Ding Lei is founder and CEO of Netease, a Guangzhou-based tech conglomerate and one of the world's largest mobile games businesses. Though NetEase continues to thrive, its close relationship with the controversy-embroiled US games firm Blizzard may not help its image in the West.
Total net worth: $17.0 billion Year-to-date change in net worth: +$3.02 billion
15. Shy Keyence billionaire Takemitsu Takizaki saw his worth go up $3.34 billion
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Takemitsu Takizaki is deeply media-shy so media-shy, in fact, that there aren't many photos around of the billionaire.
His firm Keyence specializes in sensors and other electronic equipment for industrial automation. The company's sheer privacy and unwillingness to talk to the press has given it an air of mystery, but this hasn't necessarily helped its image .
Total net worth: $18.4 billion Year-to-date change in net worth: +$3.34 billion
14. Azim Premji founded Indian consultancy firm Wipro and saw his worth go up $2.47 billion
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Azim Premji is the head of Bangalore-based Indian tech conglomerate Wipro, which specializes in IT, consulting and business process services.
Total net worth: $19.8 billion Year-to-date change in net worth: +$2.47 billion
13. Colin Huang is relatively unknown outside China but gained a huge $9.37 billion
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It's fair to say very few people outside of China have heard of Pinduoduo, an online shopping platform that Colin Huang founded and leads as CEO. But that hasn't stopped Huang from almost doubling his net worth amid the firm's ongoing, meteoric ascent .
Total net worth: $21.0 billion Year-to-date change in net worth: +$9.37 billion
12. Tesla and Space X CEO Elon Musk boosted his net worth by $1.79 billion
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Elon Musk is not known for setting himself modest targets, but the Tesla CEO has largely delivered on his grandiose promises this year, shipping vehicles at record rates in 2019.
Despite his massive wealth, the Silicon Valley CEO has apparently claimed he's pretty low on cash .
Total net worth: $25.8 billion Year-to-date change in net worth: +$1.79 billion
11. Michael Dells worth increased $2.99 billion
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Michael Dell is the founder and CEO of his eponymous computing firm. The firm controversially went private in 2013, but returned to the public market in December 2018.
Total net worth: $31.2 billion Year-to-date change in net worth: +$2.99 billion
10. Tencent CEO Pony Ma gained $618 million
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As the CEO of Chinese tech conglomerate Tencent, Pony Ma is Jack Ma's great rival on the Chinese tech scene (the two men are unrelated). Tencent's interests are varied, but the firm is arguably best-known in the West as the driving force behind WeChat, the instant messaging app that is utterly ubiquitous in China.
Total net worth: $32.9 billion Year-to-date change in net worth: +$618 million
9. MacKenzie Bezos catapulted onto the billionaire list after her divorce from Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, gaining $35.4 billion
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Novelist MacKenzie Bezos has become one of the richest women in the world after her divorce this year from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. She played a key role in the founding of Amazon , driving cross-country with her former husband as he typed out a first business plan.
Total net worth: $35.4 billion Year-to-date change in net worth: +$35.4 billion
10. Alibaba founder Jack Ma profited $5.95 billion
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Despite segueing into full-time philanthropy in September , the charismatic driving force behind Alibaba has continued to profit from his six percent stake in the e-commerce giant .
Total net worth: $41.6 billion Year-to-date change in net worth: +$5.95 billion
9. Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer earned $14.3 billion
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Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has diversified his business interests since resigning from its board five years ago, and is the current owner of the Los Angeles Clippers NBA team.
Total net worth: $53 billion Year-to-date change in net worth: +$14.3 billion
8. Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison is up $10.4 billion
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Oracle's cofounder, executive chairman and CTO Larry Ellison has enjoyed a seriously fruitful year on the personal wealth front after Oracle posted total revenues of $9.2 billion for the first quarter of its fiscal year from 2019 to 2020.
Total net worth: $59.7 billion Year-to-date change in net worth: + $10.4 billion
5. Google cofounder Sergey Brin saw an increase of $9.51 billion
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2019 has seen Alphabet's president consolidate his place among the world's five richest people. Google's $1.7 billion fine from the European Commission in March for "abusive" advertising practices was its third in three years, but the founders' wealth remains unscathed.
Total net worth: $59.4 billion Year-to-date change in net worth: +$9.51 billion
4. Googles other cofounder Larry Page is up $9.92 billion
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Like his Google cofounder Brin, Alphabet's CEO Larry Page has added nearly $10 billion to his net worth after the firm continued its extraordinary run of profitmaking. In the second quarter of 2019 alone, Alphabet made $9.18 billion .
Total net worth: $61.2 billion Year-to-date change in net worth: +$9.92 billion
3. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg added $20.7 billion, consolation for a rough year in the public eye
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Mark Zuckerberg's fortune has grown by over 40% in the past year, despite a challenging year for Facebook in terms of its public image. Its Libra cryptocurrency project has lost a quarter of its initial backers , and the firm remains bedeviled by questions about its possible influence on national elections . Still, Facebook's stranglehold over online advertising and people's attention keeps investors coming back for more.
Total net worth: $72.7 billion Year-to-date change in net worth: +$20.7 billion
2. Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates is up $17.6 billion
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Microsoft founder Bill Gates very briefly overtook Jeff Bezos as the world's richest person last week, but has now lost that crown again. Still, the 64-year-old's own net worth has soared this year despite him reportedly giving away over $35 billion to charity in 2019.
Total net worth: $108 billion Year-to-date change in net worth: +$17.6 billion
1. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is down $14.9 billion, but still the worlds richest person
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Despite retaining his title of world's richest person, the Amazon CEO's total net worth has taken a hit this year, largely due to paying out $38 billion in a divorce settlement with ex-wife MacKenzie in June.
Total net worth: $110 billion Year-to-date change in net worth: -$14.9 billion
See Also:
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- It looks like Jeff Bezos is about to lose his spot as the worlds richest person to Bill Gates
- Watch the intense 3-minute exchange where AOC pelted Mark Zuckerberg with tough questions about Facebook
- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez grilled Zuckerberg on Facebook's controversial ad policies, and he struggled to answer her questions
SEE ALSO: Jeff Bezos might lose his spot as the world's richest person as Amazon shares tank. Here's how he makes and spends his billions.
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