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Top 10 Countries With The Most Billionaires In 2024

Published

12 months ago

October 26, 2024

Editor

Billionaire wealth is at an all-time high with some countries boasting of close to 800 billionaires and some struggle to count 20

Forbes’ 38th list shows 2,781 billionaires with a combined $14.2 trillion. This is 141 more billionaires and $2 trillion more wealth than last year.

In 2023, the list saw $900 billion in added wealth, and many of the world’s richest have grown even wealthier.

The U.S. leads with tech and finance billionaires. China, India, Germany, and Russia follow with wealth in tech, resources, and manufacturing. In Europe, countries like the UK, France, and Italy have their wealth mainly in finance, luxury, and industry.

Here’s a look at the top billionaire countries and some of their top billionaires.

United States

Leading globally, the U.S. has around 813 billionaires. Many come from technology, finance, and entertainment industries. Some of its billionaires include:

Elon Musk ($245.8 billion)– Founder of Tesla, SpaceX, and other ventures, Musk’s fortune has soared due to innovations in tech and space.

Jeff Bezos ($206.6 billion)– He is the founder of Amazon and his fortune expanded from the e-commerce and cloud computing empire.

Warren Buffett ($145 billion) – Known as the “Oracle of Omaha,” Buffett leads Berkshire Hathaway with investments in diverse sectors.

Bill Gates ($106.6 billion) – He is the co-founder of Microsoft.

China

China follows closely with about 406 billionaires, thanks to its booming tech and manufacturing sectors. Some of its billionaires are:

Zhong Shanshan ($52 billion) – He is the founder of Nongfu Spring, China’s largest bottled water company, with a fortune made through consumer goods.

Ma Huateng (Pony Ma) ($47.4 billion) – He is the founder of Tencent, the social media and gaming giant, which has contributed significantly to his wealth.

Jack Ma ($25.8 billion) – Co-founder of Alibaba, China’s leading e-commerce platform, Jack Ma is a popular name among Chinese billionaires.

India

India has seen rapid growth in its billionaire count which stands at 200, driven by industries such as technology, consumer goods, and pharmaceuticals. Here are some of its billionaires:

Mukesh Ambani ($107.7 billion) – He is the chairman of Reliance Industries and his wealth spans energy, telecom, and retail.

Gautam Adani ($80.4 billion) – He is known for his conglomerate Adani Group, and his wealth comes from infrastructure, energy, and ports.

Shiv Nadar ($41 billion) – Founder of HCL Technologies, Nadar is among the tech billionaires pushing India’s economy forward.

Germany

Germany’s billionaire wealth is strongly rooted in manufacturing and technology, with some billionaires maintaining family-held businesses. The country has approximately 132 billionaires. Some of their billionaires are:

Beate Heister & Karl Albrecht Jr. ($25.9 billion) – Heirs of the Aldi supermarket chain, the Albrecht family has long been part of Germany’s wealth.

Dieter Schwarz ($37 billion) – Owner of Lidl and Kaufland, Schwarz is a major player in European grocery retail.

Susanne Klatten ($22.3 billion) – She is a key shareholder in BMW and an heir to the pharmaceutical company Altana.

Russia

Russia’s billionaires are primarily concentrated in energy, metals, and mining industries, with wealth tied closely to natural resources. The country boasts of 120 billionaires.

Vladimir Potanin ($23.7 billion) – A leading shareholder in Norilsk Nickel, Potanin’s wealth is deeply rooted in mining and metals.

Leonid Mikhelson ($27.4 billion) – He is the CEO of Novatek and one of Russia’s wealthiest, thanks to his investments in natural gas.

Alexey Mordashov ($25.5 billion) – He is the owner of Severstal and his wealth is based on steel and energy.

Italy

Italy’s billionaires are often tied to fashion, infrastructure, and manufacturing. The country currently has 73 billionaires, and some of the popular ones include:

Giovanni Ferrero (43.8 billion)– Chairman of Ferrero Group, known for Nutella and Ferrero Rocher, his wealth is rooted in the confectionery business.

Leonardo Del Vecchio ($25 billion) – Founder of Luxottica, the world’s largest eyewear company, Del Vecchio has long been a staple of Italian wealth.

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is home to 67 billionaires with businesses spanning across real estate, finance, and technology. Some of its billionaires are:

Li Ka-shing ($36.8 billion) – Known as “Superman” in Hong Kong, his wealth stems from infrastructure, real estate, and telecommunications.

Lee Shau Kee ($29.3 billion) – Founder of Henderson Land Development, Lee is a major figure in Hong Kong’s real estate scene.

Henry Cheng ($28.9 billion) – Chairman of New World Development, Cheng’s fortune is rooted in real estate and infrastructure.

Canada

Canada’s 67 billionaires are primarily involved in media, e-commerce, and real estate. Here are some:

David Thomson & family ($61.3 billion) – Owners of Thomson Reuters, the Thomson family are leaders in media and information services.

Joseph Tsai ($9.7 billion) – He is the co-founder of Alibaba and owner of the Brooklyn Nets. Tsai represents Canadian investments in tech and sports.

Jim Pattison ($9.3 billion) – His conglomerate, the Jim Pattison Group, spans grocery, media, and automotive services.

United Kingdom

The UK’s billionaire population of 55 comes from various sectors, including finance, real estate, and retail. Some of the popular ones include:

James Ratcliffe ($16.5 billion) – Founder of chemical giant Ineos, Ratcliffe is among the wealthiest in the UK.

Hugh Grosvenor ($12.8 billion)– Known as the Duke of Westminster, Grosvenor’s wealth comes from extensive real estate holdings.

Sir Richard Branson ($6.5 billion) – Founder of the Virgin Group, Branson’s wealth spans industries from music to travel.

France

France’s billionaire population is largely in luxury goods, a sector in which it leads globally. France has 53 billionaires, and some of them are:

Bernard Arnault ($177.9 billion) – Chairman of LVMH, Arnault is often among the world’s wealthiest due to luxury brands like Louis Vuitton and Sephora.

Francoise Bettencourt Meyers ($87.2 billion)– Heir to the L’Oréal empire, she is among the wealthiest women globally.

Francois Pinault ($20.9 billion)– Founder of Kering, which owns luxury brands like Gucci and Saint Laurent, Pinault’s fortune is rooted in high-end fashion.

Headline

Afghanistan-Pakistan Border Clashes Escalate After Alleged Air Strikes

Published

4 hours ago

October 11, 2025

Editor

Afghanistan’s Taliban forces launched armed reprisals against Pakistani soldiers along the shared border on Saturday, accusing Islamabad of carrying out air strikes on its soil, senior officials from several provinces said Saturday.

On Thursday, two explosions were heard in the Afghan capital and another in the southeast of the country. The following day, the Taliban-run defence ministry blamed the attacks on Pakistan, accusing its neighbor of violating its sovereignty.

“In retaliation for air strikes carried out by the Pakistani army on Kabul,” Taliban forces are engaged “in heavy clashes against Pakistani security forces in various areas” along the border, the Afghan military said in a statement.

Islamabad did not confirm that it was behind Thursday’s attacks, but called on Kabul “to stop harbouring the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) on its soil.”

The TTP, trained in combat in Afghanistan and claiming to share the same ideology as the Afghan Taliban, is accused by Islamabad of having killed hundreds of its soldiers since 2021.

Taliban officials from Kunar, Nangarhar, Paktia, Khost, and Helmand provinces — all located on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan — confirmed that clashes were ongoing.

“This evening, Taliban forces began using weapons. We fired first light and then heavy artillery at four points along the border,” a senior official in Pakistan’s Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, bordering Afghanistan, told AFP.

“Pakistani forces responded with heavy fire and shot down three Afghan quadcopters suspected of carrying explosives. Intense fighting continues, but so far, no casualties have been reported,” he continued.

– Uptick in violence –

In recent months, TTP militants have intensified their campaign of violence against Pakistani security forces in the mountainous areas bordering Afghanistan.

Islamabad accuses Afghanistan of failing to expel militants who use Afghan territory to launch attacks on Pakistan, an accusation denied by authorities in Kabul.

The TTP and its affiliates are behind most of the violence — largely directed at security forces.

Earlier this year, a UN report said the TTP “receive substantial logistical and operational support from the de facto authorities”, referring to the Taliban government in Kabul.

Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif told parliament on Thursday that several efforts to convince the Afghan Taliban to stop backing the TTP had failed.

“We will not tolerate this any longer,” Asif said. “United, we must respond to those facilitating them, whether the hideouts are on our soil or Afghan soil.”

Earlier Saturday, the TTP claimed responsibility for deadly attacks in several districts in northwest Pakistan that killed 20 security officials and three civilians.

AFP

Headline

Taliban Attacks Kill 23 In Northwestern Pakistan

Published

9 hours ago

October 11, 2025

Editor

The Pakistani Taliban on Saturday claimed responsibility for deadly attacks in several northwestern districts that killed 20 security officials and three civilians.

The attacks, which included a suicide bombing on a police training school, were carried out on Friday in several districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that borders Afghanistan.

Militancy has surged in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa since the withdrawal of US-led troops from neighbouring Afghanistan in 2021 and the return of the Taliban government in Kabul.

Eleven paramilitary troops were killed in the border Khyber district, while seven policemen were killed after a suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden car into the gate of a police training school, which was followed by a gun attack.

Five people, including three civilians, were killed in a separate clash in Bajaur district, security officials told AFP on Saturday.

The Pakistani Taliban, the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP), claimed responsibility for the attacks in messages on social media. The group is separate from but closely linked with the Afghan Taliban.

The attacks came hours after Afghanistan’s Taliban government accused Pakistan of “violating Kabul’s sovereign territory”, a day after two explosions were heard in the capital.

Pakistan did not say if it was behind the blasts in Kabul, but said it had the right to defend itself against surging border militancy.

Islamabad accuses Afghanistan of failing to expel militants using Afghan territory to launch attacks on Pakistan, an accusation that authorities in Kabul deny.

The TTP and its affiliates are behind most of the violence — largely directed at security forces.

Including Friday’s attacks, at least 32 Pakistani troops and three civilians have been killed this week alone in the border regions.

AFP

Headline

US Threatens To Sanction Countries That Vote For Shipping Carbon Tax

Published

9 hours ago

October 11, 2025

Editor

The United States on Friday threatened to impose sanctions and take other punitive action against any country that votes in favor of a carbon tax on maritime transportation to be implemented through a UN agency.

“We will fight hard to protect our economic interests by imposing costs on countries if they support” the Net Zero Framework, said a joint statement by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his counterparts at the departments of energy and transportation.

Members of the London-based International Maritime Organization (IMO) are set to vote next week on the adoption of the Net Zero Framework (NZF) agreement aimed at reducing global carbon emissions from the shipping sector.

Washington, however, described the proposal as imposing “a global carbon tax on the world.”

Since returning to power in January, US President Donald Trump has reversed Washington’s course on climate change, denouncing it as a “scam” and encouraging fossil fuel use by deregulation.

In the statement, Rubio, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the Trump administration “unequivocally rejects” the NZF proposal.

They threatened a range of punishing actions against countries that vote in favor of the framework, including: visa restrictions; blocking vessels registered in those countries from US ports; imposing commercial penalties; and considering sanctions on officials.

“The United States will be moving to levy these remedies against nations that sponsor this European-led neocolonial export of global climate regulations,” the statement said.