WASHINGTON: Microsoft’s Bill Gates was the unsurprising leader of the first Forbes list of the richest global tech billionaires, while Amazon founder Jeff Bezos saw his personal fortune surge.
The Forbes survey released Wednesday found US-based tech magnates made up 51 of the 100 richest people in technology, with 33 from Asia and eight from Europe.
The net worth of the 100 people amounted to $842.9 billion, according to the magazine. The minimum net worth to make the top 100 was $2 billion.
Gates, who has long been at or near the top of the world’s richest individuals, led the group with an estimated worth of $79.6 billion, trailed by Oracle founder Larry Ellison at $50 billion.
The surprising number three was Bezos, who saw a gain of some $13 billion in his fortune this year with the rise of Amazon shares, and is now worth $47.8 billion, Forbes said.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg snared the number four position with a net worth of $41.2 billion, followed by Google founders Larry Page ($33.4 billion) and Sergey Brin ($32.8 billion).
Alibaba founder Jack Ma was number seven with a worth of $23.2 billion, the wealthiest of 10 Chinese billionaires on the list.
Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer came in eighth at $22.7 billion, while Laurene Powell Jobs, widow of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs was number nine at $21.4 billion, and computer company founder Michael Dell was tenth with a worth of $19.4 billion.
Jobs was the richest of the seven women on the list. The average age is 53, or a decade younger than the average of all billionaires, Forbes said.
The youngest is Snapchat founder Evan Spiegel, who at age 25 is worth an estimated $2.1 billion. The oldest is Intel cofounder Gordon Moore, 86, whose estimated worth is $6 billion.
Forbes said 94 of the tech moguls created their own companies, while three inherited their wealth, and three others inherited fortunes but have expanded them.
