Where on Earth are the World’s Billionaires?

Let’s face it – most of us wish we had a few more dollars in our pockets and bank accounts than we currently have. Most of us would settle for a six-figure income while others would prefer to be millionaires. Not too many of us set out to become billionaires from the start but we don’t think anyone who has reached that status is complaining.

Oddly, there aren’t that many billionaires in the world but there are a few countries with significantly more than others. So where do most of the world’s billionaires live? Let’s find out where Forbes Magazine uncovered them in 2009.

10. Indonesia

Indonesia is home to 15 distinct billionaires. According to Forbes, 10 of these are billionaire families sharing the wealth and 5 get to keep their earnings to themselves. Individual billionaires include Eddie William Katauri, Martua Sitorus, and Peter Sondakh – the latter just making it onto the list at the age of 56 with a net worth of $1 billion.

9. Japan

Japan is next on the list with a total of 17 billionaires, all of which are individuals. They include Akira Mori, Hiroshi Yamauchi, Hiroko Takei, Takemitsu takizaki, and many others. Their net worth ranges from $1 billion up to $5.5 billion!

8. Hong Kong

Hong Kong is home to 19 of the world’s most prominent billionaires. The most impressive is Sir Li Ka-shing, an individual with a net worth ranking in at $16.2 billion dollars. At the age of 80, Sir Li Ka-shing is actually the 12^th richest individual in the world, having made his fortune both operating container terminals and retailing health and beauty products.

7. Canada

If you head towards Canada you’ll find 23 prominent billionaires, with fortunes valued anywhere from $1.5 billion up to $24.41 billion. The Thomson family, of The Thomson Corporation, has accumulated a fortune of more than $24 billion. They did so by manufacturing educational textbooks, resources, and reference materials with worldwide distribution.

6. United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom you’ll find 25 British billionaires, each with an incredible history and back story. Take Bernard Lewis, for example. Born in 1926, he started his career as an entrepreneur selling fruits and vegetables in North London. He then went on to develop the famous River Island brand of clothing.

5. Russia

Russia is home to a group of 32 distinct billionaires with fortunes valued anywhere from $1.2 to 9.5 billion. Mikhail Prokhorov is one of the most notable, with a net worth of $9.5 billion. At the young age of 44, he’s considered one of the top industrialists in Russia. Today, this 6’9” tall entrepreneur sits on the board of Polyus Gold (the largest producer of gold in the world) and is the president of the famed Onexim Group.

4. Germany

In Germany you’ll find 54 incredible billionaires with net values ranging from $1 billion up to $21 billion. They include well-known names like Otto Beisheim, Klaus-Michael Kuhne, Friedrich Karl Flick, Johanna Quandt, Theo Albrecht, and Karl Albrecht. Karl Albrecht, with a fortune totaling $21.5 billion, made his fortune while working with his brother Theo. They’re responsible for opening the popular discount store known worldwide as Aldi.

3. India

India is proud to call itself the home of 58 distinguished billionaires. From Anu Aga to Yusuf Hamied and Azim Premji, each has an incredible story. Anu Aga, for example, is one of the 8 wealthiest Indian women in the world, having once served as the chairperson of the Thermax Ltd. engineering firm.

2. China

In China you’ll find 79 billionaires with net values ranging from $1 billion up to $16.2 billion. The most notable is Yang Yuiyan, considered not only the wealthiest female but the richest in Mainland China, having inherited her father’s business at the very young age of 26.

1. United States

You’ll find an astounding collection of 329 billionaires throughout the United States. Some names are familiar to the general public while others are not. They include Lenore & Walter Annenberg, Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Abigail Johnson, Peter Kellog, and many more. Makes you want to book a flight, stay in a Los Angeles hotel and hope that the billionaire vibe rubs off on you!

So there you have it – the 10 countries with the most billionaires. There are hundreds here with a total of more than 800 scattered globally. All that’s left to do now is figure out the secret to billionaire success!

World's billionaires - Alice Walton

Alice Louise Walton (born October 7, 1949 in Newport, Arkansas)[1] is an American heiress to the Wal-mart fortune. She is the daughter of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton and Helen Walton, and sister of S. Robson Walton, and Jim Walton. Another brother, John T. Walton died in a 2005 plane crash. In March 2010, her estimated net worth was US$20.6 billion, making her the richest woman in the world along with her sister-in-law Christy Walton

Alice Walton began her career in finance as an equity analyst and money manager for First Commerce Corporation; and later served as Vice Chairman and head of all investment-related activities at the Arvest Bank Group. In 1988, Ms. Walton founded Llama Company, an investment bank engaged in corporate finance, public and structured finance, real estate finance and sales and trading. She served as President, Chairman and CEO. For a time, she was a broker for E.F. Hutton. Ms. Walton was the first chairperson and driving force behind the Northwest Arkansas Council. This community development organization played a major role in securing the development of the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport. In the Late 1990s Ms Walton closed Llama Company and moved to a 3,200 acre Ranch in central Texas.

Ms. Walton arranged for, and provided, the initial seed capital to finance the construction of the airport. Her involvement was instrumental in the creation of the airport, and in recognition of her contribution to the airport project and her support of transportation improvements throughout the region, the Airport Authority Board of Directors named the airport terminal the Alice L. Walton Terminal Building. In 2001, Ms. Walton was inducted into the Arkansas Aviation Hall of Fame.

Walton was the twentieth largest individual contributor to 527 committees in the U.S. presidential election, 2004, donating US$2.6 million to the conservative Progress for America group. During the 2004 election cycle, Progress for America ran advertisements supporting the Iraq war and praising George W. Bush for preventing "another 9/11"

World's billionaires - Liliane Bettencourt

Liliane Bettencourt (born 21 October 1922) is a French heiress, socialite, businesswoman and philanthropist. She is one of the principal shareholders of L'Oréal and, with a fortune estimated at US$20 billion, is one of the wealthiest people in the world.

Bettencourt was born in Paris, France, the only child of Eugène Schueller, the founder of L'Oréal, one of the world's largest cosmetics and beauty companies. Her mother died in 1927 when Liliane was 5 years old, and she formed a close bond with her father, who never remarried. At the age of 15, she joined her father’s company as an apprentice, mixing cosmetics and labelling bottles of shampoo.

In 1950, she married French politician André Bettencourt, who served as a cabinet minister in French governments of the 1960s and 1970s and rose to become deputy chairman of L’Oréal. Bettencourt had been a member of La Cagoule, a violent French fascist group that Liliane's father had funded and supported in the 1930s and that collaborated with the Nazis during World War II. After the war, her husband, like other members of La Cagoule, was given refuge at L'Oréal where he was able to successfully sanitise his past. Eventually, the Bettencourts settled in an Arte Moderne mansion built in 1951 on rue de Delabordère in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France. They had one daughter, Françoise, who was born on 10 July 1953.

In 1957, Liliane Bettencourt inherited the L'Oréal fortune when her father died, becoming the principal shareholder of L'Oréal. In 1963, the company went public, although Bettencourt continued to own a majority stake. In 1974, she exchanged almost half of her stake for a three per cent. (3%) stake in Nestlé S.A.
As of 31 December 2009, Ms Bettencourt owned 185,661,879 (31.0%) of the outstanding shares of L'Oréal (of which, 76,440,541 (12.76%) shares are effectively held in trust for her daughter), while the remainder is owned as follows: 178,381,021 (29.78%) shares by Nestlé, 216,384,762 (36.12%) shares are publicly held and the remainder are held as treasury stock or in the company savings plan. The Bettencourt family and Nestle act in concert pursuant to a shareholders’ agreement.Ms Bettencourt is a member of the board of directors of L'Oréal, a position she has held since 1995. Bettencourt’s daughter and her daughter’s husband (Jean-Pierre Meyers) are also members of the board of directors.

World's billionaires - Abigail Johnson

Abigail Pierrepont Johnson (born December 19, 1961) is an American businesswoman. Johnson is President of Fidelity Investments Personal and Workplace Investing. Fidelity is led by her father, Edward Johnson.

Johnson is an alumna of Buckingham Browne & Nichols school (secondary education), William Smith College (B.A. in art history, 1984), and Harvard Business School (M.B.A., 1988). She lives in Milton, Massachusetts.

After a brief stint as a consultant at Booz Allen & Hamilton from 1985-86 and her MBA, she joined her father's company, Fidelity Investments, as an equity portfolio manager from 1988 until 1997. She was promoted to an executive role in Fidelity Management and Research (FMR) in 1997 and has held various senior executive posts inside FMR, Fidelity Institutional Retirement Services and Fidelity Investments since then.

World's billionaires - Anne Cox Chambers

Anne Cox Chambers is a media proprietor, who is primary owner of Cox Enterprises, a privately held media empire that includes newspapers, television, radio, cable television, and other businesses. She is the daughter of James M. Cox, a newspaper publisher and 1920 Democratic Presidential nominee, and his second wife, Margaretta Parker Blair. She owns and controls her father's business interests, through Cox Enterprises. For 33 years she co-owned the family company with her sister, Barbara Cox Anthony, who died on May 28, 2007. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia.

Anne Cox was born on December 1, 1919, in Dayton, Ohio, to Margaretta Blair and James Middleton Cox. She attended Finch College in New York. In 1955 she married Robert William Chambers, and the couple had three children, Margaretta, Katharine, and James.

World's billionaires - Jacqueline Mars

Jacqueline Badger Mars is the daughter of Forrest Edward Mars, Sr., and granddaughter of Frank C. Mars, founders of the giant American candy company Mars, Incorporated. With her share of the company, she is worth US$11 billion. As of March 2010 she is the 59th richest person in the world, and the 19th richest person in the United States according to Forbes; she is also the fourth richest American woman. She is twice divorced and has 3 children.

She attended and graduated from the boarding school Miss Hall's School in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. She graduated from Bryn Mawr College in 1961

World's billionaires - Birgit Rausing

Dr Birgit Rausing (born 1924) is a Swedish art historian and philanthropist. After death of her husband Gad Rausing in 2000, with her 3 children, inherited packaging giant Tetra Laval. In 1944 her father-in-law founded Tetra Pak, which revolutionized the packaging of liquids such as juices and milk. She is the third wealthiest person in Sweden, according to Forbes magazine, with an estimated net worth of around US$13.0 billion.

World's billionaires - Savitri Jindal

Savitri Jindal is an Indian steel baroness, the wealthiest woman in India and the world's 44th richest person. She is the non-executive chairperson of Jindal Steel and Power Limited and JSW Steel, and member of the Haryana Vidhan Sabha, (Legislative Assembly) MLA. She also served as a Minister of Power in the Government of Haryana until 2010. She became the chairperson after her husband, O. P. Jindal, died in a helicopter crash in 2005.

She is noted for being the world's 4th richest mother.

World's billionaires - Susanne Klatten

Susanne Klatten (born Susanne Hanna Ursula Quandt on 28 April 1962 in Bad Homburg, Germany) is the daughter of Herbert and Johanna Quandt. As of 2009, she is the richest woman in Germany and the 35th richest person in the world.

Susanne met Jan Klatten while she was doing an apprenticeship with BMW in Regensburg, where he worked as an engineer. During this time she called herself Kant and did not tell him who she was until they were sure about each other. They married in 1990 in Kitzbühel and live in Munich. They have three children. She also plays golf and skis in Austria. Like the other members of the Quandt family, they live quietly. She has been a member of the University Council of the Technical University of Munich since 2005. In 2007 she was awarded the Bayerischer Verdienstorden, the Bavarian Order of Merit. She is one of the biggest donors of the centre-right political party the Christian Democratic Union.

World's billionaires - Maria-Elisabeth Schaeffler and her son Georg

Maria-Elisabeth Schaeffler (born August 17, 1941 in Prague is one of the owners of , one of the world's largest producers of roller bearings. The other owner is her son Georg F. W. Schaeffler.

Maria-Elisabeth Schaeffler was born in Prague and grew up in Vienna. She finished high school and attended medical school at Vienna University and now, as co-owner of the Schaeffler Group, is continuing the lifelong work of her husband Dr. Ing. h.c. Georg Schaeffler, who died in 1996. Maria-Elisabeth Schaeffler is Deputy Chairperson of the Supervisory Board. The Schaeffler Group, one of the largest European industrial companies in family ownership, is based in Herzogenaurach, Germany. The company was founded by brothers Georg and Wilhelm Schaeffler, who came to Herzogenaurach in 1946 to rebuild their lives after the exodus from Silesia.