List of billionaires (2006)
Encyclopedia
This list of billionaires is based on an annual ranking of the world's wealthiest people compiled and published by Forbes
magazine on March 9, 2006. Forbes is an American
national business magazine. There are 793 billionaires on Forbes list with 102 newcomers, from 49 countries. More than half of the billionaires are from the United States
and Germany
. 2006 saw an increase in billionaires from Russia
, India
, and Brazil
mainly due to economic growth in these countries. The combined net worth of the list is US$
2.6 trillion, an 18% increase from 2005.
The total net worth is an estimate measured in United States dollar
s, based on the closing stock prices of the stock exchange
s on which each person's company is listed on, and exchange rate
s on February 9, 2006. Stock prices are defined as shares of ownership in a corporation, and exchange rates are defined as how much one currency is worth in terms of another. This list only represents each person's valuation on a single day due to daily fluctuations among exchange rates and stock valuations.
on March 9, 2006, and does not reflect changes since that date.
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
magazine on March 9, 2006. Forbes is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
national business magazine. There are 793 billionaires on Forbes list with 102 newcomers, from 49 countries. More than half of the billionaires are from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. 2006 saw an increase in billionaires from Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, and Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
mainly due to economic growth in these countries. The combined net worth of the list is US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
2.6 trillion, an 18% increase from 2005.
The total net worth is an estimate measured in United States dollar
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
s, based on the closing stock prices of the stock exchange
Stock exchange
A stock exchange is an entity that provides services for stock brokers and traders to trade stocks, bonds, and other securities. Stock exchanges also provide facilities for issue and redemption of securities and other financial instruments, and capital events including the payment of income and...
s on which each person's company is listed on, and exchange rate
Exchange rate
In finance, an exchange rate between two currencies is the rate at which one currency will be exchanged for another. It is also regarded as the value of one country’s currency in terms of another currency...
s on February 9, 2006. Stock prices are defined as shares of ownership in a corporation, and exchange rates are defined as how much one currency is worth in terms of another. This list only represents each person's valuation on a single day due to daily fluctuations among exchange rates and stock valuations.
Top 15 billionaires
The following list is the ranking of the world's richest billionaires1000000000 (number)
1,000,000,000 is the natural number following 999,999,999 and preceding 1,000,000,001.In scientific notation, it is written as 109....
on March 9, 2006, and does not reflect changes since that date.
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Icon | Description |
| Has not changed from the list for 2005. | |
| Has increased from the list for 2005. | |
| Has decreased from the list for 2005. |
| # | Name | Net worth Net worth In business, net worth is the total assets minus total outside liabilities of an individual or a company. For a company, this is called shareholders' preference and may be referred to as book value. Net worth is stated as at a particular year in time... (USD) | Citizenship Citizenship Citizenship is the state of being a citizen of a particular social, political, national, or human resource community. Citizenship status, under social contract theory, carries with it both rights and responsibilities... | Sources of wealth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $52.0 billion | Microsoft Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions... |
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| 2 | $42.0 billion | Berkshire Hathaway Berkshire Hathaway Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is an American multinational conglomerate holding company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, United States, that oversees and manages a number of subsidiary companies. The company averaged an annual growth in book value of 20.3% to its shareholders for the last 44 years,... |
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| 3 | $30.0 billion | Telmex Telmex Telmex is a telecommunications company headquartered in Mexico City that provides telecommunication products and services in Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Brazil and other countries in Latin America. In addition to traditional fixed-line telephone service, Telmex also offers Internet access, data,... |
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| 4 | $28.0 billion | IKEA IKEA IKEA is a privately held, international home products company that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture such as beds and desks, appliances and home accessories. The company is the world's largest furniture retailer... |
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| 5 | $23.5 billion | Mittal Steel Company Mittal Steel Company Mittal Steel Company N.V. was one of the world's largest steel producers by volume, and also one of the largests in turnover. The company is now part of ArcelorMittal.... |
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| 6 | $22.0 billion | Microsoft Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions... |
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| 7 | $21.5 billion | LVMH Moët Hennessy • Louis Vuitton LVMH LVMH Moët Hennessy • Louis Vuitton S.A., better known as LVMH, is a French multinational luxury goods conglomerate headquartered in Paris, Île-de-France, France. The company was formed after the 1987 merger of fashion house Louis Vuitton with Moët Hennessy, a company formed after the 1971 merger... |
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| 8 | $20.0 billion | Kingdom Holding Company Kingdom Holding Company Kingdom Holding Company is a public holding company headquartered in Kingdom Centre in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and is the largest company in Saudi Arabia. It is controlled by Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz, and is headquartered in the city of Riyadh... |
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| 9 | $19.6 billion | The Thomson Corporation | ||
| 10 | $18.8 billion | Cheung Kong Group; Hutchison Whampoa Hutchison Whampoa Hutchison Whampoa Limited or HWL of Hong Kong is a Fortune 500 company and one of the largest companies listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. HWL is an international corporation with a diverse array of holdings which includes the world's biggest port and telecommunication operations in 14... |
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| 11 | $18.2 billion | Sibneft; Rusal; Chelsea F.C. Chelsea F.C. Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four... |
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| 12 | $17.1 billion | Dell Inc. Dell Dell, Inc. is an American multinational information technology corporation based in 1 Dell Way, Round Rock, Texas, United States, that develops, sells and supports computers and related products and services. Bearing the name of its founder, Michael Dell, the company is one of the largest... |
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| 13 | $17.0 billion | ALDI ALDI ALDI Einkauf GmbH & Co. oHG, doing business as ', short for "Albrecht Discount", is a discount supermarket chain based in Germany... |
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| 14 | $16.1 billion | Las Vegas Sands Las Vegas Sands Las Vegas Sands Corp. is an integrated resort company based in Paradise, Nevada, USA.-History:Founded in 1988, the company was the owner and operator of the Sands Hotel, which was demolished in 1996 to make room for The Venetian, which opened in 1999.... |
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| 15 | $16.0 billion | L'Oréal L'Oréal The L'Oréal Group is the world's largest cosmetics and beauty company. With its registered office in Paris and head office in the Paris suburb of Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine, France, it has developed activities in the field of cosmetics... |
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| 15 | $16.0 billion | Oracle Corporation Oracle Corporation Oracle Corporation is an American multinational computer technology corporation that specializes in developing and marketing hardware systems and enterprise software products – particularly database management systems... |
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