15 Notable U.S. Billionaires: Their Beginnings and Incomes

15 Notable U.S. Billionaires: Their Beginnings and Incomes

The landscape of wealth in the United States is dominated by individuals who have built remarkable fortunes through innovation and entrepreneurship. Here are 15 notable billionaires, their stories of success, and their estimated incomes as of 2024.

1. Elon Musk

   • Income: $258 billion
   • Beginning: Born in South Africa, Musk founded Zip2 in 1996, selling it for nearly $300 million. His subsequent ventures, including PayPal, Tesla, and SpaceX, solidified his status as a tech visionary.

2. Jeff Bezos

   • Income: $216 billion
   • Beginning: Bezos started Amazon in 1994 as an online bookstore from his garage. His vision to expand it into a global marketplace transformed retail forever.

3. Mark Zuckerberg

   • Income: $187 billion
   • Beginning: Zuckerberg co-founded Facebook in 2004 at Harvard University. The platform rapidly grew from a college project to a global social media giant.

4. Larry Ellison

   • Income: $177 billion
   • Beginning: Ellison co-founded Oracle in 1977, focusing on database software. His leadership helped Oracle become a major player in the tech industry.

5. Larry Page

   • Income: $157 billion
   • Beginning: Page co-founded Google in 1998 with Sergey Brin while pursuing his PhD at Stanford. Their innovative search engine changed how people access information.

6. Sergey Brin

   • Income: $151 billion
   • Beginning: Brin played a crucial role in building Google alongside Page, leveraging their research at Stanford to create one of the most powerful tech companies in the world.

7. Warren Buffett

   • Income: $134 billion
   • Beginning: Buffett showed an early interest in business, starting small ventures. He founded Berkshire Hathaway in the 1960s, turning it into a diverse investment powerhouse.

8. Bill Gates

   • Income: $131 billion
   • Beginning: Gates co-founded Microsoft in 1975, seeing the potential for personal computing. His company dominated the software industry, making him a household name.

9. Steve Ballmer

   • Income: $126.5 billion
   • Beginning: Ballmer joined Microsoft in 1980 as its first business manager. He later became CEO, guiding the company through significant growth during the tech boom.

10. Jensen Huang

• Income: $118 billion
• Beginning: Huang co-founded NVIDIA in 1993, initially focusing on graphics processing units (GPUs). The company later expanded into AI and deep learning, greatly increasing its market value.

11. Carlos Slim Helú

• Income: $117 billion
• Beginning: Slim built his fortune through strategic investments in various sectors, including telecommunications, making him a dominant figure in Latin America.

12. Françoise Bettencourt Meyers

• Income: $97 billion
• Beginning: As the granddaughter of L’Oréal’s founder, Bettencourt Meyers took over the family business, becoming one of the wealthiest women in the world and actively engaging in philanthropy.

13. Michael Bloomberg

• Income: $96 billion
• Beginning: Bloomberg founded Bloomberg LP in 1981, providing financial data and analytics. His success in the financial sector has made him a significant figure in business and politics.

14. Gordon Moore

• Income: $93 billion
• Beginning: Moore co-founded Intel in 1968, helping to pioneer semiconductor technology. His observation of “Moore’s Law” significantly influenced the tech industry’s trajectory.

15. Amancio Ortega

• Income: $90 billion
• Beginning: Ortega founded Inditex, the parent company of Zara, in 1985. His fast-fashion model revolutionized retail, focusing on quick turnover of styles and making him a global retail giant.