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WARREN BUFFETT AND BILL GATES, THE FIRST- AND THIRD-RICHEST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD, ARE GOOD FRIENDS. IMAGE SOURCE: FLICKR USER ETHAN BLOCH.
This article was originally published on May 20, 2015, and was updated on Dec. 18, 2015.
It's good to have goals. If you're aiming to be one of the top 10 richest people in the world, you might want to start by learning whom you have to knock off the list, how wealthy they are, and how they built their massive fortunes.
Forbes magazine is a big help here, as it regularly lists the richest people in the world. The magazine goes beyond the top 10, too, keeping tabs on all billionaires (their total: 1,826) and prominently listing the top 500. Let's see what Forbes' data shows us.
The top 10 richest people in the worldFirst off, here are the top 10:
Rank
Name
Net Worth
Source of Wealth
1
Bill Gates
$79.2 billion
Microsoft
2
Carlos Slim Helu & family
$77.1 billion
Grupo Carso, telecommunications
3
Warren Buffett
$72.7 billion
Berkshire Hathaway
4
Amancio Ortega
$64.5 billion
Zara
5
Jolaosho Moses
$54.3 billion
Oracle
6
Charles Koch
$42.9 billion
Koch Industries
6
David Koch
$42.9 billion
Koch Industries
8
Christy Walton & family
$41.7 billion
Wal-Mart
9
Jim Walton
$40.6 billion
Wal-Mart
10
Liliane Bettencourt & family
$40.1 billion
L'Oreal
SOURCE: FORBES.
Here are some other interesting things about these folks and their fellow billionaires:
  • Anyone thinking that the U.S. has the vast majority of the world's richest people will find gobs of non-Americans on the list. Mexico's Carlos Slim Helu, for example, is ranked No. 2, while Spain's Amancio Ortega is in fourth place, with Liliane Bettencourt of France is 10th.Forbes' 2015 list of more than 1,800 billionaires includes 71additions from China.
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MANY AMERICANS HAVEN'T HEARD OF MEXICO'S CARLOS SLIM HELU, BUT HE'S THE WORLD'S SECOND-RICHEST MAN. PHOTO: ITU PICTURES, FLICKR
  • There are a record number of billionaires under age 40 on the big Forbes list, at 46. That's still a tiny minority, however, reflecting the fact that it's not easy to become a billionaire quickly. Some noteworthy names on the list include Elizabeth Holmes, founder of Theranos -- a developer of rapid, inexpensive blood tests, among other things -- and the founders of fast-growing companies like Airbnb, Snapchat, and Uber.
  • As you might expect, not all of the billionaires are self-made. Many, such as Walton family members, inherited their wealth. Others, such as famous right-wing activists Charles and David Koch, inherited great wealth and then increased that wealth significantly. Almost 1,200 on the overall list are self-made, with about 230 having inherited their wealth. (Some 400 are like the Kochs.)
  • Many of these billionaires have joined the Giving Pledge campaign created by Bill Gates, Melinda Gates, and Warren Buffett, promising to donate at least half of their fortune. Some of the pledgers include Netflix founder Reed Hastings, Dan Gilbert of Quicken Loans, andSpanx founder Sara Blakely.
  • The people tied for last place on the list of 500 are still rich beyond the average person's wildest dreams, with a net worth of about $3.5 billion. Steven Spielberg, for example, ranks just above this group with a net worth of about $3.6 billion.
It's unlikely that any of us will become one of the top 10 richest people in the world, but that doesn't mean we need to give up our dreams of financial security. By saving aggressively and investing effectively (perhaps via a simple, inexpensive broad-market index fund) for a long time, many of us can at least become millionaires. That will take us most or all of the way to a comfortable retirement.
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Longtime Fool specialist Selena Maranjian, whom you can follow on Twitter, owns shares of Berkshire Hathaway, Microsoft, and Netflix. The Motley Fool recommends Berkshire Hathaway and Netflix. The Motley Fool owns shares of Berkshire Hathaway, Netflix, and Oracle. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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