A s a child, 'rags to riches' fairy tales were common and much loved by all. Imagine our disappointment growing up when we found that isn't quite how it works. It turns out the actual phrase is 'rich to richer!' The richest people in the world in 2021 come as no surprise to anyone since they're all pretty household names at this point. So, without further delay, let's get into it and learn how exactly they became so rich.
Having stolen the crown from Jeff Bezos, the world's new richest man is Elon Musk. Elon started his journey as a young entrepreneur with his first start-up, Zip2. With his efforts and father's investments, it quickly started emerging on the map as the fastest growing website on the new consumer internet. It sold in 1999 for $307 million, leaving Musk with a share of $22 million. While, for most, this would've been an outstanding achievement and a particular high point in life, it was a time of disappointment for Musk. Already backed by family emerald mines in Africa and both parents as investors, Musk did not want to be rich but instead explore the full potential of what the internet could offer.
Former CEO of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, is easily recognizable as one of the world's richest men in modern history. Having held the position of the richest man in the world for four years, Bezos recently lost the spot to Elon Musk after stepping down as the CEO of his 27-year old project, Amazon. As the new executive chairman, Jeff Bezos enjoys a comfortable life and the occasional rocket trip to space as the second richest man on earth.
Bezos started his journey in his garage, a $300,000 investment from his parents, and an online bookstore named 'Cadabra.' He was quick to rebrand to 'Amazon' to be shown first on website listings and never looked back since. Soon enough, Amazon grew faster and faster and began expanding outside the realm of books to turn into what we know Amazon as now: a global hub for anything and everything. Twenty-seven years later, Bezos has decided to give up his CEO title and enjoy his wealth in peace.
Bernard Arnault bags the position as the wealthiest person in Europe and the third richest person globally with an estimated net worth of $164 Billion. Arnault started as an engineering graduate from the best engineering school to work at his father's company. Soon enough, Arnault rose in ranks and convinced his father to shift the company's interest to real estate. After acquiring a textile company with the help of his father and a senior investor, Arnault then turned towards Boussac Saint-Frères and gained Christian Dior as one of its key assets. Arnault managed to lay off 9,000 workers to make up for the losses he was acquiring and thus got nicknamed as 'the terminator.' Now, Arnault enjoys collecting famous art pieces and unimaginable amounts of wealth and watching fashion shows for his record-breaking company, Louis Vuitton.
Bill Gates is a name everyone knows at this point. The Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist held the title for the richest man on earth from 1995 to 2017 when he lost his position to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. Bill dropped out of Harvard to pursue his start-up with his childhood friend, Paul Allen. Seeing his enthusiasm, his parents lent him full support, and his mother, part of the board of directors for IBM, got the company to invest and partner with the new Microsoft as well. With a well-reputed tech giant funding and helping Gates, his program had no trouble taking off and becoming what it is now.
The founder and former CEO of Google as we know it takes the position of fifth place in our list of the richest people in the world in 2021. Despite having $127 billion now, Larry started with an idea for Google and two family friends' $200 000 total investment. He made the largest and most commonly used search engine before being forced to step down by two silicon valley investors. He is still a member of the board and a key controlling shareholder for Google’s parent company, Alphabet Inc.
