Billionaires Net Worth Increases by 26 % as of 2018

By: Taarek Refaat

WASHINGTON, Jan. 2 (SEE)- The overall accumulated wealth of billionaires witnessed an increase of about $ 25.9 billion (26.1 percent) in the year 2018.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos secured the number one spot on Forbes most successful billionaires list in 2018, with an estimated net worth of $ 125 billion.

Bezos wealth increased by $24 billion last year alone, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

The next four biggest winners are not included in the top 10 world's wealthiest billionaires list. CEO of Xiaomi Smartphone Lei Jun, who is ranked 96th on the Bloomberg's list, came in the second spot.

Jun's net worth increased by 262.2 percent in 2018, reaching $ 11.9 billion.

CEO of Chinese e-commerce company Pinduoduo Colin Huang, who is ranked 100th on the Forbes's list, sealed the third spot. The 39 years old wealth increased by 157.5 percent last year, reaching $ 11.6 billion up from $ 7.12 billion in 2017.

President of Fast Retailing Tadashi Yanai came fourth among the biggest winners. The Japanese billionaire managed to increase his fortune by 28.8 percent reaching an estimated net worth of $ 26.5 billion. He managed to accumulate $ 5.92 billion in 2018 alone.

Microsoft's former CEO Steve Ballmer was among the biggest winners. He succeeded in accumulating 5.76 billion last year, to increase his fortune by 17.5 percent.

Ballmer is the 18th world's wealthiest with an estimated net worth of $ 38.6 billion. He is also the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was one of the biggest losers last year. He lost $19.9 billion to reach a net worth of $52 billion as of December 2018 down from 92.8 billion a year earlier.