The 25 richest people in Silicon Valley

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The 25 richest people in Silicon Valley

larry page and sergey brin

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Larry Page and Sergey Brin are the third- and fourth- richest people in Silicon Valley.

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Silicon Valley is home to many of the world's tech giants - and its high-ranking billionaires.

Consistently ranked as one of the most expensive places to live in the US, Silicon Valley encompasses the Santa Clara area and includes company headquarters based in Palo Alto, Menlo Park, and Mountain View. The tech titans - with executives ranging from Google to Uber - who work in these areas are among some of the richest in the industry.

Read more: Tech CEOs in San Francisco are paying up to $10 million to throw ragers when their companies go public - and they're going all out with ice sculptures, A-list celebs, and themed concerts

Looking at the top 25 richest people working in Silicon Valley based on real-time data from Forbes, the list includes social behemoths such as Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter's Jack Dorsey, alongside Tesla founder Elon Musk. Also on the ranks are successful venture capitalists, real estate moguls, and the legendary filmmaker George Lucas.

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There is some disagreement about the geographical boundaries of Silicon Valley. While some stick to Santa Clara County borders, for the purposes of this list, we included billionaires whose work is based in cities throughout Santa Clara County, including San Jose, and reaching up as far north as San Francisco.

Keep reading for a look at the 25 richest billionaires in Silicon Valley.

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25. Scott Cook

25. Scott Cook

Source of wealth: Intuit

Industry: Technology

Net worth: $3.95 billion

Scott Cook cofounded software company Intuit in 1983, and retired as the firm's CEO 11 years later. However, he has remained Intuit's chairman and holds 5% of shares in the company — now worth over $5 billion.

24. Dagmar Dolby

24. Dagmar Dolby

Source of wealth: Dolby Laboratories

Industry: Technology

Net worth: $4.13 billion

Founded by her late husband Ray Dolby, Dagmar Dolby currently owns roughly 38% of Dolby Laboratories. Known for its sound systems, the San Francisco-based company revolutionized audio in tech.

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23. Jensen Huang

23. Jensen Huang

Source of wealth: Nvidia

Industry: Technology

Net worth: $4.63 billion

Jensen Huang is the cofounder, CEO, and president of Nvidia, a company specializing in computer gaming chips. The billion-dollar company is based in Santa Clara, California.

22. Robert Johnson, Jr.

22. Robert Johnson, Jr.

Source of wealth: Franklin Templeton

Industry: Finance & Investments

Net worth: $4.70 billion

Current vice chairman and director of Franklin Templeton, Robert Johnson, Jr. also owns the second largest stake in his family's successful investment firm. The company was founded by his father in 1947; Johnson has served as vice chairman for the past two decades.

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21. Jeffrey Skoll

21. Jeffrey Skoll

Source of wealth: eBay

Industry: Technology

Net worth: $5.24 billion

Though he has not worked at the company in 18 years, Jeffrey Skoll earned the majority of his money as eBay's president in the early 2000s. According to Forbes, Skoll was the online auction site's first full-time hire. Since leaving, Skoll has worked with his self-named foundation, as well as his film production firm. The firm — Participant Media — won the Academy Award for "Spotlight" in 2016.

20. David Filo

20. David Filo

Source of wealth: Yahoo

Industry: Technology

Net worth: $5.29 billion

David Filo cofounded Yahoo in 1995; Verizon purchased it for almost $4.5 billion in 2017. In addition to heading Yahoo, Filo also runs a charity foundation with his wife, supporting issues from education to the environment.

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20. Jack Dorsey

20. Jack Dorsey

Source of wealth: Twitter

Industry: Technology

Net worth: $5.29 billion

Tied with Yahoo's David Filo for net worth, Jack Dorsey returned as social giant Twitter's CEO in 2015, after previously stepping down in 2008. He cofounded the company in 2006, and also cofounded Square in 2009.

18. George Roberts

18. George Roberts

Source of wealth: KKR & Co.

Industry: Finance & Investments

Net worth: $5.54 billion

Building his fortune in the private equity business, George Roberts cofounded KKR & Co. The firm is named after Roberts and fellow cofounders Henry Kravis and Jerome Kohlberg. Alongside its New York offices, the firm is also based out of San Francisco and Menlo Park — roughly 20 minutes from Facebook's headquarters. Roberts himself resides in Atherton.

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17. George Lucas

17. George Lucas

Source of wealth: Lucasfilm, Ltd.

Industry: Media & Entertainment

Net worth: $5.61 billion

Legendary filmmaker George Lucas is best known for his original Star Wars and Indiana Jones series. He resides on Skywalker Ranch in Marin County, just north of San Francisco. His self-named film company — which he sold to Disney in 2012 for $4 billion — is based in the city's Letterman Digital Arts Center, unlike most Hollywood directors who maintain offices in Los Angeles.

16. Travis Kalanick

16. Travis Kalanick

Source of wealth: Uber

Industry: Technology

Net worth: $5.84 billion

Though he has since stepped down as the CEO following company scandals, Travis Kalanick is known for founding Uber in 2009. Now the CEO of holding company City Storage Systems, Kalanick still owns seven percent of Uber shares.

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15. Marc Benioff

15. Marc Benioff

Source of wealth: Salesforce

Industry: Technology

Net worth: $6.58 million

After working under Oracle founder Larry Ellison, Marc Benioff founded his own company, Salesforce, in 1999. He remains the company's CEO, but has also invested in other tech startups in the Silicon Valley area.

14. John Sobrato

14. John Sobrato

Source of wealth: Sobrato Development Cos.

Industry: Real Estate

Net worth: $6.80 billion

Though John Sobrato didn't start a tech company in Silicon Valley, he made his fortune selling homes in the Palo Alto area. Today, his company owns the office spaces of big names such as Netflix.

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13. John Doerr

13. John Doerr

Source of wealth: Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byer

Industry: Technology

Net worth: $7.67 billion

John Doerr is the current chairman of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB), a venture capital firm. According to Forbes, "KPCB is one of Silicon Valley's most storied firms, having backed Amazon, AOL, Compaq, Electronic Arts, Google, Netscape and Twitter." Prior to KPCB, Doerr worked at Intel.

12. Charles Schwab

12. Charles Schwab

Source of wealth: Charles Schwab

Industry: Finance & Investments

Net worth: $8.29 billion

Unlike Silicon Valley's tech execs, Charles Schwab is the former CEO of his self-named brokerage firm headquartered in the Bay Area. Though he stepped down from his lead role in 2008, he still serves as company chairman.

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11. Robert Pera

11. Robert Pera

Source of wealth: Ubiquiti Networks, Inc.

Industry: Technology

Net worth: $8.90 billion

After working at Apple for two years, Robert Pera founded the wireless equipment company Ubiquiti Networks in 2005. Today, he serves as the company's CEO and owns 75% of shares.

10. Jan Koum

10. Jan Koum

Source of wealth: WhatsApp, Inc.

Industry: Technology

Net worth: $9.80 billion

Before cofounding WhatsApp messaging service, Jan Koum spent nine years with Yahoo. In 2014, Facebook purchased WhatsApp for $22 billion and Koum joined the social giant's board of directors — a role he gave up in 2018. Koum also served as WhatsApp's CEO before the merger.

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9. Gordon Moore

9. Gordon Moore

Source of wealth: Intel

Industry: Technology

Net worth: $10.84 billion

Cofounder of Intel tech company, Gordon Moore retains his title as Chairman Emeritus. The billion-dollar firm is based in Santa Clara.

8. Dustin Moskovitz

8. Dustin Moskovitz

Source of wealth: Facebook

Industry: Technology

Net worth: $11.82 billion

Alongside Harvard roommate Mark Zuckerberg, Dustin Moskovitz founded social giant Facebook — he still owns three percent of shares. Since leaving Facebook in 2008, Moskovitz cofounded the Asana software company, which he currently heads as CEO.

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7. Eric Schmidt

7. Eric Schmidt

Source of wealth: Google

Industry: Technology

Net worth: $13.69 billion

A longtime tech exec, Eric Schmidt has served as Google's CEO, executive chairman, and technical advisor. In addition, he cofounded venture capital firm Innovation Endeavors.

6. Laurene Powell Jobs

6. Laurene Powell Jobs

Source of wealth: Apple, Disney

Industry: Philanthropy/NGO

Net worth: $20.08 billion

Laurene Powell Jobs is the founder and current head of the Emerson Collective, a social change organization. She also holds $20 billion dollars in shares of Apple and Disney companies from her late husband — Apple founder Steve Jobs — as well as investments in publications such as The Atlantic, Mother Jones, and ProPublica.

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5. Elon Musk

5. Elon Musk

Source of wealth: Tesla Motors

Industry: Automotive

Net worth: $20.87 billion

Elon Musk is the reigning CEO of Tesla Motors, the electric car company he founded in 2003. Musk is also the CEO of $20 billion rocket company SpaceX, which has partnered with NASA.

4. Sergey Brin

4. Sergey Brin

Source of wealth: Google

Industry: Technology

Net worth: $53.68 billion

Sergey Brin currently serves as president of Google parent company Alphabet. Brin cofounded the search engine with fellow Stanford University student Larry Page in 1998. Today, the company headquarters — known as Googleplex — are stationed in Silicon Valley's Mountain View area.

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3. Larry Page

3. Larry Page

Source of wealth: Google

Industry: Technology

Net worth: $54.87 billion

Larry Page cofounded Google with Sergey Brin in 1998, and is credited with inventing the search engine's PageRank algorithm. He previously served as Google's first CEO and currently works as CEO of Google's parent company Alphabet, which also oversees Calico healthcare and Nest smart home systems.

2. Larry Ellison

2. Larry Ellison

Source of wealth: Oracle

Industry: Technology

Net worth: $65.22 billion

Larry Ellison is known for cofounding Oracle software company in 1977, where he served as the firm's CEO until 2014. Alongside the majority shares of Oracle, Ellison also owns a significant stake in Elon Musk's Tesla and the Hawaiian Island Lanai.

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1. Mark Zuckerberg

1. Mark Zuckerberg

Source of wealth: Facebook

Industry: Technology

Net worth: $66.31 billion

Known for founding social media giant Facebook in his Harvard dorm room, Mark Zuckerberg moved the company to Palo Alto in 2004. Today, Zuckerberg continues to face criticism for his site's ongoing issues with fake news and user privacy.