20. Tencent founder Zhang Zhidong gained $184 million
Also known as Tony Zhang, Chinese businessman Zhang Zhidong is the co-founder and former chief technology officer of Tencent, the Chinese tech conglomerate recently embroiled in the Blizzard-Hong Kong controversy (Tencent part owns Activision Blizzard, Blizzard's parent company).
Total net worth: $13.7 billion
Year-to-date change in net worth: +$184 million
19. Europe's only ultrawealthy tech billionaire Hasso Platner gained $2.78 billion
Hasso Platner is cofounder of German multinational software giant SAP. Though Bill McDermott announced his resignation as SAP's CEO this month after nearly a decade, he left on a high, as the firm's stock has reportedly climbed 21% over the past year and 75% over the past half-decade.
Total net worth: $14.7 billion
Year-to-date change in net worth: +$2.78 billion
18. Ex-Googler Eric Schmidt is up $2.28 billion
Today, Eric Schmidt has largely left the private sector behind, having served as Google's CEO for most of the 2000s and Alphabet's executive chairman between 2015 and 2017. He currently serves as chairman of the US Department of Defense's innovation board.
Total net worth: $14.7 billion
Year-to-date change in net worth: +$2.28 billion
17. Shiv Nadar, founder of Indian consultancy HCL, gained $2.24 billion
Shiv Nadar is founder and chairman of HCL, an Indian IT and consulting firm founded in 1976. His firm is enjoying a profitable year after US tech behemoth IBM sold a $1.8 billion chunk of its software business to HCL in December 2018.
Total net worth: $15.8 billion
Year-to-date change in net worth: +$2.24 billion
16. Chinese gaming magnate William Ding got a $3.02 billion bump
The founder and CEO of NetEase, William Ding – also known as Ding Lei – is founder and CEO of Netease, a Guangzhou-based tech conglomerate and one of the world's largest mobile games businesses. Though NetEase continues to thrive, its close relationship with the controversy-embroiled US games firm Blizzard may not help its image in the West.
Total net worth: $17.0 billion
Year-to-date change in net worth: +$3.02 billion
15. Shy Keyence billionaire Takemitsu Takizaki saw his worth go up $3.34 billion
Takemitsu Takizaki is deeply media-shy – so media-shy, in fact, that there aren't many photos around of the billionaire.
His firm Keyence specializes in sensors and other electronic equipment for industrial automation. The company's sheer privacy and unwillingness to talk to the press has given it an air of mystery, but this hasn't necessarily helped its image.
Total net worth: $18.4 billion
Year-to-date change in net worth: +$3.34 billion
14. Azim Premji founded Indian consultancy firm Wipro and saw his worth go up $2.47 billion
Azim Premji is the head of Bangalore-based Indian tech conglomerate Wipro, which specializes in IT, consulting and business process services.
Total net worth: $19.8 billion
Year-to-date change in net worth: +$2.47 billion
13. Colin Huang is relatively unknown outside China but gained a huge $9.37 billion
It's fair to say very few people outside of China have heard of Pinduoduo, an online shopping platform that Colin Huang founded and leads as CEO. But that hasn't stopped Huang from almost doubling his net worth amid the firm's ongoing, meteoric ascent.
Total net worth: $21.0 billion
Year-to-date change in net worth: +$9.37 billion
12. Tesla and Space X CEO Elon Musk boosted his net worth by $1.79 billion
Elon Musk is not known for setting himself modest targets, but the Tesla CEO has largely delivered on his grandiose promises this year, shipping vehicles at record rates in 2019.
Despite his massive wealth, the Silicon Valley CEO has apparently claimed he's pretty low on cash.
Total net worth: $25.8 billion
Year-to-date change in net worth: +$1.79 billion
11. Michael Dell's worth increased $2.99 billion
Michael Dell is the founder and CEO of his eponymous computing firm. The firm controversially went private in 2013, but returned to the public market in December 2018.
Total net worth: $31.2 billion
Year-to-date change in net worth: +$2.99 billion
10. Tencent CEO Pony Ma gained $618 million
As the CEO of Chinese tech conglomerate Tencent, Pony Ma is Jack Ma's great rival on the Chinese tech scene (the two men are unrelated). Tencent's interests are varied, but the firm is arguably best-known in the West as the driving force behind WeChat, the instant messaging app that is utterly ubiquitous in China.
Total net worth: $32.9 billion
Year-to-date change in net worth: +$618 million
9. MacKenzie Bezos catapulted onto the billionaire list after her divorce from Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, gaining $35.4 billion
Novelist MacKenzie Bezos has become one of the richest women in the world after her divorce this year from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. She played a key role in the founding of Amazon, driving cross-country with her former husband as he typed out a first business plan.
Total net worth: $35.4 billion
Year-to-date change in net worth: +$35.4 billion
10. Alibaba founder Jack Ma profited $5.95 billion
Despite segueing into full-time philanthropy in September, the charismatic driving force behind Alibaba has continued to profit from his six percent stake in the e-commerce giant.
Total net worth: $41.6 billion
Year-to-date change in net worth: +$5.95 billion
9. Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer earned $14.3 billion
Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has diversified his business interests since resigning from its board five years ago, and is the current owner of the Los Angeles Clippers NBA team.
Total net worth: $53 billion
Year-to-date change in net worth: +$14.3 billion
8. Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison is up $10.4 billion
Oracle's cofounder, executive chairman and CTO Larry Ellison has enjoyed a seriously fruitful year on the personal wealth front after Oracle posted total revenues of $9.2 billion for the first quarter of its fiscal year from 2019 to 2020.
Total net worth: $59.7 billion
Year-to-date change in net worth: +$10.4 billion
5. Google cofounder Sergey Brin saw an increase of $9.51 billion
2019 has seen Alphabet's president consolidate his place among the world's five richest people. Google's $1.7 billion fine from the European Commission in March for "abusive" advertising practices was its third in three years, but the founders' wealth remains unscathed.
Total net worth: $59.4 billion
Year-to-date change in net worth: +$9.51 billion
4. Google's other cofounder Larry Page is up $9.92 billion
Like his Google cofounder Brin, Alphabet's CEO Larry Page has added nearly $10 billion to his net worth after the firm continued its extraordinary run of profitmaking. In the second quarter of 2019 alone, Alphabet made $9.18 billion.
Total net worth: $61.2 billion
Year-to-date change in net worth: +$9.92 billion
3. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg added $20.7 billion, consolation for a rough year in the public eye
Mark Zuckerberg's fortune has grown by over 40% in the past year, despite a challenging year for Facebook in terms of its public image. Its Libra cryptocurrency project has lost a quarter of its initial backers, and the firm remains bedeviled by questions about its possible influence on national elections. Still, Facebook's stranglehold over online advertising and people's attention keeps investors coming back for more.
Total net worth: $72.7 billion
Year-to-date change in net worth: +$20.7 billion
2. Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates is up $17.6 billion
Microsoft founder Bill Gates very briefly overtook Jeff Bezos as the world's richest person last week, but has now lost that crown again. Still, the 64-year-old's own net worth has soared this year despite him reportedly giving away over $35 billion to charity in 2019.
Total net worth: $108 billion
Year-to-date change in net worth: +$17.6 billion
1. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is down $14.9 billion, but still the world's richest person
Despite retaining his title of world's richest person, the Amazon CEO's total net worth has taken a hit this year, largely due to paying out $38 billion in a divorce settlement with ex-wife MacKenzie in June.
Total net worth: $110 billion
Year-to-date change in net worth: -$14.9 billion
