Money
How 10 Billionaires Surmounted Failure to Build Massive Empires
Overcoming gut-wrenching failure is often a surprising prerequisite for achieving phenomenal success.
In fact, it’s actually quite the rarity to have an impeccable track record like the legendary investor Warren Buffett that dates all the way back to the very early years.
It’s far more normal for entrepreneurs to experience incredible amounts of adversity through their careers, whether it’s a business bankruptcy or a tragic personal setback. Instead of capitulating, these people are able to tap into their grit, willpower, and discipline to help them surmount catastrophic moments and set a foundation for future achievement.
Billionaire Examples
Today’s infographic comes to us from Quick Base, and it shows the career trajectories of 10 billionaires ranging from Richard Branson to Oprah Winfrey.
It shows us that experiencing massive failures is common to even the most financially successful individuals – and it’s how one get through these tough events that really counts.
Walt Disney’s first studio went bankrupt in just two years, while Jack Ma couldn’t even get a job at KFC. Elon Musk has a lengthy timeline of failures as well.
Oprah Winfrey overcame multiple obstacles early on, including childhood abuse, a miscarriage at 14, and sexual abuse in the workplace.
Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.
– Winston Churchill
For many of these entrepreneurs, it would have been socially acceptable to give up after these tragic events. However, as Churchill says, it was their ability to persevere that actually helps define their success in the first place.
Meanwhile, the results for the billionaires above speak for themselves.
Jeff Bezos has a massive empire and is the richest person on the planet. Oprah became the first female African-American billionaire in 2003. Walt Disney started a studio that has stood the test of time, and Jack Ma is a well-known billionaire and personality even outside of China.
Wealth
Charted: Which Country Has the Most Billionaires in 2024?
According to the annual Hurun Global Rich List, the U.S. and China are home to nearly half of the world’s 3,279 billionaires in 2024.
Charted: Which Country Has the Most Billionaires in 2024?
This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.
The world has always had people with incredible wealth: from Roman emperors to John D. Rockefeller who became the world’s first billionaire in measurable dollars. But where do the very wealthiest people live right now?
We visualize the countries with the most billionaires in 2024, sourced from the annual Hurun Global Rich list. A country and city aggregate is also available here.
A caveat to this data. Total wealth estimates are notoriously difficult to get right, and different sources can vary in their billionaire data. For example, Forbes, switches ranks for the U.S. and China, though the overall top three remain the same.
Forbes also has Bernard Arnault as the current richest individual, while Hurun places Elon Musk atop the ranks. Nevertheless, their overall top 10 is similar with a few ranking differences.
Ranked: Countries with the Most Billionaires in 2024
China has 814 billionaires, the most in the world, according to the Hurun Global Rich List 2024. Despite holding on to the top spot, China lost 155 billionaires year-over-year, while the U.S. gained 109. The gap between the two countries has now reduced to just 14 billionaires.
| Rank | Country | Billionaires | Change YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇨🇳 China | 814 | -155 |
| 2 | 🇺🇸 U.S. | 800 | +109 |
| 3 | 🇮🇳 India | 271 | +84 |
| 4 | 🇬🇧 UK | 146 | +12 |
| 5 | 🇩🇪 Germany | 140 | -4 |
| 6 | 🇨🇭 Switzerland | 106 | +6 |
| 7 | 🇷🇺 Russia | 76 | +6 |
| 8 | 🇮🇹 Italy | 69 | +11 |
| 9 | 🇫🇷 France | 68 | -4 |
| 10 | 🇧🇷 Brazil | 64 | +13 |
| 11 | 🇨🇦 Canada | 53 | +8 |
| 12 | 🇹🇭 Thailand | 49 | +3 |
| 13 | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | 47 | +12 |
| 14 | 🇦🇺 Australia | 45 | 0 |
| 15 | 🇯🇵 Japan | 44 | +12 |
| 16 | 🇸🇬 Singapore | 42 | +5 |
| 17 | 🇰🇷 South Korea | 37 | +4 |
| 18 | 🇮🇱 Israel | 29 | +9 |
| 19 | 🇪🇸 Spain | 27 | +1 |
| 20 | 🇸🇪 Sweden | 25 | -2 |
| N/A | 🌍 Other | 327 | N/A |
Together, the U.S. and China account for nearly half of the 3,279 billionaires globally, leagues ahead of closest peers, #3 India (271) and #4 UK (146).
Collectively however, European countries account for six of the top 10 and eight of the top 20 countries with the most billionaires.
Naturally, the world’s largest economies tend to be overrepresented on billionaire counts, as they provide more opportunities for wealth creation.
Switzerland, Singapore, and Sweden are outliers in this regard, with only one of them making the top 20 economies by total gross domestic product.
All three countries are perceived to have high tax rates, generally not conducive to amassing wealth. But perceptions can be misleading. Sweden, for example, has no inheritance tax, a flat rate on capital gains, and a corporate tax rate at 21%.
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