The Wealthiest People in the World, Outside of America

The Wealthiest People in the World, Outside of America

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Today, nine of the top 10 wealthiest people in the world are American, largely due to fortunes in big tech—but looking beyond U.S. borders tells a different story.

In Asia, people in the highest echelons of wealth are energy and industrial titans, while the richest in Europe run luxury conglomerates and major consumer firms. Many of these companies are well known globally, and several are only known within their region.

This graphic shows the richest people that live outside of America, based on data from Bloomberg.

The World’s Richest: A Global Perspective

Here are the wealthiest non-American people in the world as of January 2024:

France’s Bernard Arnault, with a net worth of $183 billion, is the world’s richest person thanks to the success of LVMH, the luxury conglomerate he runs.

With brands including Louis Vuitton, Fendi, and Christian Dior, LVMH is among the largest public companies in Europe, reaching a $444 billion valuation in 2024. Last year, the company witnessed record revenues driven by sales in its fashion and leather divisions.

Latin America’s richest person is Carlos Slim, with a fortune of $101 billion. Slim’s net worth is equal to nearly 8% of Mexico’s GDP. His wealth is largely derived from his ownership of América Móvil, Latin America’s largest mobile-phone operator, as well as his conglomerate, Grupo Carso.

The world’s richest woman is Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, also from France. According to Bloomberg, Bettencourt Meyers’ controls one-third of L’Oreal, and is the chairwoman of her family’s private equity firm, Tethys Investments.

As China’s richest person, Zhong Shanshan is chairman of bottled water company, Nongfu Spring. The company is listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, where it raised $1.1 billion from its 2020 IPO. He is also involved with Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy Enterprise, a producer of vaccines.

While the richest people in America are heavily concentrated in tech, not one on this list derives the majority of their wealth from the sector, illustrating a clear departure from this trend.