Who has the highest networth in the world 2017? Bill Gates, the Microsoft co-founder, topped the Forbes list that year with a reported fortune of about $86 billion, as published in March 2017. Warren Buffett and Jeff Bezos followed. Rankings moved during the year, and in July 2017 Bezos briefly passed Gates on Bloomberg’s index when Amazon’s stock climbed, before Gates reclaimed the lead.
Who has the highest networth in the world 2017: the Forbes top five
Forbes publishes its annual list of the world’s billionaires each spring, using stock prices and valuations from a set date. For 2017, it reported roughly these figures:
- Bill Gates: about $86 billion, the top spot for the fourth year in a row and for the 18th time in 23 years, according to Forbes.
- Warren Buffett: about $75.6 billion, from Berkshire Hathaway.
- Jeff Bezos: about $72.8 billion, from Amazon.
- Amancio Ortega: about $71.3 billion, founder of Inditex, the owner of Zara.
- Mark Zuckerberg: about $56 billion, from Facebook.
Forbes counted 2,043 billionaires that year, a record at the time, with a combined net worth of roughly $7.7 trillion. Those headline numbers are rounded and reflect valuations at that date.
What happened during the year
Because net worth for these individuals is mostly company stock, rankings change when share prices do. Amazon’s stock rose strongly in mid-2017, and on July 27, Bezos’s wealth briefly crossed $90 billion on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index and Forbes reports, making him the richest person for a short period. Amazon’s shares fell later that day, and Gates took back the top spot. Later in 2017 Bezos’s fortune climbed again, setting the stage for him to lead the lists in 2018.
Why Forbes and Bloomberg can disagree
The two outlets update on different schedules. Forbes’s annual list uses a snapshot date, while its real-time list and Bloomberg’s index update daily. They also differ in how they value private assets and apply discounts for things like a founder’s pledged shares. For this reason a “who was richest in 2017” answer needs a date and a source. We explain more in our article on understanding who has the most networth in the world.
Why Gates stayed on top
Gates had long ranked at or near the top, and his rank held up partly because he kept giving away money through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation while his Microsoft stock and other investments, such as in Cascade Investment, grew. Reported giving did reduce his total from what it might have been, a point Forbes has often made.
A snapshot of other notable names in 2017
- Carlos Slim Helu: the Mexican telecom magnate was sixth, at roughly $54 billion.
- Larry Ellison: Oracle’s co-founder was seventh, at roughly $52 billion.
- Charles and David Koch: the brothers were each reported at roughly $48 billion, according to Forbes.
- Michael Bloomberg: founder of Bloomberg LP and former New York City mayor, was tenth at roughly $47 billion.
How today’s picture compares
The 2017 leaders look modest next to recent figures. Elon Musk, for example, has been reported in the hundreds of billions in the mid-2020s. For current rankings, use the live Forbes real-time billionaires list. For that modern context, see our explainer on Elon Musk’s net worth.
How to cite this correctly
If you are writing a school paper or article, say “according to Forbes’ March 2017 list” and give the figure, rather than stating a flat fact. And note the date. Net worth numbers are estimates and subject to revision.
So, to restate the answer to who has the highest networth in the world 2017: Bill Gates by Forbes’ official list, with Bezos briefly ahead in July on stock moves.
Quick reference
- Richest in 2017 by Forbes: Bill Gates, about $86 billion.
- Runner-up: Warren Buffett, about $75.6 billion.
- Brief leader in July 2017: Jeff Bezos, on Bloomberg’s and Forbes’s daily tallies.
- Billionaire count: 2,043 on the Forbes list.
These figures come from Forbes’s March 2017 snapshot and press coverage of the following months.
Why the year matters so much
The richest-person title has changed hands several times in the past three decades, usually following technology booms and stock moves. In 2017, the top slot reflected how tech fortunes, especially from software and online retail, were overtaking older sources of wealth. If you are answering a quiz or writing a timeline, state the source and the date, since a daily index and an annual list can give different answers for the same year.
This article is general information, not financial advice.
Photo: Dmitry Avdeev, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
