Here are the top 10 snapshot of the countries with the most billionaire citizens, along with their aggregate net worth and the richest individual in each country.
#10 CANADA
Billionaire Population: 33
Combined Net Worth: $112.4B
Richest Individual: David Thomson ($23.8B)
The self-made billionaires of Canada got wealthy from iconic companies like Uber, Lululemon and Cirque du Soleil. Canada’s richest individual is David Thomson, who with his family controls a media and publishing empire founded by David's grandfather, Roy Thomson. Their biggest holding: 58% of Thomson Reuters, where David serves as chairman. They also hold a stake in telecoms giant Bell Canada and own the Toronto-based Globe and Mail newspaper.
#9 France
Billionaire Population: 39
Combined Net Worth: $212B
Richest Individual: Liliane Bettencourt ($36.1B)
France leads the world in fashion, and its billionaires derive their wealth from companies like Chanel, LVMH and Hermes. It’s also home to three of the world’s five cheese billionaires. France’s richest person is the grand dame of L'Oréal, Liliane Bettencourt. She and her children own 33% of the cosmetics empire that her father, Eugene Schueller, founded in 1907, and she remains the richest woman in Europe.
#8 Italy
Billionaire Population: 43
Combined Net Worth: $150.8B
Richest Individual: Maria Franca Fissolo ($22.1B)
The names of our Italian billionaires are recognizable all over the world: Prada, Armani, Ferrari and Bulgari. The wealthiest is Maria Franca Fissolo, the widow of Michele Ferrero, who built Ferrero Group into one of the world's leading sweets companies. It’s best known for its iconic Nutella chocolate hazelnut spread, Kinder chocolates and Tic-Tac mints. Ferrero died on Valentine's Day in 2015, but the family business lives on.
#7 United Kingdom
Billionaire Population: 50
Combined Net Worth: $161.8B
Richest Individual: Hinduja family ($14.5B)
Half of British billionaires derive their wealth from either real estate, finance or fashion. The richest of them all are the four brothers who control the multinational conglomerate Hinduja Group, co-chaired by London-based siblings Srichand and Gopichand. Their newly launched Nxt Digital, an Indian digital-television distributor, is aiming for 10 million subscribers. The brothers are planning a big push in Africa with a $1 billion investment.
#6 Hong Kong
Billionaire Population: 63
Combined Net Worth: $240.2B
Richest Individual: Ka-Shing La ($27.1B)
Hong Kong’s billionaires largely owe their wealth to real estate, gambling and manufacturing. Hong Kong's richest person, Li Ka-shing, is one of the most influential tycoons in Asia with interests in everything from ports, utilities and telecom to real estate and retail; his companies employ 290,000 people. His rags-to-riches story is legendary. But Li also lost $6 billion last year, due partly to a big drop in share prices of oil giant Husky.
#5 Russia
Billionaire Population: 77
Combined Net Worth: $282.6B
Richest Individual: Leonid Mikhelson ($14.4B)
The energy and mining industries are well-represented among Russia’s billionaires. Leonid Mikhelson's fortune got a boost after Chinese state-owned Sinopec paid $1.3 billion in December for 10% of Sibur, the gas-processing and petrochemical company that he controls. He is also a key shareholder in natural gas producer Novatek. Mikhelson's father headed the largest pipeline construction trust in the Soviet Union, and Mikhelson began his career as foreman for a construction company building a gas pipeline in Russia's Tyumen region.
#4 India
Billionaire Population: 84
Combined Net Worth: $248.4B
Richest Individual: Mukesh Ambani ($19.3B)
India’s heirs and self-made billionaires derive their net worth from a spread of industries including fashion, healthcare, technology, real estate and finance. Mukesh Ambani retained his position as India's richest person despite shares of his oil and gas giant Reliance Industries taking a hit due to lower oil prices. The firm, which has $62.2 billion in revenues, is likely to resume buying crude oil from Iran after the lifting of sanctions.
#3 Germany
Billionaire Population: 120
Combined Net Worth: $469.1B
Richest Individual: Beate Heister & Karl Albrecht ($25.9B)
37 of Germany’s billionaires get their wealth from fashion and retail; 19 from healthcare; and 18 from manufacturing. The richest are Beate Heister and Karl Albrecht Jr., children of Karl Albrecht Sr., who co-founded Aldi supermarkets in 1946. The chain thrived on a no-frills, low-price strategy similar to Wal-Mart. Beate has never worked at Aldi Sud but sits on its advisory board. Karl Jr. has worked in different positions at the company.
#2 China
Billionaire Population: 251
Combined Net Worth: $593B
Richest Individual: Jianlin Wang ($28.7B)
Manufacturing, technology and real estate are the industries that made the most billionaires in China. The richest is Jianlin Wang, whose Dalian Wanda Group started as a commercial real estate developer. Companies controlled by Wang have spanned the globe in recent years. It now owns the organizer of Ironman Triathlons, U.S. film and TV production company Legendary Entertainment and movie theater chain AMC Entertainment Holdings.
#1 United States
Billionaire Population: 540
Combined Net Worth: $2.399T
Richest Individual: Bill Gates ($75B)
The USA has the most billionaires of any country in the world, and their primary sources of wealth are finance, technology and food. Bill Gates, its richest citizen, has built a reputation as a serious thinker about the world's problems, steering his foundation to tackle knotty issues like improving healthcare and the use of vaccines in developing nations. Gates owns just under 3% of Microsoft, which accounts for less than 20% of his fortune.
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