According to different sources, the total wealth of the world varies from $431 trillion to $1,540 trillion as of 2020 or 2021. The most recent estimate by Boston Consulting Group (June 2021) reports that the world's total net wealth is $431 trillion, which includes the sum of financial wealth and real assets, net of liabilities¹. Another source, McKinsey's report (2020), claims that the global assets grew from $440 trillion in 2000 to $1,540 trillion in 2020, while net worth increased from $160 trillion to over $510 trillion⁴.

The wealth of billionaires is also subject to different calculations and fluctuations. According to Forbes (April 2023), there are 2,640 billionaires in the world, with a total net worth of $12.2 trillion³. The richest person in the world is Bernard Arnault, the head of luxury goods giant LVMH, with a net worth of $211 billion³. However, according to Forbes' Real-Time Billionaires rankings (September 2023), there are 2,755 billionaires in the world, with a total net worth of $13.1 trillion⁵. The richest person in the world according to this source is Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla and SpaceX, with a net worth of $251.3 billion⁵.

As you can see, the wealth of the world and its billionaires is not a fixed or precise number, but rather an estimate based on various methods and sources. Therefore, it is important to consider the context and the date when comparing or analyzing these figures.

Billionaires Via The Rest (Under 3 percent)

The percentage of the world's wealth that the billionaires hold depends on the source and the definition of wealth. Using the most recent estimates from Forbes (April 2023) and Boston Consulting Group (June 2021), we can calculate that the billionaires hold about 2.83% of the world's total net wealth ($12.2 trillion / $431 trillion x 100). However, using the estimates from Forbes' Real-Time Billionaires rankings (September 2023) and McKinsey's report (2020), we can calculate that the billionaires hold about 0.85% of the world's global assets ($13.1 trillion / $1,540 trillion x 100). These percentages may vary depending on the exchange rates, the market fluctuations, and the methods of measurement. Therefore, they should be taken as approximate values rather than exact figures.

(1) List of countries by total wealth - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_b...

(2) How Much Money Is There In The World? | 2023 Edition. https://www.rankred.com/how-much-money-is-there-i...

(3) Forbes Billionaires 2023: The Richest People In The World. https://www.forbes.com/billionaires/.

(4) Real Time Billionaires - Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/real-time-billionaires/.

(5) World’s Wealth Hits Half A Quadrillion Dollars - Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/oliverwilliams1/2021...

(6) Billionaire - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billionaire.

(7) Forbes’ 37th Annual World’s Billionaires List: Facts And Figures 2023. https://www.forbes.com/sites/chasewithorn/2023/04...

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