According to Forbes and the World Population Review, it is estimated that as of this year, there are 735 billionaires in the country, spread through 42 of the 50 states plus the District of Columbia. California, home of Silicon Valley and much of the entertainment industry has the most, with 186. The financial capital of the world, New York, comes next, with 135. (Apart from the eight states that are lacking them, here is a list of the city in every state with the most billionaires.)
In the film “The Social Network,” David Fincher’s 2010 movie about the birth of Facebook, Napster founder Sean Parker (played by Justin Timberlake) says to a young Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg), “A million dollars isn’t cool. You know what’s cool? A billion dollars.” But a million dollars sounds plenty cool to most of us. Just think what we could do with all that money.
While many business magnates may say they aren’t in it for the money, they also have no intention of stopping with a million or even a few million. They want a billion, or maybe even many billions, and through various means — hard work, off-the-charts imagination, sheer luck — a surprising number actually do achieve that goal.
24/7 Wall St. reviewed a report on the subject published by SuperCasinoSites, an information and review site devoted to casino gaming around the world to compile a list of America’s 50 richest (mostly) self-made billionaires, and how fast they earned their first billion. Billionaires are ordered by how fast they made their first billion. All data is from the SuperCasinoSites report.
Many of the fabulously wealthy people on this list also have a certain celebrity to them – they are household names like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Michael Bloomberg, and, yes, the aforementioned Zuckerberg. Others are less well-known unless you are a regular reader of Forbes or Fortune (Autry Stephens? David Duffield?). Likewise, some of their companies are world-famous, including Tesla, Facebook, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Nike. But it may surprise you to learn that the folks who run Harbor Freight Tools, Flex-N-Gate, and Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores are also on the list.
Nobody becomes a billionaire overnight unless you inherit it. But you might be amazed to learn just how long it took some of those listed here to reach that status. For three of them, it took 40 years or more. The average is just over 21 years old. Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos, on the other hand, sailed right up to billionaire status in four years. (See who else, besides those two, counts as one of the 25 richest Americans of all time.)
Here is how long it took for America’s wealthiest billionaires to get rich
See below for our detailed methodology.
50. Judy Love
Source: ffooter / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
- Company: Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores
- Years it took to become a billionaire: 49
- Became a billionaire: 2013
- Net worth as of Aug. 8, 2023: $10.20 billion
49. Harold Hamm
Source: Alex Wong / Getty Images
- Company: Continental Resources
- Years it took to become a billionaire: 41
- Became a billionaire: 2008
- Net worth as of Aug. 8, 2023: $18.50 billion
48. Eric Smidt
- Company: Harbor Freight Tools
- Years it took to become a billionaire: 40
- Became a billionaire: 2017
- Net worth as of Aug. 8, 2023: $10.30 billion
47. Autry Stephens
Source: Courtesy of Endeavor Energy Resources, LP. via Facebook
- Company: Endeavor Energy Resources
- Years it took to become a billionaire: 39
- Became a billionaire: 2018
- Net worth as of Aug. 8, 2023: $10.00 billion
46. John Menard, Jr.
Source: Tom Pennington / Getty Images
- Company: Menards
- Years it took to become a billionaire: 39
- Became a billionaire: 2001
- Net worth as of Aug. 8, 2023: $19.50 billion
45. Robert Kraft
Source: Jim Rogash / Getty Images
- Company: Rand-Whitney Group
- Years it took to become a billionaire: 38
- Became a billionaire: 2006
- Net worth as of Aug. 8, 2023: $10.60 billion
44. Donald Bren
- Company: The Bren Company
- Years it took to become a billionaire: 38
- Became a billionaire: 1996
- Net worth as of Aug. 8, 2023: $17.40 billion
43. David Green
Source: dbdurden / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
- Company: Greco Products
- Years it took to become a billionaire: 34
- Became a billionaire: 2004
- Net worth as of Aug. 8, 2023: $15.40 billion
42. Jeff Yass
- Company: Susquehanna
- Years it took to become a billionaire: 34
- Became a billionaire: 2021
- Net worth as of Aug. 8, 2023: $28.90 billion
41. Ray Dalio
- Company: Bridgewater Associates
- Years it took to become a billionaire: 33
- Became a billionaire: 2008
- Net worth as of Aug. 8, 2023: $19.10 billion
40. Shahid Khan
Source: Julio Aguilar / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images
- Company: Flex-N-Gate
- Years it took to become a billionaire: 32
- Became a billionaire: 2012
- Net worth as of Aug. 8, 2023: $12.20 billion
39. Thomas Peterffy
Source: Brendan Smialowski / Getty Images
- Company: T.P. & Co.
- Years it took to become a billionaire: 32
- Became a billionaire: 2010
- Net worth as of Aug. 8, 2023: $27.70 billion
38. Israel Englander
- Company: I.A. Englander & Co.
- Years it took to become a billionaire: 30
- Became a billionaire: 2007
- Net worth as of Aug. 8, 2023: $11.30 billion
37. Warren Buffett
Source: Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images
- Company: Buffett Partnership
- Years it took to become a billionaire: 30
- Became a billionaire: 1986
- Net worth as of Aug. 8, 2023: $117.50 billion
36. David Duffield
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Company: Information Associates
- Years it took to become a billionaire: 28
- Became a billionaire: 1996
- Net worth as of Aug. 8, 2023: $12.50 billion
35. Thomas Frist, Jr.
- Company: HCA Healthcare
- Years it took to become a billionaire: 28
- Became a billionaire: 1996
- Net worth as of Aug. 8, 2023: $21.80 billion
34. Jim Simons
- Company: Renaissance Technologies
- Years it took to become a billionaire: 27
- Became a billionaire: 2005
- Net worth as of Aug. 8, 2023: $28.10 billion
33. Diane Hendricks
- Company: ABC Supply
- Years it took to become a billionaire: 26
- Became a billionaire: 2008
- Net worth as of Aug. 8, 2023: $15.70 billion
32. Phil Knight
Source: Drew Angerer / Getty Images
- Company: Nike
- Years it took to become a billionaire: 26
- Became a billionaire: 1990
- Net worth as of Aug. 8, 2023: $42.40 billion
31. Jensen Huang
- Company: Nvidia
- Years it took to become a billionaire: 24
- Became a billionaire: 2017
- Net worth as of Aug. 8, 2023: $39.90 billion
30. Michael Rubin
- Company: KPR sports
- Years it took to become a billionaire: 23
- Became a billionaire: 2013
- Net worth as of Aug. 8, 2023: $11.40 billion
29. Daniel Gilbert
- Company: Rocket Mortgage
- Years it took to become a billionaire: 22
- Became a billionaire: 2007
- Net worth as of Aug. 8, 2023: $22.70 billion
28. David Sun
- Company: Kingston Technology Corporation
- Years it took to become a billionaire: 21
- Became a billionaire: 2008
- Net worth as of Aug. 8, 2023: $10.30 billion
27. John Tu
- Company: Kingston Technology Corporation
- Years it took to become a billionaire: 21
- Became a billionaire: 2008
- Net worth as of Aug. 8, 2023: $10.30 billion
26. John Doerr
- Company: Partner, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers
- Years it took to become a billionaire: 21
- Became a billionaire: 2001
- Net worth as of Aug. 8, 2023: $12.00 billion
25. Stephen Schwarzman
Source: Alex Wong / Getty Images News via Getty Images
- Company: Blackstone Inc.
- Years it took to become a billionaire: 21
- Became a billionaire: 2006
- Net worth as of Aug. 8, 2023: $32.00 billion
24. Stanley Kroenke
Source: Dilip Vishwanat / Getty Images
- Company: The Kroenke Group
- Years it took to become a billionaire: 20
- Became a billionaire: 2003
- Net worth as of Aug. 8, 2023: $12.90 billion
23. Jeffery Hildebrand
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Company: Hilcorp
- Years it took to become a billionaire: 19
- Became a billionaire: 2007
- Net worth as of Aug. 8, 2023: $11.20 billion
22. Len Blavatnik
Source: Araya Doheny / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images
- Company: Access Industries
- Years it took to become a billionaire: 18
- Became a billionaire: 2004
- Net worth as of Aug. 8, 2023: $33.30 billion
21. Leon Black
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Company: Apollo Global Management
- Years it took to become a billionaire: 17
- Became a billionaire: 2007
- Net worth as of Aug. 8, 2023: $10.50 billion
20. Larry Ellison
Source: Kimberly White / Getty Images News via Getty Images
- Company: Oracle
- Years it took to become a billionaire: 17
- Became a billionaire: 1994
- Net worth as of Aug. 8, 2023: $143.90 billion
19. Elon Musk
- Company: Zip2, PayPal, SpaceX, Tesla
- Years it took to become a billionaire: 17
- Became a billionaire: 2012
- Net worth as of Aug. 8, 2023: $232.50 billion
18. Ken Griffin
Source: Larry Busacca / Getty Images
- Company: Citadel
- Years it took to become a billionaire: 16
- Became a billionaire: 2006
- Net worth as of Aug. 8, 2023: $34.20 billion
17. Steve Ballmer
Source: Sean Gallup / Getty Images News via Getty Images
- Company: Microsoft
- Years it took to become a billionaire: 16
- Became a billionaire: 1996
- Net worth as of Aug. 8, 2023: $101.30 billion
16. Jerry Jones
Source: Joe Robbins / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images
- Company: Dallas Cowboys
- Years it took to become a billionaire: 15
- Became a billionaire: 2004
- Net worth as of Aug. 8, 2023: $13.60 billion
15. Michael Bloomberg
Source: Andrew Burton / Getty Images News via Getty Images
- Company: Bloomberg LP
- Years it took to become a billionaire: 15
- Became a billionaire: 1996
- Net worth as of Aug. 8, 2023: $94.50 billion
14. David Tepper
Source: Scott Cunningham / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images
- Company: Appaloosa Management
- Years it took to become a billionaire: 13
- Became a billionaire: 2006
- Net worth as of Aug. 8, 2023: $18.50 billion
13. Steve Cohen
- Company: S.A.C. Capital Advisors
- Years it took to become a billionaire: 12
- Became a billionaire: 2004
- Net worth as of Aug. 8, 2023: $17.50 billion
12. Michael Dell
- Company: Dell
- Years it took to become a billionaire: 12
- Became a billionaire: 1996
- Net worth as of Aug. 8, 2023: $63.30 billion
11. Bill Gates
Source: Jamie McCarthy / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images
- Company: Microsoft
- Years it took to become a billionaire: 12
- Became a billionaire: 1987
- Net worth as of Aug. 8, 2023: $117.60 billion
10. Henry Samueli
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Company: Broadcom
- Years it took to become a billionaire: 9
- Became a billionaire: 2000
- Net worth as of Aug. 8, 2023: $10.10 billion
9. Eric Schmidt
- Company: Novell
- Years it took to become a billionaire: 8
- Became a billionaire: 2005
- Net worth as of Aug. 8, 2023: $20.90 billion
8. Robert Pera
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Company: Ubiquiti Networks
- Years it took to become a billionaire: 7
- Became a billionaire: 2012
- Net worth as of Aug. 8, 2023: $10.30 billion
7. Dustin Moskovitz
Source: Araya Diaz / Getty Images
- Company: Facebook
- Years it took to become a billionaire: 7
- Became a billionaire: 2011
- Net worth as of Aug. 8, 2023: $13.30 billion
6. Brian Chesky
Source: Justin Sullivan / Getty Images
- Company: Airbnb
- Years it took to become a billionaire: 6
- Became a billionaire: 2014
- Net worth as of Aug. 8, 2023: $11.20 billion
5. Sergey Brin
Source: Justin Sullivan / Getty Images
- Company: Google
- Years it took to become a billionaire: 6
- Became a billionaire: 2004
- Net worth as of Aug. 8, 2023: $103.00 billion
4. Larry Page
Source: Ethan Miller / Getty Images
- Company: Google
- Years it took to become a billionaire: 6
- Became a billionaire: 2004
- Net worth as of Aug. 8, 2023: $108.40 billion
3. Jan Koum
Source: David Ramos / Getty Images News via Getty Images
- Company: WhatsApp
- Years it took to become a billionaire: 5
- Became a billionaire: 2014
- Net worth as of Aug. 8, 2023: $14.30 billion
2. Mark Zuckerberg
Source: Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
- Company: Facebook
- Years it took to become a billionaire: 4
- Became a billionaire: 2008
- Net worth as of Aug. 8, 2023: $110.10 billion
1. Jeff Bezos
Source: Alex Wong / Getty Images News via Getty Images
- Company: Amazon
- Years it took to become a billionaire: 4
- Became a billionaire: 1998
- Net worth as of Aug. 8, 2023: $162.10 billion
Methodology
To compile a list of America’s 50 richest (mostly) self-made billionaires and how fast they earned their first billion, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed a report on the subject published by SuperCasinoSites, an information and review site devoted to casino gaming around the world. The site drew its list of billionaires and their net worth from the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires list as of Aug. 8, 2023. Only those with a “self-made” score of 6 or above as per Forbes were included. Net worth was divided by the number of individuals appearing under the same profile.
SuperCasinoSites then determined the year during which a given individual reached billionaire status based on their net worth or their company’s total assets at the time. Data came from Forbes and Bloomberg (both past and present), as well as Finmasters, the Wayback Machine, YCharts, and annual reports of Nike and Oracle.
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