Based on The 2019 Wealth-X Billionaire Census, there are currently around 2,604 billionaires in the world today. Two of these super-wealthy people live in the United States.
"North America was the only region in the world to register an increase in the world's billionaire population," the Wealth-X Billionaire Census disclosed.
With so many tycoons vying for the top position, who is the wealthiest of them all?
No. 3 - Bernard Arnault
Bernard Arnault is the richest man in Europe. The French tycoon runs an empire of more than 60 luxury brands, including Louis Vuitton and Sephora. The French businessman is the chairman and chief executive of LVMH Moët Hennessy - Louis Vuitton SE -- the world's biggest luxury products company.
LVMH owns popular brands like Hennessy, Moët & Chandon, Marc Jacobs, Bulgari and Christian Dior. Arnault's unparalleled vision and business ingenuity has been credited with boosting French couture in the 1990s.
According to the latest census, Arnault is worth around $106 billion.
No. 2 - Bill Gates
A permanent figure at the top of Forbes' List for the past two decades, the Microsoft Corp founder has sold or donated a huge chunk of his shares in the company - he owns just 1 percent of Microsoft - and is currently very preoccupied with his philanthropic activities around the world.
Under his tutelage and vision, Microsoft would emerge as the biggest personal computer software firm in the world.
Gates has been a key fixture in every Forbes billionaire list since its inception in 1987 when he was ranked as then being valued at $1.25 billion.
Gates has invested heavily in a combination of stocks and other assets over the years. Up to this day, he remains a member of the board of directors of Microsoft.
His current net worth: around $113 billion.
No. 1 - Jeff Bezos
The former Wall Street hedge fund manager-turned online book-seller founded Amazon Inc in his Seattle garage in 1994. Through the years, Bezos has put a huge amount of his time and cash in electronics, software and space technology.
Bezos is the founder, CEO, and president of Amazon Inc. He is the owner of The Washington Post newspaper. He later on engaged in selling video games, furniture, food, clothing, toys, and jewelry.
Since then, Amazon Inc has gone on to become a global empire and a behemoth in e-commerce, streaming, logistics, among many other ventures.
Along with Amazon, and The Washington Post, he also owns Blue Origin, an aerospace manufacturing firm and spaceflight services company.
His current market value: almost $130 billion.
