Most Super-Rich Are Self-Made Billionaires
Translated from German, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.
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- Forbes reports that two-thirds of billionaires have largely built their own fortunes, though inheritance remains significant, especially in Europe.
- A "self-made score" from Forbes ranks billionaires based on their wealth accumulation, with a score of 10 for those who overcame extreme adversity.
- Notable high-scorers include Sergey Brin and Larry Ellison (9), Elon Musk (8), and Thomas Peterffy (10), the wealthiest self-made billionaire.
Contrary to the notion that wealth is solely inherited, Forbes data indicates that a significant majority of billionaires are self-made. According to the magazine, two-thirds of billionaires have essentially built their fortunes independently. However, this trend varies geographically, with a higher proportion of inheritors found in many European countries like Austria and Germany. Women also exhibit a higher inheritance rate.
According to the business magazine “Forbes”, two-thirds of all billionaires have essentially built their own fortunes.
Forbes has developed a "self-made score" to quantify the extent to which billionaires have built their own wealth. A score of 1 signifies that an individual inherited their entire fortune and is not actively growing it. Scores from 2 to 5 indicate that inherited wealth forms the primary base, but personal efforts have increased it. Scores of 6 to 10 denote that the fortune was built through personal endeavor. The highest score, 10, is reserved for individuals who grew up in poverty and faced extreme obstacles, such as being an orphan or a refugee.
Among prominent figures, Elon Musk and Google co-founder Larry Page both have a self-made score of 8. Sergey Brin, another Google co-founder, scores a 9, partly due to his family's escape from the Soviet Union during his childhood. Oracle founder Larry Ellison also holds a score of 9, having been raised in an adoptive family.
A value of 1 means that someone has inherited their fortune completely and does nothing to actively increase it.
The wealthiest individual recognized as a complete self-made billionaire, with a score of 10, is Thomas Peterffy. The founder of Interactive Brokers, with an estimated fortune of $83 billion, was born in Budapest in 1944 during an air raid. After the communist regime took hold, his family lost all possessions and lived in poverty. Peterffy fled the U.S. alone in 1965 without money or English skills. He worked as a technical draftsman, taught himself programming, and moved to Wall Street, where he developed mathematical models for complex securities options. He became a stock trader, pioneered portable computers for real-time quotes, and eventually took Interactive Brokers public in 2007. Peterffy is a staunch advocate for capitalism and frequently warns against socialism.
The richest complete self-made billionaire with a score of 10 is Thomas Peterffy.
DistantNews Editorial
Originally published by Die Presse in German. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.
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