Burgess COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the wealthiest 160 Americans increased their net worth by $312 billion last year. At the start of the year, these individuals had a combined net worth of $1.7 trillion. By the end of the year, it was over $2 trillion. Trillions Combined Net Worth of Wealthiest 160 Americans (2017) $1.739 Trillion$1.739 Trillion $2.051 Trillion$2.051 Trillion January December $0 $0.5 $1 $1.5 $2 $2.5 Source: Bloomberg Billionaires Index Among the top 160, the head wealth accumulator last year was Amazon’s Jeff Bezos who increased his fortune by $33.7 billion. At the bottom of the list was George Soros whose wealth declined by $2.2 billion. Soros’s decline is likely the result of the fact that he continues to transfer huge quantities of wealth to The Open Society Foundations. The below graph lists every member of the top 160 according to how much wealth they accumulated last year (hover your cursor over each bar to get an exact amount). Billions of Dollars Change In Net Worth of Wealthiest 160 Americans (2017) Jeff Bezos Mark Zuckerberg Larry Page Rob Walton Warren Buffett Alice Walton Sergey Brin Jim Walton Larry Ellison Bill Gates Steve Ballmer Sheldon Adelson Elon R Musk Sun Hongbin Thomas Peterffy Dustin Moskovitz Leonard Lauder Lukas Walton Phil Knight Paul Allen John Menard Jr Dan Gilbert Ken Griffin Micky Arison Ingrid Wu Rupert Murdoch Dan Friedkin Eric Schmidt Charles Koch David Koch Dave Duffield Bernie Marcus Jacqueline Mars John Mars Jan Koum David Filo Abby Johnson Michael Dell Steve Schwarzman Len Blavatnik Gordon Moore Pierre Omidyar Judy Faulkner Charles Schwab Nancy Walton Laurie Ron Perelman Christy Walton Diane Hendricks Ann Walton Kroenke Leon Black Marc Benioff Rich Devos Brian Acton Stephen Ross Thomas Frist Robert Rowling Jim Davis John Malone Reinhold Schmieding George Roberts Steve Cohen Dagmar Dolby Randa Duncan Williams Dannine Avara Scott Duncan Milane Duncan Frantz Gabe Newell Henry Kravis Fred Smith David Geffen Elaine Marshall John Paulson John Paul DeJoria Ralph Lauren John Albert Sobrato Stan Kroenke Ronda Stryker Carl Cook Jim Goodnight Robert Pera Steven Spielberg Jeff Sutton Ned Johnson III Izzy Englander Donald Bren Edward Roski Bob Rich Shahid Khan Ken Fisher Marijke Mars Victoria Mars Pam Mars-Wright Valerie Mars Rupert Johnson Richard LeFrak Blair Parry-Okeden Jim Kennedy Charles Johnson Ray Dalio Jeremy Jacobs George Lucas Harold Hamm Charles Dolan Laurene Powell Jobs Les Wexner David Sun John Tu Lynn Schusterman Walter Scott John Sall Ira Rennert Margaretta Taylor James Chambers Katharine Rayner Terry Pegula Ross Perot Phil Anschutz Steve Bechtel Donald Newhouse David Tepper Dennis Washington Jim Simons David Shaw Jim Leprino Woody Johnson Andy Beal B Wayne Hughes Whitney MacMillan Gwendolyn Sontheim Meyer Pauline MacMillan Keinath Bob Kraft Trevor Rees-Jones Stan Druckenmiller Bill Koch Mark Shoen Patrick Soon-Shiong Leonard Stern Eli Broad Tamara Hughes Gustavson Rocco Commisso Kelcy Warren Sam Zell Alfonso Fanjul Jose Fanjul Charles Butt Richard Kinder Mary Malone Tom Love Judy Love George Kaiser Ray Hunt Marian Ilitch Jude Reyes Chris Reyes Jeff Hildebrand Carl Icahn Bruce Halle Charlie Ergen Travis Kalanick George Soros $-5 $0 $5 $10 $15 $20 $25 $30 $35 $40 Source: Bloomberg Billionaires Index After all these changes, the overall wealth scoreboard looked like this as of December 31. Billions of Dollars Net Worth of Wealthiest 160 Americans (Dec 31, 2017) $99bn$99bn $91.8bn$91.8bn $85.3bn$85.3bn $72.8bn$72.8bn $53.1bn$53.1bn $52.4bn$52.4bn $51.1bn$51.1bn $48.2bn$48.2bn $48.2bn$48.2bn $46.6bn$46.6bn $46.1bn$46.1bn $45.4bn$45.4bn $35.9bn$35.9bn $34.9bn$34.9bn $33.6bn$33.6bn $33.6bn$33.6bn $27.4bn$27.4bn $24bn$24bn $20.9bn$20.9bn $20.6bn$20.6bn $20bn$20bn $19.2bn$19.2bn $19.1bn$19.1bn $19.1bn$19.1bn $18.6bn$18.6bn $17.2bn$17.2bn $17.1bn$17.1bn $16.7bn$16.7bn $16.5bn$16.5bn $15.8bn$15.8bn $15.7bn$15.7bn $15.5bn$15.5bn $14.9bn$14.9bn $14.7bn$14.7bn $14.6bn$14.6bn $14.3bn$14.3bn $13.3bn$13.3bn $12.7bn$12.7bn $12.1bn$12.1bn $12.1bn$12.1bn $11.9bn$11.9bn $11.6bn$11.6bn $11.1bn$11.1bn $10.9bn$10.9bn $10.2bn$10.2bn $10.1bn$10.1bn $10bn$10bn $9.5bn$9.5bn $9.5bn$9.5bn $9.2bn$9.2bn $9.2bn$9.2bn $9.2bn$9.2bn $9.2bn$9.2bn $9.1bn$9.1bn $9bn$9bn $8.9bn$8.9bn $8.8bn$8.8bn $8.8bn$8.8bn $8.8bn$8.8bn $8.7bn$8.7bn $8.5bn$8.5bn $8.5bn$8.5bn $8.4bn$8.4bn $8.4bn$8.4bn $8.4bn$8.4bn $8.4bn$8.4bn $8.2bn$8.2bn $8bn$8bn $8bn$8bn $7.9bn$7.9bn $7.9bn$7.9bn $7.9bn$7.9bn $7.7bn$7.7bn $7.6bn$7.6bn $7.4bn$7.4bn $7.4bn$7.4bn $6.9bn$6.9bn $6.9bn$6.9bn $6.8bn$6.8bn $6.8bn$6.8bn $6.6bn$6.6bn $6.6bn$6.6bn $6.4bn$6.4bn $6.2bn$6.2bn $6.1bn$6.1bn $6.1bn$6.1bn $6.1bn$6.1bn $6.1bn$6.1bn $6.1bn$6.1bn $6bn$6bn $6bn$6bn $6bn$6bn $6bn$6bn $5.9bn$5.9bn $5.9bn$5.9bn $5.9bn$5.9bn $5.9bn$5.9bn $5.9bn$5.9bn $5.7bn$5.7bn $5.7bn$5.7bn $5.7bn$5.7bn $5.6bn$5.6bn $5.6bn$5.6bn $5.6bn$5.6bn $5.6bn$5.6bn $5.6bn$5.6bn $5.6bn$5.6bn $5.6bn$5.6bn $5.6bn$5.6bn $5.5bn$5.5bn $5.5bn$5.5bn $5.4bn$5.4bn $5.4bn$5.4bn $5.4bn$5.4bn $5.4bn$5.4bn $5.4bn$5.4bn $5.3bn$5.3bn $5.2bn$5.2bn $5.2bn$5.2bn $5.1bn$5.1bn $5.1bn$5.1bn $5.1bn$5.1bn $5bn$5bn $5bn$5bn $5bn$5bn $4.9bn$4.9bn $4.9bn$4.9bn $4.9bn$4.9bn $4.8bn$4.8bn $4.7bn$4.7bn $4.7bn$4.7bn $4.7bn$4.7bn $4.7bn$4.7bn $4.7bn$4.7bn $4.6bn$4.6bn $4.6bn$4.6bn $4.6bn$4.6bn $4.6bn$4.6bn $4.5bn$4.5bn $4.4bn$4.4bn $4.4bn$4.4bn $4.4bn$4.4bn $4.4bn$4.4bn $4.4bn$4.4bn $4.4bn$4.4bn $4.4bn$4.4bn $4.4bn$4.4bn $4.3bn$4.3bn $4.3bn$4.3bn $4.3bn$4.3bn $4.3bn$4.3bn $4.2bn$4.2bn $4.2bn$4.2bn $4.2bn$4.2bn $4.2bn$4.2bn $4.2bn$4.2bn $4.2bn$4.2bn $4.1bn$4.1bn $4.1bn$4.1bn $4.1bn$4.1bn Jeff Bezos Bill Gates Warren Buffett Mark Zuckerberg Larry Ellison Larry Page Sergey Brin Charles Koch David Koch Rob Walton Jim Walton Alice Walton Sheldon Adelson Steve Ballmer Jacqueline Mars John Mars Phil Knight Paul Allen Michael Dell Len Blavatnik Elon R Musk Carl Icahn Laurene Powell Jobs Thomas Peterffy Ron Perelman Donald Bren Dustin Moskovitz Lukas Walton Elaine Marshall Charlie Ergen Jim Simons Harold Hamm Leonard Lauder John Menard Jr Ray Dalio Rupert Murdoch Eric Schmidt George Kaiser Steve Cohen Steve Schwarzman Micky Arison Donald Newhouse Jan Koum Phil Anschutz Stephen Ross David Tepper Jim Goodnight Charles Schwab Abby Johnson Blair Parry-Okeden Jim Kennedy Gordon Moore John Malone Andy Beal Thomas Frist Bernie Marcus Carl Cook Sun Hongbin Patrick Soon-Shiong Pierre Omidyar Dan Gilbert Ken Griffin Marijke Mars Victoria Mars Pam Mars-Wright Valerie Mars Jeff Hildebrand George Soros David Geffen Les Wexner Robert Rowling Stan Kroenke Richard LeFrak Dave Duffield Eli Broad Christy Walton Richard Kinder Charles Butt Diane Hendricks John Albert Sobrato John Paulson George Lucas Ralph Lauren Marian Ilitch Margaretta Taylor James Chambers Katharine Rayner Ingrid Wu Brian Acton Leon Black Rich Devos Jim Davis Ray Hunt Dan Friedkin Ira Rennert Steven Spielberg Ned Johnson III Bob Rich George Roberts Mark Shoen Rupert Johnson Randa Duncan Williams Dannine Avara Scott Duncan Milane Duncan Frantz Henry Kravis David Sun John Tu Stan Druckenmiller Reinhold Schmieding Shahid Khan Charles Johnson Gabe Newell Nancy Walton Laurie John Paul DeJoria Lynn Schusterman David Filo Trevor Rees-Jones Terry Pegula Jeff Sutton Jude Reyes Chris Reyes John Sall Leonard Stern Judy Faulkner David Shaw Charles Dolan Marc Benioff Ronda Stryker Travis Kalanick Kelcy Warren Bruce Halle Edward Roski Dennis Washington Rocco Commisso Tom Love Judy Love Tamara Hughes Gustavson Mary Malone Sam Zell Whitney MacMillan Gwendolyn Sontheim Meyer Pauline MacMillan Keinath Izzy Englander Ann Walton Kroenke Ken Fisher Fred Smith Walter Scott B Wayne Hughes Alfonso Fanjul Jose Fanjul Robert Pera Ross Perot Woody Johnson Bob Kraft Dagmar Dolby Jim Leprino Jeremy Jacobs Steve Bechtel Bill Koch $0 $20 $40 $60 $80 $100 $120 Source: Bloomberg Billionaires Index For comparison, the median family had a net worth of $97,300 in 2016 according to the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances.