You don’t have to be a finance whiz to make Forbes’ World’s Billionaires list, but it sure does help. While people have gotten super-rich in everything from soy sauce to palm oil to damaged cars, being in finance, whether private equity or hedge funds or venture capital, is the most common way the world’s wealthiest got so rich.

In fact, nearly one in six billionaires, or just over 15%, made their money in finance and investments: these 427 individuals hail from countries as mixed as Estonia, Kazakhstan, Japan and the U.S. That’s up from the 372 names a year ago and includes 37 newcomers including Ben Navarro, founder of Sherman Financial Group (who is worth an estimated $1.5 billion), Cristina Junqueira of the Brazil-based digital bank Nubank ($1.4 billion) and Antonio Gracias, founder and CEO of Valor Equity Partners ($1.1 billion).

These billionaires—who also include bankers, fintech founders and full-time investors—are worth $2.17 trillion in all. Nearly two-thirds are richer than in 2023, no one more than Warren Buffett, who added $27 billion to his net worth thanks to record-high share prices for his conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway.

Read the full story on Forbes:

Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?s...

Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:

https://account.forbes.com/membership...

Stay Connected
Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com
Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Twitter:   / forbes  
Forbes Video on Instagram:   / forbes  
More From Forbes: http://forbes.com

Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.