About 60% of Latin American billionaires come from Brazil, while almost 15% reside in Mexico, according to a recent post from charts startup Latinometricsthat analyzed the latest edition of the Forbes Billionaires List.
The analysis concluded that there are 94 billionaires from Latin American countries, a tiny proportion of the 2,668 people owning at least $1,000 million. Concretely, Latin American billionaires represented just 3,5% of the Forbes 2023 list.
Looking at each country specifically, Brazil is home to 59 billionaires, Mexico to 14, Argentina to five, Colombia, Chile, and Peru to four each, Uruguay to two, and the Dominican Republic and Venezuela to one each.
Moreover, only one Latin American has made it into the world's top ten billionaire shortlist: Mexico's richest person, Carlos Slim Helú, the owner of América Móvil, Latin America's biggest mobile telecom firm, made it to the even more selected list with a fortune that reached $93 billion last year. Slim's fortune passed the $100 billion mark for the first time in December, according to Bloomberg, a result of the Mexican peso's continued strength. Slim was ranked as the richest person in the world by Forbes business magazine between 2010 and 2013.
Also in 2010, a 28-year-old Colombian was getting his MBA at Stanford in preparation for building something pretty cool. David Vélez co-founded Nubank, the digital bank with the biggest user base in the world.
— Latinometrics 📊 (@LatamData) March 6, 2024
However, Brazil stands out in the analysis of Latinometrics. The wealthiest man in the country is Eduardo Saverin, who co-founded Facebook with Harvard classmate Mark Zuckerberg in 2004 and whose fortune amounted to $10.2 billion according to the list.
The Brazilian was ranked at the 171st position, far behind Zuckerberg (#16), and other examples of innovative 'tech titans,' such as Microsoft founder Bill Gates (#3) or Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos (#3).
Technology, however, proves to be the transversal factor among many Latin American billionaires. LAmong other names, Colombian David Vélez and Brazilian Cristina Junqueira, co-founders of Nubank -the digital bank with one of the biggest user bases in the world- also are part of the list. Junqueira is one of the 13 billionaire women in Latin America.
Argentina, the third Latin American country with the most billionaires, is also a case of tech dominance, with Marcos Galperin, CEO and co-founder of Mercado Libre being the most clear example.
"He exemplifies what the list should show more of in the coming years: disruptors who have created enormous value for Latin America," Latinometrics underscored.
Top 3 Countries With Most Billionaires of the Planet
According to the 2023 Forbes Billionaires List, the fortune of the 2,668 wealthiest people was worth about $12.2 trillion."
The United States maintained its position as the country with the highest number of billionaires, counting 735 individuals on the list whose combined wealth amounted to $4.5 trillion.
China, including Hong Kong and Macau, followed closely in second place, with 562 billionaires possessing a total wealth of $2 trillion. India comes in third, with 169 billionaires holding a combined wealth of $675 billion.
© 2024 Latin Times. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
