Forbes’ billionaires list for the year 2020, which is the 34^th annual ranking of its kind, unveiled that the number of billionaires dropped (for only the third time in a decade) by 2.7% to 2,095, down from 2,153 in the 2019 list. Furthermore, the total net worth of mentioned billionaires dropped by 8.0% to $8.0 trillion as per the March 2020 list, down from $8.7 trillion last year. It is worth mentioning that wealth figures are estimated using stock prices and exchange rates as at March 18, 2020. Moreover, Forbes’ 2020 list saw 58 people dropping out of the ranks.

With respect to the rankings, Jeff Bezos, founder of the e-commerce giant Amazon, topped the list of the world’s richest individuals for the third year in a row, with an estimated net worth of $113 billion. Mr. Bezos’ fortune fell by $18 billion in the March 2020 Forbes’ list, bearing in mind that he ceded $36 billion to his ex-wife as part of their divorce settlement. Bill Gates came 2^nd with a net worth of $98 billion, followed by Bernard Arnault ($76 billion), Warren Buffet ($67.5 billion), and Larry Ellison ($59 billion). As far as the Arab region is concerned, Egyptian businessman Nassef Sawiris led the list of the region’s billionaires, ranking 330^th worldwide with an estimated fortune of $5 billion, followed by Issad Rebrab (Algeria; 426^th global position; estimated net worth of $4.2 billion), Abdulla Bin Ahmad Al Ghurair (United Arab Emirates (UAE); 494^th global position; estimated net worth of $3.7 billion), and Majid Al Futtaim (UAE; 590^th global position; estimated net worth of $3.3 billion).

On a local basis, six renowned Lebanese individuals made it to Forbes’ billionaires list for the year 2020, led by the Hariri and Mikati families whose combined fortunes stood at $4.4 billion and $4.3 billion on a respective basis. In specific, Mr. Taha Mikati emerged as the richest individual in Lebanon, with an estimated fortune of $2.2 billion, ranking 8^th regionally and 945^th globally, followed by Mr. Najib Mikati ($2.1 billion; 11^th regional position, 1,001^st global position), Mr. Bahaa Hariri ($2.0 billion; 12^th regional position; 1,063^rd global position), and Mr. Robert Mouawad ($1.5 billion; 14^th regional position; 1,415^th global position), only to name a few.