Richest billionaires in California
Anthony Quintano // Wikimedia Commons
Richest billionaires in California
The first billionaire ever is thought to be Standard Oil magnate John D. Rockefeller back in 1916, or perhaps Henry Ford in 1925. Fast forward some 100 years to 2021: as the COVID-19 pandemic continued to rage, a record-breaking 660 people became billionaires globally, growing the previous year’s number by 30%. While the U.S. is home to the most billionaires out of any other country, Americans are somewhat split in their feelings on the billionaire class. According to Pew Research Center data, people in the U.S. became somewhat more critical of billionaires between 2020 and 2021. Although support for individual billionaires like Elon Musk or Bill Gates is relatively strong, many Americans view the ultra-rich—as a group rather than as individuals—negatively. Meanwhile, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is projected to become the world’s first trillionaire by 2026.
The U.S.’s wealthiest billionaires are mostly concentrated within just a couple of industries: finance and investments, and technology. Other wealthy sectors include food and drink, fashion and retail, and media and entertainment. Stacker compiled a list of the richest billionaires that are residents of California, using data from Forbes. Billionaires are ranked by net worth as of January 3. Forbes lists 175 billionaires in California.
#20. Steven Rales
– Net worth: $7.8 billion (#272 wealthiest in the world)
– Residence: Santa Barbara, California
– Source of wealth: manufacturing, investments, Self Made
#19. George Roberts
– Net worth: $7.9 billion (#257 wealthiest in the world)
– Residence: Atherton, California
– Source of wealth: private equity, Self Made
#18. Stewart & Lynda Resnick
– Net worth: $8.0 billion (#249 wealthiest in the world)
– Residence: Beverly Hills, California
– Source of wealth: agriculture, water, Self Made
#17. John Collison
– Net worth: $8.1 billion (#245 wealthiest in the world)
– Residence: San Francisco, California
– Source of wealth: payments software, Self Made
#16. Patrick Collison
– Net worth: $8.1 billion (#245 wealthiest in the world)
– Residence: San Francisco, California
– Source of wealth: payment software, Self Made
#15. John Doerr
– Net worth: $8.6 billion (#220 wealthiest in the world)
– Residence: Woodside, California
– Source of wealth: venture capital, Self Made
#14. David Cheriton
– Net worth: $8.8 billion (#209 wealthiest in the world)
– Residence: Palo Alto, California
– Source of wealth: Google, Self Made
#13. Eric Smidt
– Net worth: $9.5 billion (#191 wealthiest in the world)
– Residence: Beverly Hills, California
– Source of wealth: hardware stores, Self Made
#12. Andreas von Bechtolsheim & family
– Net worth: $9.6 billion (#189 wealthiest in the world)
– Residence: Palo Alto, California
– Source of wealth: Google, Self Made
#11. Marijke Mars
– Net worth: $9.7 billion (#185 wealthiest in the world)
– Residence: Los Angeles, California
– Source of wealth: candy, pet food
#10. Laurene Powell Jobs & family
– Net worth: $10.9 billion (#162 wealthiest in the world)
– Residence: Palo Alto, California
– Source of wealth: Apple, Disney
#9. Charles Schwab
– Net worth: $11.8 billion (#149 wealthiest in the world)
– Residence: Woodside, California
– Source of wealth: discount brokerage, Self Made
#8. Jan Koum
– Net worth: $13.4 billion (#132 wealthiest in the world)
– Residence: Atherton, California
– Source of wealth: WhatsApp, Self Made
#7. Jensen Huang
– Net worth: $13.5 billion (#130 wealthiest in the world)
– Residence: Los Altos, California
– Source of wealth: semiconductors, Self Made
#6. Robert Pera
– Net worth: $15.8 billion (#105 wealthiest in the world)
– Residence: San Jose, California
– Source of wealth: wireless networking gear, Self Made
#5. Eric Schmidt
– Net worth: $16.0 billion (#103 wealthiest in the world)
– Residence: Atherton, California
– Source of wealth: Google, Self Made
#4. Donald Bren
– Net worth: $17.4 billion (#94 wealthiest in the world)
– Residence: Newport Beach, California
– Source of wealth: real estate, Self Made
#3. Mark Zuckerberg
– Net worth: $45.3 billion (#26 wealthiest in the world)
– Residence: Palo Alto, California
– Source of wealth: Facebook, Self Made
#2. Sergey Brin
– Net worth: $74.9 billion (#13 wealthiest in the world)
– Residence: Los Altos, California
– Source of wealth: Google, Self Made
#1. Larry Page
– Net worth: $78.1 billion (#11 wealthiest in the world)
– Residence: Palo Alto, California
– Source of wealth: Google, Self Made
