The 10 Richest People You’ve Never Heard Of

There are thousands of billionaires in the world, but you might not have heard of a few of them. This list features 10 individuals who you might never have heard of before. All of these people are very rich, and their fortunes vary greatly. You may recognize a couple of them but most of them remain relatively unknown to a lot of people.

10. Riley Bechtel 2.5 billion

Riley Bechtel, formerly the chairman and CEO of Bechtel Corporation, a company established by his grandfather in 1898, relinquished his position to his son Brendan. He now resides in California and serves as a member of the Board of Directors for several other companies owned by Bechtel Corporation. Forbes estimates that his net worth is roughly 2.5 billion dollars.

9. John Tu 6.6 billion

John Tu, a Chinese-American entrepreneur, co-founded Kingston Technology and utilized his economic savvy to amass a net worth of 6.6 billion dollars. With his financial acumen, he made a shrewd move by selling 80 percent of Kingston to SoftBank in 1996 for 1.5 billion and then buying it all back in three years for only 450 million. In addition to his economics background, John also pursued electrical engineering studies in Germany before relocating to California.

8. David Sun 6.6 billion

David Sun, John Tu's lifelong partner and co-founder of Kingston Technology, has also contributed to the company's success as one of the biggest producers of computer memory products, USB drives, and SSDs. After attending Tatung University, David moved to the United States in 1977 and founded Cannington Corporation with two others in a garage, which eventually helped him accumulate a net worth of 6.6 billion dollars.

7. Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen 8.1 billion

Kristiansen inherited the LEGO Group, which was founded by his grandfather in 1934. The company initially produced wooden toys such as yo-yos and trucks but shifted its focus to building blocks in 1949. Thirty years later, Kristiansen took over the company, becoming one of Denmark's richest people with a net worth of 8.1 billion dollars.

6. David Cheriton 9.4 billion

David Cheriton, a Canadian businessman and venture capitalist, showcased his skills in Computer Science and Mathematics as well as his status as a philanthropist and professor at Stanford University in California. By investing around a hundred thousand dollars in Google in 1998, when it was still a small startup, he made a fortune that is now worth a whopping 1 billion dollars in Google stock.

5. Aliko Dangote 13.4 billion

Aliko Dangote, a Nigerian business magnate, became Nigeria's first billionaire in 2007. He has been an entrepreneur from a young age. After graduating from college, he started his business journey by requesting a three thousand dollar loan from his uncle to sell agricultural commodities, such as salt and sugar around Nigeria. However, he has amassed his fortune mainly from the cement industry. Dangote holds the position as both the wealthiest man in the entire continent of Africa, a position he's held for over a decade, and the world's richest black man.

4. Jorge Paulo Lemann 15.5 billion

Lemann founded the private equity firm 3G capital and has a share in multi-billion dollar brewing company Aneheuser-Busch InBev, pushing him to the 114th spot as the richest person in the world in 2021. Aneheuser-Busch InBev is globally recognized for its widespread selection of beer. Lemann's net worth reached 15.5 billion dollars in 2013 when the partnership between 3G Capital and Berkshire Hathaway chairman Warren Buffett led to the acquisition of Heinz Inc for 28 billion dollars. This union followed a merger between Heinz and Kraft Foods, leading to the creation of the third largest food and beverages company.

3. Reinhold Wurth 15.7 billion

Reinhold Wurth, a renowned German businessman and art collector, employed his passion to establish Wurth Group after taking over his father's screw business. His dedication to providing products to customers directly on-site, both in mechanical and construction industries, made Wurth Group surge as a top market leader. Currently, the company spans operations in 80 countries. Wuerth resigned in 1993, but still chairs the supervisory board maintaining effective oversight.

2. Alice Walton 59.1 billion

Alice, the heiress of Walmart's business tycoon Sam Walton, inherited a vast proportion of her father's wealth. She worked in the family business along with her siblings after her college education, inheriting a 13% share of the company after her father passed away. However, most of her fortune stemmed from her founding an investment bank, The Llama Company. Upon closure of the bank, she pursued her passion for art collection, an interest that started when she acquired Picasso's Blue Nude for a quarter at the age of 11. Eventually, she transformed this passion into a triumphant career by founding the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, a nonprofit organization aimed at enriching Arkansas's culture and economy.

1. Amancio Ortega 76.4 billion

Inditex founder Amancio Ortega is yet another fashion mogul that sits at the world's billionaires table with his main success coming from Inditex-owned fashion chain Zara. He dropped out of school at 14 years old and started working as a store delivery boy to support his family in the 60s. Ortega went on to operate a number of clothing businesses. His early endeavors when he opened the first Zara store in 1975 were mainly focused on selling cheaper imitations of high-end products. However, he quickly rose through the ranks and became a pioneer in fast fashion by speeding up the production process to match the trends at the time. Despite living a life of luxury, Ortega has managed to stay out of the headlines and interviews. In 2011 he stepped down from his position as Inditex chairman but remains an integral part of the business, retaining a 59.3 percent majority stake in the company.