Seven out of 10 of the world’s wealthiest couples live in the U.S., according to the latest ranking from Wealth-X, which bills itself as “the global authority on wealth intelligence.”
At the top of the list are Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and his wife, Melinda, who rank first with a combined net worth of $85.7 billion.
A Spanish couple take the No. 2 spot. Amancio Ortega Gaona and his wife, Flora Perez, have a combined net worth of $70.7 billion (in U.S. dollars). He is a retail tycoon, and she is currently vice president of the Amancio Ortega Foundation, Wealth-X reports.
Famed U.S. stock investor Warren Buffett and his wife, Astrid Menks, are third with a net worth of $65 billion.
A sampling of other notables on the list includes:
- Chinese businessman Wang Jianlin and his wife, Lin Ning, at the No. 6 spot. They have a net worth of $40.7 billion.
- Facebook co-founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, a medical doctor, are the youngest couple on Wealth-X’s list this year. They are 31 and 30 years old, respectively, and have a net worth of $38.5 billion, good for the No. 9 spot.
- James Walton — son of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton — and his wife, Lynne, rank No. 10 with a combined net worth of $36.2 billion.
Six of the 10 couples on the list are self-made billionaires. The other four inherited their wealth.
Wealth-X’s complete list of the world’s wealthiest couples, released Wednesday:
- Bill and Melinda Gates: $85.7 billion (self-made)
- Amancio Ortega Gaona and Flora Perez: $70.7 billion (self-made)
- Warren Buffett and Astrid Menks: $65 billion (self-made)
- David and Julia Koch: $47.5 billion (inheritance)
- Charles and Elizabeth Koch: $47.4 billion (inheritance)
- Wang Jianlin and Lin Ning: $40.7 billion (self-made)
- Jeff and Mackenzie Bezos: $39.8 billion (self-made)
- Bernard Arnault and Helene Mercier: $37.8 billion (inheritance)
- Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan: $38.5 billion (self-made)
- James and Lynne Walton: $36.2 billion (inheritance)
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