@giacomotognini
Deputy editor, wealth @Forbes.com covering billionaires and the world’s richest people. Forbes Union. @columbiajournalism.bsky.social and UC Berkeley alum. Tips: gtognini@forbes.com / giacomo.na.tognini@proton.me
There's plenty more on our website on the richest people in Africa, China and India, plus more to come. This is a massive feat of investigative business reporting, and it's vital for the public to know just how rich these people are--and what they're doing with that wealth.
And @luisakroll.bsky.social broke down how Donald Trump has continued to get richer in the first year of his presidency, rising to an estimated $6.5 billion fortune: www.forbes.com/sites/luisak...
Idon Nkanga wrote about the many celebrities on the list, a category that's grown to 22 people including James Cameron and Roger Federer (plus, of course, Beyoncé and Taylor Swift): www.forbes.com/sites/idonnk...
@simonemelvin.bsky.social dug into the youngest billionaires on the list, including several 20-year-old members of the three-comma-club: www.forbes.com/sites/simone...
Speaking of AI, @pheebini.bsky.social unpacked the stories of the 45 new billionaires who joined the list thanks to AI: www.forbes.com/sites/phoebe...
Grace Chung wrote about the growing number of women on the billionaires list, including the richest: www.forbes.com/sites/gracec...
I wrote about the growing $100 Billion Club of billionaires with 12-figure-fortunes: www.forbes.com/sites/giacom...
@kogunrinde.bsky.social dove into this year's 390 new billionaires, from Beyoncé and Dr. Dre to the legions of AI startup founders: www.forbes.com/sites/kirkog...
The tireless @chasewithorn.bsky.social broke down the list's facts and figures: www.forbes.com/sites/chasew...
It's a mammoth effort from dozens of dogged reporters and eagle-eyed editors in multiple countries at Forbes, plus even more analysts, experts and data providers who make this work possible. Here's how we crunched the numbers and dove into the data:
So it's imperative we know just how wealthy--and powerful--they are. There are now 3,428 billionaires in the world worth a collective $20.1 trillion--$4 trillion richer than last year. The richest, once again, is Elon Musk, worth an estimated $839 billion.
Today, we published the annual @forbes.com World's Billionaires list. There have never been so many billionaires as there are today, and they have never been as powerful as they are now. www.forbes.com/billionaires/
3/ I spoke with Tsakos Energy Navigation CEO Nikolas Tsakos, a veteran of the tanker industry who controls the firm with his billionaire father Panagiotis: “We are in alert mode. But it's interesting times. We're taking advantage of the spot market, which is very positive.”
2/ Altogether, @forbes.com estimates the 13 richest tanker billionaires have seen their wealth grow by more than 50% over the past year to $130 billion, largely due to higher stock prices and ship valuations. Regime change in Venezuela, and potentially Iran, could boost them further.
1/ The U.S. ouster of Maduro in Venezuela and the attacks on Iran have been a boon for oil tanker billionaires. Tanker rates are up to record highs, tanker stocks are up by 60%+ so far this year and tanker resale prices are up to decade highs as well.
www.forbes.com/sites/giacom...
The Oracle cofounder’s official residence is now in Manalapan, Florida, not the Hawaii island that he famously bought in 2012, according to previously unreported county records.
More details in my latest for @forbes.com:
www.forbes.com/sites/phoebe...
Influencer marketing has helped AI video company Higgsfield hit $300 million in annual revenue run rate in just eleven months. But misleading marketing tactics, payment problems and a social media strategy based on shock has led to backlash among creators.
www.forbes.com/sites/rashis...
Real estate billionaire Mitch Morgan started buying apartment buildings in 1985 and built Morgan Properties, one of America’s largest apartment owners. Now he’s passing the mantle to his two sons, who are taking over as co-CEOs. Read at @forbes.com:
www.forbes.com/sites/giacom...
NEW: Epstein emails show how billionaire financier Leon Black, founder of Apollo, relied on the convicted sex offender to help him leverage his multi-billion-dollar art for $500m+ in loans from Bank of America.
www.forbes.com/sites/johnhy...
Jeffrey #Epstein had access to tech billionaires like Thiel and Musk. But he walked away from deals with major startups—including Spotify & SpaceX—that could have netted him hundreds of millions in total.
Deep dive from @iainmartin.bsky.social + me for @forbes.com:
www.forbes.com/sites/iainma...
It also helps fill in some of the gaps on the client fees Epstein raked in from 1999 to 2018--including about $100 million from previously unknown clients, before this latest reporting--that @johnhyatt.bsky.social and I had looked into last year.
Together, they appear to have paid Epstein $45 million—an unusually high sum for the work he said he was performing, according to two estate planning experts who spoke with @forbes.com anonymously given the sensitivity of the topic.
1/ @mhunterhart.bsky.social and I found several contracts and payment records that uncovered two new billionaire clients of Jeffrey Epstein: real estate mogul Mortimer Zuckerman and Ariane de Rothschild, a Rothschild heir by marriage.
www.forbes.com/sites/giacom...
1/3. @giacomotognini.bsky.social and I have uncovered two new billionaire clients of Epstein’s in the latest batch of files: real estate mogul Mortimer Zuckerman and Ariane de Rothschild, heir by marriage to the Rothschild banking fortune.
NEW: We profiled Sam Altman for the cover of Forbes Magazine. For the story, we talked to Bob Iger, Masa Son, Satya Nadella, Brian Chesky, Paul Graham and more. Graham’s take was resonant: “He’s good at getting people to do what he wants.” w/ Anna Tong
www.forbes.com/sites/richar...
The DOJ’s new Epstein files release shows that billionaire Gordon Getty both had a relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and allegedly brushed off his crimes: “well, we ALL have similar kinds of problems.”
Read more in my latest for @forbes.com:
www.forbes.com/sites/monica...
🚨 NEW 🚨 The Men Making Millions Selling Pepper Spray To ICE
Safariland, owned by billionaire Warren Kanders, remains the number one supplier of pepper spray and tear gas to ICE and CBP, via a large federal distributor run by a MAGA-aligned former Marine.
www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
Trump's new FTC pick has advocated for "country of origin" disclosure rules for over a year, so we have a good idea of what he'd push for if confirmed.
David MacNeil would be the 12th known billionaire/billionaire's spouse in Trump's admin. My profile for @forbes.com:
www.forbes.com/sites/monica...
Your medical data is more vulnerable than you might think.
A new lawsuit from healthcare software giant Epic is shining a light on systemic issues with how patient records are transferred between providers.
My latest for @forbes.com:
www.forbes.com/sites/monica...
NEW: @forbes.com has learned that hedge fund billionaire/Trump backer Paul Singer isn't the only tycoon who will profit from the forced $5.9b sale of Citgo from Venezuela.
At least three other Wall St billionaires, and a host of hedge fund vultures, will also make small fortunes.
Read more👇