A common topic of discussion is ‘who is the wealthiest man alive?’ And the most common answers I hear are names such as Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, or Elon Musk. In reality, however, these men are not even close to the top. Let me explain.
These names are commonly brought up because they have, at one point or another, had the highest net worth in the world. But net worth is not really a good measurement of wealth, especially when comparing people at the very top. Elon Musk, for example, is currently estimated to be worth 230 billion US dollars. But most of this money is highly illiquid – tied up in Tesla stock. In other words, he cannot readily access the vast majority of this money. Bill Gates, on the other hand, is worth an estimated 118 billion US dollars, but is actually much wealthier than Musk. Bill Gates has had more time to diversify his investments and convert his money from Microsoft stock into more liquid assets and tangible assets.
Net worth can tell you that someone worth 100 million is wealthier than someone worth 10 million, but it is a terrible measurement when comparing people at the very top of the wealth ladder.
In order to answer ‘who is the wealthiest man alive?’, we first need to decide what wealth is. It is not as simple as who has the most money.
I argue there are three aspects to wealth: material possessions, ability to obtain material possessions, and ability to influence others.
The first aspect is straightforward. Someone who has a mansion is wealthier than someone with a townhouse. Someone with a yacht is wealthier than someone with just a kayak. Etc.
The second aspect (the ability to obtain material possessions) is just as, if not more important than the first. It is largely determined by the amount of liquid money someone has. Warren Buffet illustrates the importance of this. There are many millionaires who live in bigger houses and drive more expensive cars than Warren Buffet. But Warren Buffet is still considered far wealthier than these people because he has much more money and thus a far greater ability to buy things. However, cash is not the only determinant of your ability to obtain material possessions.
Someone with a ton of cash but no way to spend that cash cannot be considered wealthy. Factors such as geographic location, network connections, and credit are all essential. For example, if you won the lottery and 100 million dollars was put in your bank account, you would have enough money to buy a private jet, but you would still struggle to actually do it. Who would you contact? How would you transfer the money? The super-rich have a large network of connections and employees that would manage all of the logistics for them: contacting a seller, making the purchase, transporting the plane, housing the plane, etc. It is not just enough to have cash, you also need to have the means to spend that cash.
The third and final aspect is the ability to influence others. This could be considered a part of the second aspect, but I decided it was distinct enough to be discussed separately. The ability to influence others can be derived from many sources: fame, political power, military strength, etc. Among the world’s elite, this aspect separates the super-rich from the extraordinarily-rich.
The ability to influence others allows you to obtain things that would normally not be for sale. These things range from custom mansions to commissioned artworks to space rockets. And while I’m hesitant to say it, obtaining people is also a part of wealth. They may not be called slaves any more, but the super-rich have servants, concubines, and, well, slaves. Unfortunately, when comparing the wealthy elite, this aspect cannot be overlooked.
These are my three aspects of wealth. So, according to this definition, who is the wealthiest man alive? Well, it’s still impossible to say for sure, but my best guess is King Salman of Saudi Arabia. With mega-mansions and super-yachts, a seemingly infinite amount of cash, and an entire country that is beholden to his will, the king and princes of Saudi Arabia are all some of the wealthiest people alive. I mean, who else can just buy the PGA tour?
Some honorable mentions: Kim Jong-Un of North Korea, Vladimir Putin of Russia, Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei, Pope Francis of the Vatican, Vajiralongkorn of Thailand, Xi Jinping of China, etc. etc.
Here’s a helpful article on the wealth of dictators:
reidbrotmann.com 