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Aranult, Bezos, Buffett, Brin, Bloomberg, Ellison, Gates, the Kochs and the Waltons, Musk and Zuckerberg – these are the household names of the wealthiest people in the world.

However, there’s more to the world’s global elite than these famous names.

Forbes notes that there are nearly 3 000 people in the world who have three commas to measure their wealth, with America’s 735 billionaires alone hoarding a combined $4,7 trillion in personal fortune.

Us plebs might not have heard of all the world’s wealthiest people, but you can bet your bottom dollar that they push the buttons of global influence just like the tech bros who are household names.

Whether self-made or born into the aristocracy, the following list of unsung billionaires is proof that rich doesn’t always mean famous, notes GoBanking Rates.

Starting with the wealthiest woman on Earth, L’Oréal heiress Francoise Bettencourt Meyers (pictured up top):

Net worth according to Forbes’ real-time billionaire tracker: $90 billion.

Forget Oprah, Queen Bey and at least three Kardashians, because this beauty billionaire could lose their fortunes in her couch cushions. The French heiress hates the spotlight, which is why her name might not ring a bell, but surely her grandfather’s company does.

Bettencourt Meyers and her family inherited the L’Oreal empire, and they still own a 33% share today. She has sat on the corporation’s board since 1997 and chairs its family holding company, but she’s also a skilled pianist, an academic who has published more than half a dozen books on the Bible and Greek mythology, and a philanthropist who funded the repair of the fire-damaged Notre Dame Cathedral.

Moving on to Amancio Ortega with a net worth of $82,4 billion:

The likes of Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren and Coco Chanel are all like consignment shop discount moguls compared to Amancio Ortega. I mean the man earns $400 million a year from dividends alone.

The Spaniard founded a clothing company called Inditex, and the Madrid-based mega-company now operates eight brands and 7,500 stores around the world.

Along the way, he’s used his dividend income to invest in real estate in New York, Madrid, London, Chicago, Miami and Barcelona.

Unfortunately, the dude is one of the worst contributors to our environmental woes, being a pioneer of fast fashion with backing in GAP, Forever 21, and H&M – did you see the unsold bits piling up in the Chilean desert? Ortega, do better.

Then there’s Gianluigi Aponte, with a net worth of $28,8 billion:

Naturally, Gianluigi Aponte broke into the shipping industry in 1970 after training as a Neopolitan sea captain. He and his wife started a company with just one vessel that moved cargo between Europe and Africa, but today, there’s a good chance that the stuff you own is in your house because of Gianluigi:

He built the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) into the No. 2 largest shipping conglomerate in the world behind only Maersk. Also the founder of a cruise line, an inland logistics business and a port operations company, there are few corners of the ocean from which Gianluigi Aponte does not go fishing for money.

Following him, we have Gina Rinehart, with a net worth of $27,1 billion:

Gina Rinehart is said to have inherited a mess, but she managed to clean it up so well that she’s now the richest person in Australia:

Her late father, influential and controversial iron-ore magnate Lang Hancock, left Rinehart a company in financial disarray. She rebuilt Hancock Prospecting, though, and took over as its executive chair in 1992.

In 2015, she launched the Roy Hill mining project, which is now her biggest asset, and has since paid off the $7.2 billion she borrowed to fund it.

As a side hustle, she’s also Australia’s second-best biggest cattle producer.

Last but absolutely not least is Susanne Klatten, with a net worth of $24,6 billion:

Susanne Klatten has all the hallmarks of a classic heiress. Since her mother was the third wife of an industrialist who pioneered the luxury automobile market, she’s a 19% owner of BMW.

But Klatten’s true claim to fame comes from her grandfather on her father’s side, who helped build a chemical company called Altana AG.

An economist with an MBA, Klatten transformed the family business (of which she is now the sole owner) into a global pharmaceutical and speciality chemical multinational giant that manages $2,5 billion in annual sales.

I don’t dig billionaires, but I am happy to see so many women with deep pockets, too.

[source:gobankingrates]