[inagesource: Forbes]

Over the next few days, you’ll see plenty of stories about billionaires.

That’s because Forbes has just released its ‘World’s Billionaires List 2021’, detailing the wealthiest individuals on the planet.

We have already covered the five youngest billionaires today (18 years old and worth more than $3 billion – wild), but what regular old numbers can’t show you is just how the world’s 10 richest people have transformed in the past two decades.

Way back when, in 2001, Bill Gates was out in front by a clear margin, with second-placed Warren Buffett worth a paltry $32,3 billion.

Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and some other familiar names are also nowhere to be seen, and it’s the rise of those first two billionaires that is so crazy to watch.

Musk doesn’t appear at all until 2020, and then shoots to second place, and Bezos only pops up in 2015.

In under three minutes, here’s how the top 10 has progressed (click below and the video will play):

If that doesn’t work, you can watch the same video on Twitter:

The World’s Richest Billionaires 2001-2021 https://t.co/Sc7ie8JlQI #ForbesBillionaires pic.twitter.com/B9sarU5LET

— Forbes (@Forbes) April 7, 2021

According to Forbes, here’s how that top 10 looks, using stock prices and exchange rates from March 5 to calculate net worths.

There have been some net worth tweaks since, according to the Real-Time Billionaire Tracker, but the top 10 remains unchanged.

Zuckerberg at 36 years of age – sies.

[source:forbes]