(STACKER) — The first billionaire ever is thought to be Standard Oil magnate John D. Rockefeller back in 1916, or perhaps Henry Ford in 1925.
Fast forward some 100 years to 2021: As the COVID-19 pandemic continued to rage, a record-breaking 660 people became billionaires globally, growing the previous year’s number by 30%.
While the U.S. is home to the most billionaires out of any other country, Americans are somewhat split in their feelings on the billionaire class. According to Pew Research Center data, people in the U.S. became somewhat more critical of billionaires between 2020 and 2021.
Although support for individual billionaires like Bill Gates is relatively strong, many Americans view the ultra-rich—as a group rather than as individuals—negatively. Meanwhile, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is projected to become the world’s first trillionaire by 2026.
The U.S.’s wealthiest billionaires are mostly concentrated within just a couple of industries: finance and investments, and technology. Other wealthy sectors include food and drink, fashion and retail, and media and entertainment.
Stacker compiled a list of the richest billionaires who are residents of California, using data from Forbes. Billionaires are ranked by net worth as of Feb. 23. Forbes lists 159 billionaires in California.
20. Henry Samueli
Net worth: $7.4 billion (#303 wealthiest in the world)
Residence: Newport Beach
Source of wealth: semiconductors, self made
19. Steven Rales
Net worth: $7.6 billion (#288 wealthiest in the world)
Residence: Santa Barbara
Source of wealth: manufacturing, investments, self made
18. David Geffen
Net worth: $7.7 billion (#285 wealthiest in the world)
Residence: Beverly Hills
Source of wealth: movies, record labels, self made
17. Dustin Moskovitz
Net worth: $8.2 billion (#246 wealthiest in the world)
Residence: San Francisco
Source of wealth: Facebook, self made
16. Nathan Blecharczyk
Net worth: $8.5 billion (#233 wealthiest in the world)
Residence: San Francisco
Source of wealth: Airbnb, self made
15. George Roberts
Net worth: $8.7 billion (#224 wealthiest in the world)
Residence: Atherton
Source of wealth: private equity, self made
14. John Doerr
Net worth: $9.1 billion (#209 wealthiest in the world)
Residence: Woodside
Source of wealth: venture capital, self made
13. Eric Smidt
Net worth: $9.2 billion (#205 wealthiest in the world)
Residence: Beverly Hills
Source of wealth: hardware stores, self made
12. Marijke Mars
Net worth: $9.6 billion (#193 wealthiest in the world)
Residence: Los Angeles
Source of wealth: candy, pet food
11. Brian Chesky
Net worth: $9.8 billion (#187 wealthiest in the world)
Residence: San Francisco
Source of wealth: Airbnb, self made
10. Charles Schwab
Net worth: $11.5 billion (#152 wealthiest in the world)
Residence: Woodside
Source of wealth: discount brokerage, self made
9. Laurene Powell Jobs & family
Net worth: $12.2 billion (#144 wealthiest in the world)
Residence: Palo Alto
Source of wealth: Apple, Disney
8. Jan Koum
Net worth: $13.6 billion (#129 wealthiest in the world)
Residence: Atherton
Source of wealth: WhatsApp, self made
7. Robert Pera
Net worth: $16.1 billion (#101 wealthiest in the world)
Residence: San Jose
Source of wealth: wireless networking gear, self made
6. Eric Schmidt
Net worth: $16.2 billion (#100 wealthiest in the world)
Residence: Atherton
Source of wealth: Google, self made
5. Donald Bren
Net worth: $17.4 billion (#91 wealthiest in the world)
Residence: Newport Beach
Source of wealth: real estate, self made
4. Jensen Huang
Net worth: $21.7 billion (#68 wealthiest in the world)
Residence: Los Altos
Source of wealth: semiconductors, self made
3. Mark Zuckerberg
Net worth: $62.1 billion (#16 wealthiest in the world)
Residence: Palo Alto
Source of wealth: Facebook, self made
2. Sergey Brin
Net worth: $76.1 billion (#13 wealthiest in the world)
Residence: Los Altos
Source of wealth: Google, self made
1. Larry Page
Net worth: $79.4 billion (#11 wealthiest in the world)
Residence: Palo Alto
Source of wealth: Google, self made
