Some 27 Turkish billionaires enter Forbes’ list

Some 27 Turkish billionaires enter Forbes’ list

ISTANBUL

Some 27 billionaires made it to Forbes’ Richest People in the World List this year with a combined net worth of $57.7 billion.

There were 26 people from Türkiye on the list last year with a total net worth of $52.5 billion. 

According to this year’s list, Murat Ülker is the richest person in Türkiye with a net worth of $5.1 billion, followed by Şaban Cemil Kazancı with $3.5 billion.

Ülker and Kazancı rank 597th and 920th in the global list.

İpek Kıraç and Semahat Sevim Arsel come third and fourth with $3.1 billion and $3 billion, respectively.

İbrahim Erdemoğlu is the fifth richest person in Türkiye with $2.8 billion and Erman Ilıcak is sixth with $2.7 billion, according to Forbes.

Selçuk Bayraktar, the owner of drone maker Baykar Teknoloji, ranks 24th in the Türkiye and 2,410 in the global list with a net worth of $1.2 billion, while Haluk Bayraktar comes 27th in the Türkiye list with a net worth of $1.1 billion. 

Globally there are now more billionaires than ever; 2,781 in all, 141 more than last year and 26 more than the record set in 2021, Forbes said.

They’re richer than ever, worth $14.2 trillion in the aggregate, up by $2 trillion from 2023 and $1.1 trillion above the previous record, also set in 2021.

Two-thirds of the list’s members are worth more than a year ago; only one-fourth are poorer.

The U.S. now boasts a record 813 billionaires worth a combined $5.7 trillion. China remains second, with 473, including Hong Kong, worth $1.7 trillion, while India, which has 200 billionaires, also a record, ranks third.

Bertrand Arnault topped the global list with a net worth of $233 billion. Elon Musk and Jess Bezos come second and third at $195 billion and $194 billion, respectively.