Are there secret billionaires? (2024)

Are there secret billionaires?

Meet the world's secretive billionaires who give stealth wealth a whole new meaning, from Ike Perlmutter to Philip Anschutz. Stealth wealth is all the rage when it comes to fashion, but for some billionaires, it's a way of life. These mega-rich personalities are notorious for avoiding the public eye.

All, however, are among the wealthiest and most powerful people on Earth — yet many remain obscure and relatively unknown by the average person working for a wage. The following list of unsung billionaires is proof that rich doesn't always mean famous. Keep reading to meet the richest people you've never heard of.

Would it be possible to become a billionaire and keep it a relative secret? Yes. The book The Invisible Billionaire tells the life story of one such person: Daniel Ludwig. In 1977 Daniel Ludwig had an estimated net worth of $3 billion.

Secret millionaires fit few if any of the cultural stereotypes of “the wealthy.” They are secretaries, teachers, janitors and librarians. They don't talk about money and they build their wealth in private. They are everyday, unassuming people with exceptional focus and discipline.

It is theoretically possible for a person to be as rich as a decillionaire, but it is extremely unlikely. A decillion is a very large number, equal to 1 followed by 33 zeros: 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000.

Meet Philip Anschutz, who has been dubbed "America's most reclusive billionaire." His net worth sits at $10.7 billion, according to Forbes.

There are only slightly more than 500 billionaires in America, making your odds of becoming one roughly one in 578,508. Worldwide, there are 2,043 billionaires among 7.4 billion people.

Most billionaires work long days between 10 to 12 hours. 3. Billionaires tend to fly by private jet to save time and for maximum comfort. Even Warren Buffett, the most frugal billionaire loves using his private jet service for travel.

How to spot a secret millionaire?

Real estate investment has long been a cornerstone of financial success, with approximately 90% of millionaires attributing their wealth in part to real estate holdings.

A zillion is a word that indicates a large number, but it does not have a numerical value. Thus, a “zillionaire” would simply be a very rich person.

A trillionaire is an individual with a net worth equal to at least one trillion in U.S. dollars or a similarly valued currency, such as the euro or the British pound. Currently, no one has yet claimed trillionaire status, although some of the world's richest individuals may only be a few years away from this milestone.

There are actually several states with no billionaires — Alabama, Alaska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Vermont, and West Virginia. Where would you want to live if you suddenly became a billionaire?

1. Warren Buffett. Buffett has promised to donate more than 99% of his wealth. So far, he has given some $55 billion, mostly through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and his children's foundations.

Warren Buffett is the most loved business billionaire, CNBC economic survey finds. CNBC's Steve Liesman joins 'Squawk Box' to break down results from CNBC's All-America Economic Survey.

Eric Tse, who recently graduated from the University of Pennsylvania's prestigious Wharton School of Finance, was gifted about $3.88 billion in his family company's shares. How do they become so rich?

I've covered TV, music and pop culture for over 6 years. Taylor Swift is now a billionaire and is estimated to be worth $1.1 billion, according to Forbes. But what distinguishes the 33-year-old singer-songwriter from other wealthy artists is how she accumulated her billion-dollar fortune.

Can a billionaire go broke?

For example, Patricia Kluge, a billionaire heiress who invested her cash reserves in her own Vineyard business. When the housing market crashed, the Vineyard dropped in value. Kluge auctioned off all her fine jewelry, but it wasn't enough to save her from taking huge hits to her net worth and file for bankruptcy.

There are nine American billionaires of African descent. Saudi businessman Mohammed Al Amoudi joined Johnson and Lee-Chin on the list in 2002 through his holdings in construction, energy and agricultural ventures in Saudi Arabia, Sweden, and Ethiopia.

quadrillionaire (plural quadrillionaires) Somebody whose wealth is greater than one quadrillion units of the local currency. quotations ▼ (by extension) An extremely wealthy person. quotations ▼

The next step above trillion is quadrillion, then quintillion, sextillion, septillion, octillion, nonillion, decillion.

The short answer is “Nope”; the earth doesn't even have a single trillionaire, (world's richest: Elon Musk- $222 billion December, 2023) so there's no reasonable way to have quadrillionaires, secret or not.