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170427-richest-person-by-age
Money

What is it about the very rich that fascinates us so?

In the words of F. Scott Fitzgerald, "They are different from you and me." Yet still, we yearn to find some commonality, perhaps to imagine whether it's possible to some day be like them — or dream of what we might do with all that money.

For instance, I was born in 1986, the same year as Lukas Walton, the scion of the retailing giant Walmart, who is worth more than $11 billion, according to Forbes. There's a certain masochistic pleasure in comparing my lot in life with his. Although I would not trade places with Walton's for $11 billion, it's still fun to imagine.

Which is why we compiled this list of the richest person born in each year from 1917 to 1996.

Money started with the 2017 Forbes The World's Billionaires list, then cross-referenced each person's wealth against Bloomberg's Billionaires Index to make sure the numbers weren't wildly off, and then asked Wealth-X to use their database to double check each person's age.

What did we learn?

  • Combined, the people on our list are estimated to be worth $1.4 trillion, or 2% of the global gross domestic product.
  • The easiest way to get on this list, especially if you were born after 1957, is to be born into money or marry it.
  • If you have to work, be computer literate. Nearly all of the U.S.-bred billionaires earned their wealth in technology, from Evan Spiegel to Michael Bloomberg.
  • In total, Americans make up 38% of our list; Europeans, 24%; and Asians, 20%. But while most Europeans on this list inherited their fortunes, 80% of the Asians were self-made.
  • The road to supreme wealth is roughest for women. Only 14% of the list is female.

Scroll below to find your birth year, and see how much work you have to do to catch up:


1917: Raymond Perelman

Shahar Azran—WireImage/Getty Images

Net Worth (in billions): $0.9 (per Wealth-X)

Where From: America

How He Got Rich: Founder and chairman of RGP Holdings


1918: Chang Yun Chung (aka Teo Woon Tiong)

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Net Worth (in billions): $1.7

Where From: Singapore

How He Got Rich: Co-founder of Pacific International Lines.


1919: N/A


1920: Aloysio de Andrade Faria

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Net Worth (in billions): $2.4

Where From: Brazil

How He Got Rich: Inherited Banco Real from his father, and chairman of Alfa Bank.


1921: David Consunji

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Net Worth (in billions): $3.1

Where From: Philippines

How He Got Rich: Founder and chairman of conglomerate DMCI.


1922: Liliane Bettencourt

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Net Worth (in billions): $39.5

Where From: France

How She Got Rich: Heir to L'Oréal fortune.


1923: Robert Kuok

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Net Worth (in billions): $11.4

Where From: Malaysia

How He Got Rich: Founder of conglomerate Kuok Group.


1924: Henry Sy

Getty Images

Net Worth (in billions): $12.7

Where From: Philippines

How He Got Rich: Founder of conglomerate SMIC.


1925: Serge Dassault

AP

Net Worth (in billions): $16.1

Where From: France

How He Got Rich: Heir to conglomerate GIMD.


1926: Hans Rausing

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Net Worth (in billions): $12.5

Where From: Sweden

How He Got Rich: Heir to Tetra Pak.


1927: Samuel Newhouse Jr.

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Net Worth (in billions): $12.1

Where From: America

How He Got Rich: Heir, and co-owner, of Advance Publications.


1928: Li Ka-shing

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Net Worth (in billions): $31.2

Where From: Hong Kong

How He Got Rich: Chairman of conglomerate CK Hutchison.


1929: Pallonji Mistry

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Net Worth (in billions): $14.3

Where From: Ireland, via India

How He Got Rich: Largest shareholder in conglomerate Tata Group.


1930: Warren Buffett

AP

Net Worth (in billions): $75.6

Where From: America

How He Got Rich: Chairman, and largest stockholder, of Berkshire Hathaway.


1931: Rupert Murdoch

AP

Net Worth (in billions): $13.6

Where From: Australia

How He Got Rich: Executive chairman of 21st Century Fox and News Corp.


1932: Donald Bren

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Net Worth (in billions): $15.2

Where From: America

How He Got Rich: Chairman of real estate investment firm, Irvine Company.


1933: Sheldon Adelson

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Net Worth (in billions): $30.4

Where From: America

How He Got Rich: Founder and chief executive of Las Vegas Sands.


1934: Pauline MacMillan Keinath

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Net Worth (in billions): $6.8

Where From: America

How She Got Rich: Great-granddaughter of the founder of Cargill.


1935: Charles Koch

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Net Worth (in billions): $48.3

Where From: America

How He Got Rich: Chairman and chief executive of Koch Industries, which was created by his father.


1936: Amancio Ortega

AP

Net Worth (in billions): $71.3

Where From: Spain

How He Got Rich: Founder and former chairman of Inditex, owner of Zara.


1937: Klaus-Michael Kuehne

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Net Worth (in billions): $12.4

Where From: Germany

How He Got Rich: Majority shareholder, and former chief executive, of his grandfather's transportation firm.


1938: Phil Knight

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Net Worth (in billions): $26.2

Where From: America

How He Got Rich: Co-founder of Nike.


1939: Jorge Paulo Lemann

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Net Worth (in billions): $29.2

Where From: Brazil

How He Got Rich: Beer magnate and investor who now owns stake in Restaurant Brands International.


1940: Carlos Slim

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Net Worth (in billions): $54.5

Where From: Mexico

How He Got Rich: Chairman and chief executive of various holdings, including Grupo Carso.


1941: Stefano Pessina

courtesy of Walgreens Boots Alliance

Net Worth (in billions): $13.9

Where From: Italy

How He Got Rich: Chief executive and vice chairman of Walgreens Boots Alliance.


1942: Michael Bloomberg

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Net Worth (in billions): $47.5

Where From: America

How He Got Rich: Founder and chief executive of Bloomberg


1943: Ronald Perelman

AP

Net Worth (in billions): $12.5

Where From: America

How He Got Rich: Son of Raymond Perelman, chairman and chief executive of MacAndrews & Forbes


1944: Larry Ellison

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Net Worth (in billions): $52.3

Where From: America

How He Got Rich: Co-founder and chairman of Oracle.


1945: Azim Premji

AP

Net Worth (in billions): $14.9

Where From: India

How He Got Rich: Chairman of Wipro, an IT firm.


1946: Peter Woo

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Net Worth (in billions): $10.5

Where From: China

How He Got Rich: Former chairman of Wheelock and Company, and The Wharf Holdings.


1947: Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen

courtesy of LEGO

Net Worth (in billions): $21.1

Where From: Denmark

How He Got Rich: Heir to Lego fortune, and former president and chief executive.


1948: Jim Walton

Reuters

Net Worth (in billions): $34

Where From: America

How He Got Rich: Heir to Walmart fortune.


1949: Bernard Arnault

AP

Net Worth (in billions): $41.5

Where From: France

How He Got Rich: Chairman and chief executive of LVMH.


1950: Theo Albrecht Jr

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Net Worth (in billions): $18.8

Where From: Germany

How He Got Rich: Heir to supermarket chain, Aldi


1951: Joseph Lau

Reuters

Net Worth (in billions): $15

Where From: Hong Kong

How He Got Rich: Majority owner of investment firm Chinese Estates Holdings.


1952: Gennady Timchenko

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Net Worth (in billions): $16

Where From: Russia

How He Got Rich: Co-founder of investment firm Volga Group.


1953: Paul Allen

Getty Images

Net Worth (in billions): $19.9

Where From: America

How He Got Rich: Co-founder of Microsoft.


1954: Wang Jianlin

Reuters

Net Worth (in billions): $31.3

Where From: China

How He Got Rich: Chairman of entertainment giant Dalian Wanda.


1955: Bill Gates

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Net Worth (in billions): $86

Where From: America

How He Got Rich: Co-founder of Microsoft.


1956: Steve Ballmer

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Net Worth (in billions): $30

Where From: America

How He Got Rich: Former chief executive of Microsoft.


1957:Mukesh Ambani

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Net Worth (in billions): $23.2

Where From: India

How He Got Rich: Chairman of energy giant, Reliance Industries Limited.


1958: Hui Ka Yan (aka Xu Jiayin)

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Net Worth (in billions): $10.2

Where From: China

How He Got Rich: Founder and chairman of real estate giant, Evergrande Real Estate Group.


1959: Uday Kotak

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Net Worth (in billions): $8

Where From: India

How He Got Rich: Founder and chairman of Kotak Mahindra Bank


1960: Jorn Rausing

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Net Worth (in billions): $6.1

Where From: Sweden

How He Got Rich: Heir to packaging giant, Tetra Laval.


1961: Abigail Johnson

courtesy of Fidelity Investments

Net Worth (in billions): $14.4

Where From: America

How She Got Rich: Granddaughter of Fidelity Investments founder Edward Johnson II, and current president and chief executive.


1962: Susanne Klattan

AP

Net Worth (in billions): $20.4

Where From: Germany

How She Got Rich: Inherited stake in her parents' investments, including BMW.


1963: Laurene Powell Jobs

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Net Worth (in billions): $20

Where From: America

How She Got Rich: Widow of Steve Jobs.


1964: Jeff Bezos

courtesy of Amazon.com

Net Worth (in billions): $72.8

Where From: America

How He Got Rich: Founder, chairman and chief executive of Amazon.com.


1965: Michael Dell

courtesy of Dell Technologies/span>

Net Worth (in billions): $20.4

Where From: America

How He Got Rich: Founder and chief executive of Dell Technologies.


1966: Stefan Quandt

AP

Net Worth (in billions): $18.2

Where From: Germany

How He Got Rich: Inherited stake in his parents' investments, including BMW.


1967: Kumar Birla

AP

Net Worth (in billions): $9.5

Where From: India

How He Got Rich: Inherited chairmanship of commodities giant Aditya Birla Group after his father's death.


1968: Wang Wenyin

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Net Worth (in billions): $14

Where From: China

How He Got Rich: Owns mining giant Amer International.


1969: Lei Jun

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Net Worth (in billions): $6.8

Where From: China

How He Got Rich: Co-founded smartphone maker, Xiaomi.


1970: Emmanuel Besnier

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Net Worth (in billions): $11.3

Where From: France

How He Got Rich: Inherited ownership in dairy and cheese giant Lactalis.


1971: Ma Huateng

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Net Worth (in billions): $24.9

Where From: China

How They Got Rich: Chairman of Tencent.


1972: Andrey Melnichenko

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Net Worth (in billions): $13.2

Where From: Russia

How He Got Rich: Majority owner of energy and fertilizer producers.


1973: Larry Page

AP

Net Worth (in billions): $40.7

Where From: America

How He Got Rich: Co-founded Google


1974: Liu Qiangdon (aka Richard Liu)

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Net Worth (in billions): $7.7

Where From: China

How He Got Rich: Founder of e-commerce leader JD.com.


1975: Tom Persson

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Net Worth (in billions): $2.1

Where From: Sweden

How He Got Rich: Inherited stake in H&M.


1976: Jan Koum

AP

Net Worth (in billions): $9.8

Where From: America, via Ukraine

How He Got Rich: Co-founder of Whatsapp.


1977: Alejandro Santo Domingo

AP

Net Worth (in billions): $4.7

Where From: America, via Colombia

How He Got Rich: Inherited a stake in beer giant SABMiller, which was acquired by Anheuser-Busch InBev.


1978: Garrett Camp

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Net Worth (in billions): $6.3

Where From: America

How He Got Rich: Co-founded Uber.


1979: Sean Parker

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Net Worth (in billions): $2.6

Where From: America

How He Got Rich: Former president of Facebook.


1980: Marie Besnier Beauvalot

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Net Worth (in billions): $4

Where From: France

How She Got Rich: Inherited ownership in dairy and cheese giant Lactalis.


1981: Yang Huiyan

Feng lei sh—Imaginechina/AP

Net Worth (in billions): $9

Where From: China

How She Got Rich: Inherited ownership in her father's real estate firm.


1982: Eduardo Saverin

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Net Worth (in billions): $7.9

Where From: Brazil

How He Got Rich: Co-founded Facebook with Mark Zuckerberg.


1983: Nate Blecharczyk

courtesy of Airbnb

Net Worth (in billions): $3.2

Where From: American

How He Got Rich: Co-founder of Airbnb.


1984: Mark Zuckerberg

courtesy of Facebook

Net Worth (in billions): $56

Where From: America

How He Got Rich: Co-founded Facebook.


1985: Julio Mario Santo Domingo III

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Net Worth (in billions): $2.4

Where From: America, via Colombia

How He Got Rich: Inherited a stake in beer giant SABMiller, which was acquired by Anheuser-Busch InBev.


1986: Lukas Walton

Getty Images

Net Worth (in billions): $11.3

Where From: America

How He Got Rich: Inherited wealth from his deceased father, John T. Walton, heir to the Walmart fortune.


1987: Wang Han

Getty Images

Net Worth (in billions): $1.3

Where From: China

How He Got Rich: Inherited ownership stake in Juneyao Airlines.


1988: Patrick Collison

courtesy of Stripe

Net Worth (in billions): $1.1

Where From: America, via Ireland

How He Got Rich: Co-founded, and runs, online payment company Stripe.


1989: Bobby Murphy

Getty Images

Net Worth (in billions): $4

Where From: America

How He Got Rich: Co-founded Snap, creator of instant messaging app Snapchat.


1990: Evan Spiegel

Getty Images

Net Worth (in billions): $4

Where From: America

How He Got Rich: Co-founded Snap, creator of instant messaging app Snapchat.


1991: Hugh Grosvenor

Peter Byrne—PA Wire/AP

Net Worth (in billions): $12.9 (per Wealth-X)

Where From: United Kingdom

How He Got Rich: Inherited his wealth and title, the Duke of Westminster.


1992 (Honorable Mention): Frances Bean Cobain (per Wealth-X)

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Net Worth (in billions): $0.1

Where From: America

How She Got Rich: Inherited wealth from deceased father Kurt. Named honorable mention as neither Wealth-X, Forbes or Bloomberg recognizes a billionaire born this year.


1993: Gustav Magnar Witzoe

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Net Worth (in billions): $1.1

Where From: Norway

How He Got Rich: Inherited almost half of a salmon fishing giant.


1994 (Honorable Mention): Justin Bieber

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Net Worth (in billions): $0.2 (per Wealth-X)

Where From: Canada

How He Got Rich: Singing songs and selling records. Named honorable mention as neither Wealth-X, Forbes or Bloomberg recognizes a billionaire born this year.


1995: Katharina Andresen

courtesy of Ferd

Net Worth (in billions): $1.2

Where From: Norway

How She Got Rich: Inherited partial ownership of the investment company Ferd. Would be richer if not for her sister below.


1996: Alexandra Andresen

courtesy of Ferd

Net Worth (in billions): $1.2

Where From: Norway

How She Got Rich: Also inherited partial ownership of the investment company Ferd.