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.