Main Street Finance

Analysis Gives Background on America’s Wealthiest

By Kat

Who wants to be a billionaire? Well, not quite the same show as the one with Regis. But this is a reality for some! The team at Grand Canyon University looked into the wealthiest people in the U.S. They analyzed the Forbes 400 list of richest people to see if there were any trends or patterns.

They initially dove into net worth, finding that Jeff Bezos is America’s top billionaire, worth $190.6 billion. Closely behind are Elon Musk ($180.7 billion) and Bill Gates rounding out the top 3 ($120.8 billion.) The average net worth of the top 50 billionaires on the list is $41.3 billion.

They then looked at age, finding Evan Spiegel is the youngest billionaire in the U.S. at 30 years old. Looking more at numbers, they found that within the top 50 billionaires, the average age is 67.5, while the average age that these billionaires founded or were named CEO of their company is 35.1.

Turning back the clocks, the team decided to dive deep into these billionaires’ pasts and see where they started. The most common first job was a computer programmer. Many others started as lawn mowers, stock boys and credit analysts.

Breaking down the wealthy by demographic, they looked at the top 50 billionaires on the list. They found that only 14% of them are women. Of the top 50, 41% are part of the Silent Generation, followed by Baby Boomers (37%), Generation X (16%), and Millennials (6%).

Overall, the analysis gave a better understanding of the wealthiest in America. While many associate them with just their net worth, the analysis showed that they came from somewhere just like us all. Whether they started working as a waiter, or going to college, they all worked to get where they are today.

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