The World’sReal-Time Billionaires

Methodology

Forbes’ Real-Time Billionaires ranking tracks the daily ups and downs of the world’s richest people. The wealth-tracking platform provides ongoing updates on the net worth and ranking of each individual confirmed by Forbes to be a billionaire. The value of individuals’ public holdings are updated every 5 minutes when respective stock markets are open (there will be a 15-minute delay for stock prices). Individuals whose fortunes are significantly tied to private companies will have their net worths updated once a day. Major private companies are adjusted according to an industry- or region-specific market index provided by our partners at FactSet Research Systems when available. Our biggest gainer and biggest loser data compares billionaires’ fortunes to the previous trading day’s market close. Our comparison of wealth to the typical American is based on a median U.S. household net worth of $211,000, based on a Federal Reserve survey, adjusted for inflation. The Forbes Philanthropy Score measures the lifetime, out-the-door charitable giving of billionaires who appear on The Forbes 400, ranked on a scale of 1 to 5 based on what percentage of their net worth they have donated to those in need. Our self-made score is scaled from 1 (heir who does not work to grow the fortune) to 10 (self-made who overcame substantial obstacles).