THE THREE-COMMA CLUB

According to the March release of Forbes magazine, there are now 2,208 billionaires from 72 countries and territories with a combined net worth of 9.1 TRILLION dollars (an average of 4.1 billion). At times, I feel like this list glamorizes a demographic that has been called everything from oligarchs to plutocrats building their fortunes in: pipelines, chemicals, fertilizer, software, textiles, apps, wedding dresses and cryptocurrency to name a few. The 20 richest, headed by the first chronicled centibillionaire-Amazon founder Jeff Bezos- are worth an astonishing 1.2 TRILLION dollars, a sum roughly equivalent to the annual economic output of Mexico.

I have been reading this annual report for at least the past 20 years and have focused on the myriad ways these citizens of Richistan have amassed their fortunes.  Some of the categories seem mundane in that the average person wouldn’t probably conjure up the thought of cement, diapers, Legos, or fasteners as a source of immense wealth. The amazing thing about this compilation of the uber wealthy is that they have built their empires on things that are ubiquitous and a bit arcane.  I have often scanned offices in a corporate setting or a beautifully furnished home and began to inventory the number of industries represented within that space.  The big ballers on this list have established a sizeable market presence in the fabric of our lives.  We, the ordinary people, are the sole source of their fortunes!  Through consumerism, materialism and necessity, global markets have been established by extracting rare minerals from the earth to create the raw materials for everything from wired communities to the building materials for our homes, appliances, cars, boats, clothing and an endless array of technology gadgets.

 This expansive list of the categories in which ushered them into this exclusive financial stratosphere touches virtually every aspect of our lives.  It includes: banking, construction, beverages,(spirits) cleaning products, real estate, pharmaceuticals, oil, biotech, shipping, consumer goods, movies, pig breeding, ( yeah, that’s what’s I said) cruise ships, hotels, retail, seafood, meat processing, software, auto dealers, casinos, medical equipment, paints, airlines, cable television, semiconductors, Campbell soup, flavorings, perfume, luxury goods, restaurants, hair products, tequila, payroll services, furniture, lotteries, tires, prosthetics, used cars, frozen foods,  

prosthetics, U-Haul, drones, package delivery, cheese, healthcare services, mobile payments, trucking, tobacco, fishing, sports apparel, employment agency, bakeries, online retail, drugstores, travel, blinds, chewing gum, TV broadcasting, online games, auto loans, web hosting, security services, dental implants, nutrition and wellness, insurance, printing, shoes, touch screens, auto parts, hygiene products, cosmetics, flooring, orange juice, supermarkets, hardware stores, auto repair, detergents, truck stops, hair care products, and soft drinks,

The basic mantra of a capitalistic, free market business environment is this: find a need and meet it.  The vast majority of individuals that made the list were not those that catered to the wealthy in the form of private equity, hedge funds and luxury goods. They made their fortunes by creating a market for regular folks.  The 80 different categories across 20 industries listed in the previous paragraph represent the bulk of industries in which they created enough market penetration to amass multi-generational wealth.  The interesting thing is that most of the nouveau super rich hit these meteoric heights through innovations in e-commerce, social media and the inertia of technology.  However, traditional industries are still providing opportunities for the creation of passports to the exclusive enclave of Richistan.