New York: Seven Indian-Americans have figured in Forbes’ list of richest Americans. The Forbes’ list has again been topped by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. This is for the third year in a row that Bezos has topped the charts. Bezos has a net worth of USD 179 billion, the highest among the list titled ‘400 Richest People in America’.
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Cofounder Bill Gates is ranked second on the list with a net worth of USD 111 billion.
The richest people in the US saw their wealth swell despite the coronavirus pandemic’s devastated impact on the economy.
“Pandemic be damned: America’s 400 richest are worth a record USD 3.2 trillion, up USD 240 billion from a year ago. Even in these trying times mega-fortunes are still being minted,” Forbes said.
The list has seven Indian-Americans. They are – cybersecurity firm ZScaler CEO Jay Chaudhry. He is followed by Founder and Chairman of Symphony Technology Group Romesh Wadhwani, cofounder and CEO of online home goods retailer Wayfair Niraj Shah. Then there is Silicon Valley venture capital firm Khosla Ventures founder Vinod Khosla. Also featuring in the lost is managing partner of Sherpalo Ventures Kavitark Ram Shriram. The two others are Airline veteran Rakesh Gangwal and Workday CEO and Co-founder Aneel Bhusri.
Rounding out the top five on the list are Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg on the third spot with a net worth of USD 85 billion. He is followed by Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett (net worth USD 73.5 billion) Fifth in the list is chief technology officer and co-founder of software giant Oracle Larry Ellison. His net worth is USD 72 billion.
President Donald Trump is ranked 339th on the list with a net worth of USD 2.5 billion.
Chaudhry, 61 is ranked 85th on the list with a net worth of USD 6.9 billion. He founded ZScaler in 2008 and the company went public in March 2018. Forbes said in 1996, Chaudhry and his wife, Jyoti, both quit their jobs. They put up their life savings to start cybersecurity firm ‘SecureIT’, his first startup.
Wadhwani, 73 has been ranked 238th on the list and has a net worth of USD 3.4 billion. His Symphony Technology Group brings in USD 2.5 billion in annual revenues.
On the 299th spot is Shah, 46, who has a net worth of USD 2.8 billion. Shah started the business in 2002 with Steve Conine, who is also a billionaire. Wayfair now offers more than 18 million products. It generated USD 9.1 billion in net revenue in 2019, up 35 per cent from the previous year, Forbes said.
Khosla, 65 is ranked 353rd with a net worth of USD 2.4 billion. Khosla cofounded computer hardware firm Sun Microsystems in 1982. He spent 18 years at venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers before launching his own fund. In June 2019, Khosla said he believes artificial intelligence could replace traditional industries such as radiology and music, Forbes added.
On the 359th spot is Shriram, 63, who has a net worth of USD 2.3 billion. Forbes said an early Google backer, Shriram has sold off most of his stock but remains on the board of its parent company, Alphabet.
Gangwal, 67 is ranked 359th on the list and has a net worth of USD 2.3 billion. Forbes said Gangwal made his fortune from InterGlobe Aviation, the parent outfit of budget airline IndiGo, India’s largest by market share.
On the 359th spot is Bhusri with a net worth of USD 2.3 billion. Bhusri is CEO of business software firm Workday, which he cofounded with Dave Duffield, the founder of PeopleSoft.
Bhusri started his career in the early 1990s at business software firm PeopleSoft. He rose to become vice-chairman there. Bhusri has been on the Forbes Midas List six times since 2008 and in May 2018.