These 92 immigrants hail from 35 countries but made it rich in America.
W
hen Zoom founder and CEO Eric Yuan set his sights on the U.S. as a recent college graduate in the 1990s, he was denied a visa eight times in 18 months. Determined to join idols like Bill Gates making it big in tech, the son of mining engineers in China’s eastern Shandong Province refused to take no for an answer.
“I told myself, okay, great. I’ll do all I can until you tell me that I can never come here anymore,” Yuan told Forbes in 2019. “Otherwise, I’m not going to stop.”
Yuan’s persistence paid off. He finally got a visa and headed to California in the summer of 1997 to join WebEx as an early employee. Two decades later, the rival video communications company he ended up founding and running has fundamentally changed the way we connect with each other in the midst of a global pandemic.
Yuan (who was worth an estimated $5.2 billion as of March 11– the date Forbes used to measure net worths for the latest billionaires list), is just one of 92 foreign-born American citizens on Forbes’ annual World’s Billionaires list for 2022 who currently live in the United States. You heard that right – 13% of the list’s 735 American citizens are immigrants.
With a combined net worth of $711 billion, these foreign-born U.S. citizens account for 15% of all American billionaire wealth. And they’ve built their fortunes on their own– 92% are self-made, compared to 71% for the 628 American billionaires who were born in the U.S.
These immigrants hail from 35 different countries and every continent but Antarctica. The world’s richest person, Elon Musk of Tesla and SpaceX ($219 billion), is one of three from South Africa. Another five hail from elsewhere in Africa, including Tope Awotona ($1.4 billion), the founder and CEO of scheduling software company Calendly. As a 12-year-old in Lagos, Nigeria, Awotona witnessed his father get shot and killed in a carjacking. Three years later he and his family moved to Atlanta, Georgia.
“When you come from a different country, and you have to assimilate into a different country, you learn to get along with people from all different backgrounds, and you have empathy for people of all different backgrounds,” Awotona says.
Other newcomers to the billionaire ranks include mobile gaming billionaire Adam Foroughi of AppLovin ($1.3 billion), who was was born in Iran a year after the 1979 Iranian Revolution, and Jordanian-born private equity mogul Ramzi Musallam ($4 billion), whose formative years were spent in emerging markets such as Saudi Arabia and Tanzania, where his father, a Palestinian Christian born in Jerusalem, worked for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
But it’s Israel that has produced the most immigrant billionaires on this year’s list, with ten–including brothers Tom and Alec Gores ($6 billion and $2.6 billion, respectively), who stocked shelves at their father’s grocery store in Flint, Michigan before making it big in private equity, and Oracle CEO Safra Catz ($1.5 billion), one of 10 female immigrants with three-comma fortunes.
Eren Ozmen ($2.6 billion), who owns and runs private aerospace and defense company Sierra Nevada Corporation with her husband Fatih Ozmen ($2.5 billion), is one of those women. The Ozmens are Turkish immigrants who came to the U.S. for graduate school in the early 1980s, drawn to the land of opportunity they’d imagined growing up.
"When we were children, on the other side of the world, we watched the moon landing on a black-and-white TV. It gave us goosebumps. It was so inspirational," Fatih Ozmen told Forbes in 2018. "Look at the United States and what women can do here, compared to the rest of the world,” his wife Eren added.
Eight American billionaires were born in Canada, including real estate icon Mortimer Zuckerman ($3 billion), the son of Ukrainian Jewish immigrants who settled in Montreal and sold tobacco and candy, and Alberta natives Robyn and Mark Jones ($1.8 billion), founders of Goosehead Insurance in Texas.
Seven immigrant billionaires were born in China. Weili Dai ($1.4 billion) played semi-professional basketball in Shanghai as a teen before cofounding semiconductor company Marvell Technology with her husband Sehat Sutardja (an Indonesian-born U.S. citizen worth an estimated $1.3 billion). Andrew Cherng, who shares a $3.2 billion fortune with his wife and Panda Express cofounder, Peggy Cherng (an immigrant from Myanmar), was also born in the Middle Kingdom.
India rounds out the top four as the birthplace of seven American billionaires, five of whom made their fortunes in technology, including venture capitalists Vinod Khosla ($6.9 billion) and Ram Shriram ($2.6 billion), the founder of cybersecurity firm Zscaler, Jay Chaudhry ($11.4 billion) and founder of AI firm Amelia, Chetan Dube ($2.4 billion).
The 92 figure doesn’t count another 36 non-citizen billionaires living and working in the U.S., including brothers John and Patrick Collison (worth an estimated $9.5 billion each), the Irish cofounders of digital payments giant Stripe, and pop star Rihanna ($1.7 billion), who lives in Los Angeles and whose stakes in the Fenty Beauty cosmetics line and the Savage X Fenty lingerie business helped make her Barbados’ first citizen billionaire.
Altogether nearly half (41) of the foreign-born members of America’s billionaires club derived their wealth from technology. The finance and investments industry ranks a distant second, with 16 immigrant billionaires. In fact, Silicon Valley has become so dependent on immigrant entrepreneurs that prominent locals have started looking for a less political term for immigration.
“It really is a framing issue. We should not call high-skilled labor coming here immigration,” said venture capitalist and early Uber investor Jason Calacanis on a recent episode of the “All-In” podcast. “We should be flipping that to talent acquisition. We should be looking at it as, ‘America is trying to get more talent here so that we can win the industries that matter.’”
There’s always the risk that students from economic rivals like China will take their technical skills home with them – six billionaires who earned U.S. citizenship while studying in the U.S. have gone on to found or run Chinese companies, including Li Ge ($8.8 billion) who received a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Columbia before cofounding WuXi AppTec, which provides R&D and manufacturing services to the global pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device industries. (Forbes didn’t count Li or 14 other foreign-born U.S. citizens living outside the country as immigrants).
But many other China natives have stayed in the U.S. after graduating from American colleges, including DoorDash cofounder and CEO Tony Xu ($1.3 billion), whose mom gave up her medical career in China to work at a Chinese restaurant in the U.S. while her husband earned his Ph.D. at the University of Illinois. She eventually opened her own acupuncture and medical clinic, which she continues to operate in the San Francisco Bay Area more than 20 years later.
“DoorDash exists today to empower those like my Mom who came here with a dream to make it on their own,” Xu wrote in the company’s 2020 IPO prospectus. “Fighting for the underdog is part of who I am and what we stand for as a company.”
HOMELANDS
Where Most Billionaire Immigrants Were Born
Here is the complete list of immigrant billionaires on Forbes’ annual World’s Billionaires list in 2022 (net worths are as of March 11):
1.
Elon Musk
Net worth: $219 billion
Source of wealth: Tesla & SpaceX
Country: South Africa
2.
Sergey Brin
Net worth: $107 billion
Source of wealth: Google
Country: Russia
3.
Miriam Adelson
Net worth: $27.5 billion
Source of wealth: casinos
Country: Israel
4.
Rupert Murdoch & family
Net worth: $20.8 billion
Source of wealth: newspapers & TV network
Country: Australia
5.
Jensen Huang
Net worth: $20.6 billion
Source of wealth: semiconductors
Country: Taiwan
6.
Thomas Peterffy
Net worth: $20.1 billion
Source of wealth: discount brokerage
Country: Hungary
7.
Jay Chaudhry
Net worth: $11.4 billion
Source of wealth: security software
Country: India
8.
Pierre Omidyar
Net worth: $11.3 billion
Source of wealth: eBay & PayPal
Country: France
9.
Jan Koum
Net worth: $9.8 billion
Source of wealth: WhatsApp
Country: Ukraine
10.
George Soros
Net worth: $8.6 billion
Source of wealth: hedge funds
Country: Hungary
11.
Shahid Khan
Net worth: $7.6 billion
Source of wealth: auto parts
Country: Pakistan
12.
Patrick Soon-Shiong
Net worth: $7.3 billion
Source of wealth: pharmaceuticals
Country: South Africa
13.
Douglas Leone
Net worth: $6.9 billion
Source of wealth: venture capital
Country: Italy
14.
Micky Arison
Net worth: $6.9 billion
Source of wealth: Carnival Cruises
Country: Israel
15.
Vinod Khosla
Net worth: $6.9 billion
Source of wealth: venture capital
Country: India
16.
Philippe Laffont
Net worth: $6.5 billion
Source of wealth: hedge fund
Country: Belgium
17.
Rocco Commisso
Net worth: $6.1 billion
Source of wealth: telecom
Country: Italy
18.
Tom Gores
Net worth: $6 billion
Source of wealth: private equity
Country: Israel
19.
Michael Moritz
Net worth: $5.9 billion
Source of wealth: venture capital
Country: Wales
20.
Charles Simonyi
Net worth: $5.8 billion
Source of wealth: Microsoft
Country: Hungary
21.
Ken Xie
Net worth: $5.7 billion
Source of wealth: cybersecurity
Country: China
22.
David Sun
Net worth: $5.6 billion
Source of wealth: computer hardware
Country: Taiwan
23.
John Tu
Net worth: $5.6 billion
Source of wealth: computer hardware
Country: China
24.
Eric Yuan & family
Net worth: $5.2 billion
Source of wealth: Zoom Video Communications
Country: China
25.
Isaac Perlmutter
Net worth: $5.1 billion
Source of wealth: Marvel comics
Country: Israel
26.
Peter Thiel
Net worth: $5 billion
Source of wealth: Facebook & investments
Country: Germany
27.
Jeff Skoll
Net worth: $4.8 billion
Source of wealth: eBay
Country: Canada
28.
Igor Olenicoff
Net worth: $4.7 billion
Source of wealth: real estate
Country: Russia
29.
Dagmar Dolby & family
Net worth: $4.6 billion
Source of wealth: Dolby Laboratories
Country: Germany
30.
Min Kao & family
Net worth: $4.6 billion
Source of wealth: navigation equipment
Country: Taiwan
31.
Romesh T. Wadhwani
Net worth: $4.2 billion
Source of wealth: software
Country: Pakistan
32.
Thai Lee
Net worth: $4.1 billion
Source of wealth: IT provider
Country: Thailand
33.
Steven Udvar-Hazy
Net worth: $4.1 billion
Source of wealth: aircraft leasing
Country: Hungary
34.
Rakesh Gangwal
Net worth: $4 billion
Source of wealth: airline
Country: India
35.
Ramzi Musallam
Net worth: $4 billion
Source of wealth: private equity
Country: Jordan
36.
Pablo Legorreta
Net worth: $3.8 billion
Source of wealth: investments
Country: Mexico
37.
John Catsimatidis
Net worth: $3.7 billion
Source of wealth: oil & real estate
Country: Greece
38.
Behdad Eghbali
Net worth: $3.4 billion
Source of wealth: private equity
Country: Iran
39.
Michael Xie
Net worth: $3.4 billion
Source of wealth: cybersecurity
Country: China
40.
Andrew & Peggy Cherng
Net worth: $3.2 billion
Source of wealth: restaurants
Country: China & Myanmar
41.
Haim Saban
Net worth: $3.1 billion
Source of wealth: TV network & investments
Country: Egypt
42.
Oren Zeev
Net worth: $3 billion
Source of wealth: investments
Country: Israel
43.
Mortimer Zuckerman
Net worth: $3 billion
Source of wealth: real estate & media
Country: Canada
44
Nicolas Berggruen
Net worth: $2.9 billion
Source of wealth: real estate & investments
Country: France
45.
Alexis Lê-Quôc
Net worth: $2.8 billion
Source of wealth: cloud computing
Country: France
46.
Ben Ashkenazy
Net worth: $2.7 billion
Source of wealth: real estate
Country: Israel
47.
C. Dean Metropoulos
Net worth: $2.7 billion
Source of wealth: investments
Country: Greece
48.
Jerry Yang
Net worth: $2.7 billion
Source of wealth: Yahoo
Country: Taiwan
49.
Eren Ozmen
Net worth: $2.6 billion
Source of wealth: aerospace
Country: Turkey
50.
Alec Gores
Net worth: $2.6 billion
Source of wealth: private equity
Country: Israel
51.
Ram Shriram
Net worth: $2.6 billion
Source of wealth: venture capital & Google
Country: India
52.
David Baszucki
Net worth: $2.5 billion
Source of wealth: online games
Country: Canada
53.
Fatih Ozmen
Net worth: $2.5 billion
Source of wealth: aerospace
Country: Turkey
54.
Chetan Dube
Net worth: $2.4 billion
Source of wealth: technology
Country: India
55.
Anthony Wood
Net worth: $2.4 billion
Source of wealth: Roku
Country: England
56.
Rodney Sacks
Net worth: $2.4 billion
Source of wealth: energy drinks
Country: South Africa
57.
Frank Laukien
Net worth: $2.3 billion
Source of wealth: scientific equipment
Country: Germany
58.
Noam Gottesman
Net worth: $2.3 billion
Source of wealth: hedge funds
Country: Israel
59.
Osman Kibar
Net worth: $2.3 billion
Source of wealth: biotech
Country: Turkey
60.
Daniel Lubetzky
Net worth: $2.2 billion
Source of wealth: snack bars
Country: Mexico
61.
Jayshree Ullal
Net worth: $2.1 billion
Source of wealth: computer networking
Country: England
62.
David Zalik
Net worth: $1.9 billion
Source of wealth: financial technology
Country: Israel
63.
Frank Slootman
Net worth: $1.8 billion
Source of wealth: software
Country: Netherlands
64.
David Paul
Net worth: $1.8 billion
Source of wealth: medical devices
Country: India
65.
David Hindawi
Net worth: $1.8 billion
Source of wealth: software
Country: Iraq
66.
Mark & Robyn Jones
Net worth: $1.8 billion
Source of wealth: insurance
Country: Canada
67.
Marc Lasry
Net worth: $1.8 billion
Source of wealth: hedge funds
Country: Morocco
68.
George Marcus
Net worth: $1.8 billion
Source of wealth: real estate
Country: Greece
69.
Sanjit Biswas
Net worth: $1.7 billion
Source of wealth: sensor systems
Country: Canada
70.
Noubar Afeyan
Net worth: $1.7 billion
Source of wealth: biotech
Country: Lebanon
71.
Jorge Perez
Net worth: $1.7 billion
Source of wealth: real estate
Country: Argentina
72.
Patrizio Vinciarelli
Net worth: $1.7 billion
Source of wealth: electronic components
Country: Italy
73.
Safra Catz
Net worth: $1.5 billion
Source of wealth: software
Country: Israel
74.
Egon Durban
Net worth: $1.5 billion
Source of wealth: private equity
Country: Germany
75.
Bharat Desai
Net worth: $1.5 billion
Source of wealth: IT consulting
Country: Kenya
76.
John Farber
Net worth: $1.5 billion
Source of wealth: chemicals
Country: Romania
77.
Michael Polsky
Net worth: $1.5 billion
Source of wealth: Electric power
Country: Ukraine
78.
Fayez Sarofim
Net worth: $1.5 billion
Source of wealth: money management
Country: Egypt
79.
Stewart Butterfield
Net worth: $1.4 billion
Source of wealth: messaging software
Country: Canada
80.
Weili Dai
Net worth: $1.4 billion
Source of wealth: semiconductors
Country: China
81.
Tope Awotona
Net worth: $1.4 billion
Source of wealth: software
Country: Nigeria
82.
Thierry Cruanes
Net worth: $1.4 billion
Source of wealth: software
Country: France
83.
Benoit Dageville
Net worth: $1.4 billion
Source of wealth: software
Country: France
84.
Martin Selig
Net worth: $1.4 billion
Source of wealth: real estate
Country: Germany
85.
Sehat Sutardja
Net worth: $1.3 billion
Source of wealth: semiconductors
Country: Indonesia
86.
Tony Xu
Net worth: $1.3 billion
Source of wealth: food delivery service
Country: China
87.
Adam Foroughi
Net worth: $1.3 billion
Source of wealth: mobile games
Country: Iran
88.
Leonid Radvinsky
Net worth: $1.2 billion
Source of wealth: e-commerce
Country: Ukraine
89.
Stanley Tang
Net worth: $1.2 billion
Source of wealth: food delivery app
Country: Japan
90.
Mark Rein
Net worth: $1 billion
Source of wealth: video games
Country: Canada
91.
Axel Stawski
Net worth: $1 billion
Source of wealth: real estate
Country: Germany
92.
Neerja Sethi
Net worth: $1 billion
Source of wealth: IT consulting & outsourcing
Country: India
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