Countless entrepreneurs have become millionaires in Austin. But only a select few have entered the billion-dollar club.
In Forbes' annual ranking of the world's richest people, five Austinites made the list.
Michael Dell, founder and chairman of Dell Technologies, tops the list of people in the Austin area. At age 52, he has amassed a net worth of $23.9 billion, according to Forbes latest estimates. That puts him at No. 38 on the list. Most of his wealth is invested in hotels and restaurants via his MSD Capital firm.
Dell was ranked the same last year, but his ranking had climbed up from No. 48 in 2014 to No. 47 in 2015 before jumping to the 38th spot.
At No. 630 on the list, John Paul DeJoria is the second richest in the Austin area. The founder of Paul Mitchell line of hair products and The Patrón Spirits Company has an estimate net worth of $3.1 billion.
Robert F. Smith, chairman of Vista Equity Partners, came in at No. 814 with a net worth of $2.5 billion.
And David Booth, CEO of Dimensional Fund Advisors, ranked No. 1,290 with a net worth of $1.6 billion.
Finally, Bryan Sheffield, founder of Parsley Energy, ranked No. 1,567 with an estimated net worth of $1.3 billion.
The top 5 richest on Forbes' new list are:
- Bill Gates (Microsoft) - $86 billion
- Warren Buffett (Berkshire Hathaway) - $75.6 billion
- Jeff Bezos (Amazon) - $72.8 billion
- Amancio Ortega (Zara) - $71.3 billion
- Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook) - $56 billion
