How do billionaires make their money?
Short answer
Mostly through owning shares of companies they started or bought. Their salary is a small part. On the 2026 Forbes list the top fields are finance and investments, manufacturing and technology.
The numbers
- 2026 Forbes billionaires by industry: Finance & Investments 512, Manufacturing 468, Technology 467, Fashion & Retail 317, Healthcare 260 (Forbes data via statbase.org).
What Billionaires Told Us
“The way you make money is you invest it in human endeavor, and you invest it with people who are dedicated to what they do, and this is all they want to do with themselves. The more complicated investment strategies you hear about the things that make you go, “Huh?”