Going green is increasingly becoming a way to make bank. As the planet’s climate crisis accelerates, the fastest-growing fortunes in the world are now green thanks to a new generation of tycoons amassing wealth in the clean energy boom. Investments in businesses that address climate change or encourage sustainable practices are surging. If such a sentiment continues to take hold, it could eventually remake the world’s wealth rankings. People who successfully carve out new niches in the green economy will be the owners of the wealth of the future.
To qualify as a green billionaire, the individual(s) must derive a significant portion of their wealth from businesses that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, such as renewable energy or electric vehicles. Fortunes derived from the same company are grouped together. The green net worth figure excludes any portion of the fortunes not derived from activities aimed at neutralizing carbon emissions. The value of pledged shares is excluded from the calculation.
Here are the top 10 richest green billionaires in the world.
Rank | Name | Company | Green Net Worth |
1. | Elon Musk | Tesla | $128 billion |
2. | Zeng Yuqun, Huang Shilin, Pei Zhenhua, Li Ping | CATL | $61.6 billion |
3. | Li Zhenguo, Li Chunan, Li Xiyan, Zhong Baoshen | Longi | $16.1 billion |
4. | Wang Chuanfu, Lv Xiangyang, Xia Zuoquan | BYD | $13.4 billion |
5. | Liu Jincheng | Eve Energy | $10.9 billion |
6. | He Xiaopeng, Xia Heng | XPeng | $10.3 billion |
7. | Anthony Pratt | Pratt Industries | $9 billion |
8. | Li Bin | Nio | $9 billion |
9. | Aloys Wobben | Enercon | $8.9 billion |
10. | Lin Jianhua | Hangzhou First Applied Material | $8.7 billion |