Forbes counted 2755 billionaires this year. Some 700 of those reside in the USA.
The record-breaking 493 new billionaires have found their names on the Forbes list of wealthiest individuals. China has produced 205 new billionaires this year, almost half the newcomer's list.
Many believed that California faced a massive exodus because high-end individuals, including Joe Rogan, Elon Musk, and Larry Elison, packed their bags and left for Texas.
The truth is that mostly under-earners are leaving the Golden state because they can’t afford life in San Francisco’s Lombard, Castro, and Market streets.
People who were stuck in menial jobs and were struggling to make ends meet got their tickets for another place. Fair enough. If one state doesn’t work, maybe they should find another place to build a better life—all the power to those people. Moving to a different state is not an easy choice.
California was overcrowded.
However, the Golden State, especially Silicon Valley, has welcomed 24 new billionaires in the past year. San Francisco is still the most congested billionaire's playground in the world. If you’re looking for fame and money, California is the place that mints superstars. Californians are getting richer faster than ever.
The Golden State has pocketed $10 billion ahead of all projections in 2020, despite closing many hospitality jobs and imposing strict COVID measures.
This makes California one of the rare states to finish the year in surplus.
The state counts some 189 billionaires in total, making it the state with most individuals that have reported wealth over 10-figures. New York comes in second with 126 billionaires, then Florida with 76 outstanding net-worth individuals.
The golden city’s billionaire row (From Divisadero Street on Broadway Ave to Lyon Street)
San Francisco has less than a million residents but more billionaires per square meter than anywhere else in the world. Forbes reports 48billioanres officially residing in San Francisco this year, placing the city on #8, among the cities with the most billionaires.
Bejing and New York took the first two places on the list.
Understandably, both cities have at least 15x the population but only double or triple the number of billionaires compared to San Francisco. Dustin Moskovitz is the city’s wealthiest individual with $17.8 billion.
The primary reason why Dustin is the wealthiest individual in San Francisco is that the richest among billionaires don’t technically live in San Francisco. Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Page, and 16 other top billionaires all occupy the streets of Palo Alto, which is a 30-minute Uber drive from San Francisco (not that they'd use Uber). Others have found their homes in Menlo Park or Atherton.
The truth is self-evident here. If you wish to fund your company with venture capital and change the world, making billions in the process, you should move to San Francisco and Silicon Valley. The Golden state mints the most billionaires per year. Innovators are found to have too much money sometimes, calling it the “dry powder.”
If you ever go for a walk from Divisadero Street on Broadway Ave to Lyon Street or make your way to Presidio or Palace of Fine Arts, you can admire the wealthiest part of the world. Make sure to prepare for a hike, as the Billionaire's Row is literally on a hill.
How do you become a billionaire from Presidio?
We have found the top 3 ways newly minted billionaires have minted their wealth in San Francisco.
1. IPOs
2. SPAC mergers
3. Cryptocurrency
Finance and technology seem to offer the most lucrative sector, especially when merged in fintech. Austin Russel is the youngest self-made billionaire this year.
Another great sector is health. The pandemic has put more focus on tech startups in the Valley, solidifying the billionaire's position for Alice Schwartz and Patrick Soon-Shiong. And finally, cryptocurrency.
The billionaire list has finally welcomed Coinbase founders who went public this year.