15 Hudson Valley Residents Make Forbes Billionaires List

The global billionaire population may be shrinking, but the world's super-wealthy still love New York. The state is home to 112 American billionaires, according to Forbes's 33rd annual ranking of the globe's richest people, and 15 of them call the Hudson Valley home.

The 2019 list released Tuesday is topped by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos for the second straight year. He's worth $131 billion, followed by Microsoft founder Bill Gates with $96.5 billion and Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett with $82.5 billion.

Forbes's list includes 2,153 billionaires from across the globe who are worth a combined $8.7 trillion. Both the number and total net worth of the world's billionaires has decreased from 2018, when there were 2,208 people on the list worth $9.1 trillion. That marks only the second drop in the past decade, according to Forbes.

"The billionaire ranks prove that even the world's richest are not immune to economic forces and the volatility of world markets," Luisa Kroll, Forbes's assistant managing editor of wealth, said in a statement. "Yet, even with strong headwinds, resourceful and relentless entrepreneurs find new ways to get rich."

The United States is home to the most billionaires of any single nation. Bezos's net worth increased from $19 billion, and Gates, who had been the wealthiest person in the world for the longest period of time, increased his fortune by $6.5 billion, from $90 billion in 2018.

The gap between the No. 1 and No. 2 billionaires grew due to an increase in Amazon stock prices. Buffett's net worth fell by $1.5 billion.

Rounding out the top five were Bernard Arnault of France and Carlos Slim Helu of Mexico, with net worths of $76 billion and $64 billion, respectively.

New to the list is Kylie Jenner, 21, who is the youngest billionaire in the world and the youngest self-made billionaire of all time. Jenner, who ranked 2,057 on the list, owns 100 percent of Kylie Cosmetics, a company she founded three years ago and which did $360 million in sales last year. Most of the company's revenue comes from e-commerce, but Kylie Cosmetics also has a deal with Ulta to put its products in the makeup retailer's 1,163 U.S. stores.

As for the Hudson Valley, we won't try to claim Mark Zuckerberg though he grew up in Dobbs Ferry. He clocks in at No. 8 and $62.3 billion. Or Michael Bloomberg, who owns an estate in North Salem. He's No. 10 with $55.5 billion net worth.

Hedge fund pioneer George Soros of Katonah is No. 178, with $8.3 billion.

Ralph Lauren owns an estate in Bedford. No. 215, $6.9 billion.

James Chambers is of the heirs to the Cox family fortune. He owns an organic farm in the Hudson Valley, lives in Palisades and is a Bard College trustee. No. 261, with $6.2 billion.

Scarsdale's David Siegel, a hedge funder, is at No. 267, $6.1 billion.

Daniel Och of Scarsdale, a hedge fund CEO, is No. 617, with $3.5 billion.

Amy Goldman Fowler lives in Rhinebeck. Her $3.3 billion is based in real estate. She's at No. 667.

Thomas Secunda of Croton-on-Hudson, at Bloomberg LP. No. 804, with $2.8 billion.

David Gottesman of Rye is listed at No. 1008 with $2.3 billion based in investments.

Tied at No. 1281 are David Lichtenstein of Monsey and Leonard Schleifer of Tarrytown with $1.8 billion, the former based in real estate and the latter in pharmaceuticals.

Jeffrey Talpins of Larchmont, hedge funds, has $1.7 billion and is No. 1349.

Norman Pelz of Bedford is No. 1425, with $1.6 billion based in investments.

Alan Gerry of Liberty is No. 1605 with a cable television fortune of $1.4 billion.

George Yancopoulos of Yorktown is No. 1818 with a $1.2 billion fortune from pharmaceuticals.

Michael Steinhardt, in hedge funds, is No. 1941 with $1.1 billion.

PHOTO: In this May 29, 2018, file photo, philanthropist George Soros, founder and chairman of the Open Society Foundations, attends the European Council On Foreign Relations Annual Meeting in Paris.

Patch editor Beth Dalbey contributed to this report.