Jan Koum and Brian Acton, the co-founders of WhatsApp, made Forbes’ annual billionaires’ list with few moments to spare after Facebook offered a total of $19 billion to buy the company.
The deal, if completed, will give Koum a fortune of $6.8 billion, according to Forbes. Acton will be worth at least $3 billion. The two were the subject of a very well-timed profile that Forbes had planned to coincide with its billionaires’ issue, which was released on Monday.
After Facebook made its stunning offer on Feb. 19, Forbes posted its exclusive on the founders online.
Koum and Acton are two of 26 newcomers to the list from tech. Others include Dropbox CEO Drew Houston and Workday cofounder Aneel Bhusri.
At the top of the list were the usual suspects. Microsoft cofounder and chairman Bill Gates, who once again became the world’s richest man last May, is No. 1 with $76 billion.
Oracle cofounder and CEO Larry Ellison is on the list at No. 5 with $48 billion. Google cofounders Larry Page and Sergey Brin placed at 17 and 19, respectively, with $32.3 billion and $31.8 billion. The two flanked Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, whose fortune is estimated at $32 billion. Facebook cofounder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg came in at No. 21 with $28.5 billion.
Below are the top 10 billionaires on the list:
- Bill Gates: $76 billion
- Carlos Slim and Helu Family: $72 billion
- Amancia Ortega: $64 billion
- Warren Buffett: $58.2 billion
- Larry Ellison : $48 billion
- Charles Koch: $40 billion
- David Koch: $40 billion
- Sheldon Adelson: $38 billion
- Christy Walton and Family: $36.7 billion
- Jim Walton: $34.7 billion
