Entrepreneurs Rank High Among the 50 Wealthiest People in the World From Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg to Jeff Bezos, the list of the richest billionaires in the world is full of people who started their own companies.

By Catherine Clifford

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Kjetil Ree | Wikimedia Commons | Robert Galbraith | Reuters | Amazon
Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos

There are rich people. There are very rich people. And then there are the wealthiest billionaires in the world.

Those wealthiest billionaires operate in a different orbit than the rest of us. They have the kind of money that most of us can't even properly understand.

Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft, tops the list with a net worth of $87.4 billion, according a recently released report from Wealth-X, a Singapore-based company that compiles market research on the wealthiest individuals in the world. Amancio Ortega Gaona, the Spanish founder of trendy fast-fashion house Zara, ranks second on the list with $66.8 billion. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is fourth on the list with $56.6 billion, and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is eighth on the list with $42.8 billion.

Related: The Wild and Crazy Career Paths of 5 Self-Made Billionaires (Infographic)

The wealthiest people in the world come from all across the globe and a wide variety of industries, but one common thread is that many of the people on the list are entrepreneurs. Of course, there is no guarantee of financial success when launching a business. But it's definitely one path to the top.

For a bit of mid-winter inspiration, have a look at this newly released list of the 50 wealthiest people in the world. And then, get over your winter doldrums and get your hustle on.

Related: The Habits of Self-Made Billionaires (Infographic)

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50 Wealthiest People in the World (Infographic)

Related: The Top 25 Self-Made Billionaires In the World

Catherine Clifford

Senior Entrepreneurship Writer at CNBC

Catherine Clifford is senior entrepreneurship writer at CNBC. She was formerly a senior writer at Entrepreneur.com, the small business reporter at CNNMoney and an assistant in the New York bureau for CNN. Clifford attended Columbia University where she earned a bachelor's degree. She lives in Brooklyn, N.Y. You can follow her on Twitter at @CatClifford.

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