Seattle elite top list of world's richest people

SEATTLE — People from the Seattle region have a place on a recently-released list of the world’s wealthiest. And the tech industry is a common factor.

The Associated Press recently reported that the world's eight richest people together own roughly what half the rest of the world owns. While the Associated Press points out that the list shared certain common traits — they're all men and mostly American — Seattle is another common factor for some.

No surprise, Bill Gates of Microsoft fame tops the list of the world’s richest people with $75 billion. Gates, of course, garnered his wealth with the rise of Microsoft, based in Redmond.

Down the list at No. 5 is Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, worth $45.2 billion. Amazon started as an online book retailer in 1994 and quickly grew to become the world’s largest online retailer. The company is based in Seattle.

Bezos has other aspirations and he's keeping them close to home. He started aerospace company Blue Origin with the aim of providing access to space for consumers. That company is based in Kent and is currently charged with developing space technology.

World’s richest

While he’s not strictly Seattle-related, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg — with a worth of $44.6 billion — comes in at No. 6 on the top 8 list of world’s richest people. Facebook is based in Menlo Park, Calif. But the social media giant has one of the largest footprints in Seattle’s tech neighborhood of South Lake Union.

Facebook currently has just under one million square feet of office space in downtown Seattle, GeekWire reports. The company reportedly employs more than 1,000 people in Seattle. Facebook's Seattle offices are largely for engineering.

Here is the AP’s full list of world’s richest people:

• Bill Gates: $75 billion
• Amancio Ortega: $67 billion
• Warren Buffett: $60.8 billion
• Carlos Slim Helu: $50 billion
• Jeff Bezos: $45.2 billion
• Mark Zuckerberg: $44.6 billion
• Larry Ellison: $43.6 billion
• Michael Bloomberg: $40 billion