For any parents out there looking for baby name inspiration, perhaps looking at the most popular names of billionaires will be helpful. That’s not to say that these people became super rich due just to their name, but it is interesting to look at the most commonly used monikers.
Digital marketing expert Julian Goldie examined data from Bloomberg.com‘s top 500 global billionaires list to see which names were most frequently used. Unsurprisingly, the entire top 10 is made up of male names, as men have traditionally been afforded the types of opportunities that can lead to becoming a billionaire.
But since the Bloomberg list is constantly changing as it updates people’s net worths in real time, the list is subject to change. And we’ve added a few female billionaire names to this article for further baby name inspiration.
Keep reading to see which monikers were the most popular.
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John
There are currently 11 Johns on the top 500 billionaires list. John is already a pretty common boys name in general, so it’s not surprising to see it so highly represented here. According to Social Security Administration data, John was the 26th most popular baby boy name in 2023, with nearly 8,000 boys given that moniker that year.
David
There are 10 Davids (and one who goes by Dave) on the Bloomberg top billionaires list at the moment. That includes David Tepper, owner of the Carolina Panthers NFL team. His net worth is currently $21.3 billion, making him the 94th richest person in the world, per Bloomberg.
Thomas
Seven billionaires named Thomas (and one who goes by Tom) are on the top 500 list. According to Goldie’s data, they have a collective net worth of $100.2 billion. But most of that comes from 80-year-old businessman Thomas Peterffy who currently has a $54 billion net worth.
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Michael
According to the Social Security Administration, Michael has been the second overall most used baby name for boys in the last 100 years. A whopping 4,350,425 boys named Michael were born between 1924 and 2023. By that notion, the six billionaires named Michael (and one who goes by Mike) almost seems a little on the low end.
Wang
In China, their surname comes first — and Wang is the second most popular surname, per China Highlights. About 7.41% of China’s 1.4 billion population share the name Wang. On Bloomberg‘s billionaires list, there are six Wangs in the top 500.
Mark
There are six people named Mark currently in the top 500 billionaires worldwide. Two of them are among the most well-known in America. Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg is the third richest man in the world, with a net worth of $207 billion. Shark Tank‘s Mark Cuban also made the list at number 368 with a net worth of $7.99 billion, per Bloomberg.
Charles
According to CBS News, King Charles has a $2.3 billion net worth, but even that wasn’t enough to crack the top 500. Still, his name appears on the Bloomberg list. There are currently three billionaires named Charles on that list, all with at least $6 billion to their names.
Zhang
The other prominent Chinese surname on the billionaires list was Zhang, which five people share. According to Goldie’s data, the five of them have a combined net worth of $82.5 billion. Per China Highlights, Zhang is the third most common surname in China.
Richard
There are currently four billionaires in the top 500 with Richard as a name. But even the most well-known Richard billionaire didn’t make that list. Virgin Group co-founder Richard Branson’s net worth is $2.6 billion, according to Fortune. Meanwhile, the least wealthy Richard on the Bloomberg list has a net worth of $6.41 billion.
Jim
There are four billionaires named Jim (and one named Jimmy) on the Bloomberg top 500. Collectively, the Jims hold a net worth of $114.6 billion, per Goldie’s research. But technically all of their given names are James, so add in the two additional billionaires in the top 500 named James and that’s a whopping seven representing this moniker.
Stephen/Steven
There are varying ways to spell Stephen (like with a “v”) but when combined, there are eight billionaires who share the pronunciation of that name — although many of them go by Steve. Notably on this list is filmmaker Steven Spielberg, who has a net worth of $9.78 billion.
Joe
There are four men who go by Joe on the top 500 billionaires list, but most of their names are Joseph — except for one whose full name is actually John Joseph Ricketts. So he technically is a win for the John billionaires, even though he goes by Joe.
Jeff
There are four men named Jeffrey (and one who spells it Jeffery) on the billionaire top 500 list. Most notable is Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. He’s the second richest person in the world next to Elon Musk. Bezos has a net worth of $230 billion.
George
Star Wars creator George Lucas is one of four men named George in the top 500 billionaires. George Lucas has a net worth of $7.97 billion. That figure was greatly helped when he sold the franchise to Disney in 2012 for $4.05 billion, per ScreenRant.
Daniel
There are six Dans on the top 500 billionaires list. Most of their full names are Daniel, except for Thomas Dan Friedkin. He goes by Dan, but he’s really a tick for the Thomas category. Per the Social Security Administration data, Daniel was the 17th most popular baby name for boys in 2023.
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Taylor
Though technically a gender-neutral name, in this scenario we are speaking of Taylor Swift, who joined the billionaires rank in 2023 thanks to the success of her Eras Tour. Her net worth is $1.6 billion, per Time, which is not enough to be in the top 500, but Taylor is still perfect moniker inspo if you’re having a baby girl.
Livia
According to Forbes, Livia Voigt became the world’s youngest billionaire in 2024. At 19, she inherited a $1.1 billion fortune. We love Livia as a spin on the popular moniker Olivia, which ranked number one in 2023 for baby girls, per the Social Security Administration.
Alice
The richest woman in the world is Alice Walton, according to the Bloomberg billionaires list. Per Forbes, she’s the daughter of Walmart founder Sam Walton. Bloomberg reported that she currently has a net worth of $105 billion, making her the 16th wealthiest person in the world overall.
