They may not be the happiest of them all. But they are certainly the wealthiest.
The wealthiest couple on the planet, Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates and his wife Melinda, celebrate their 21st wedding anniversary this year. In their honor, private wealth consultancy Wealth-X has calculated the 10 wealthiest couples in the world. Bill married Melinda, a Microsoft employee, in 1994 and the couple has two daughters and one son. In 2000, they set up the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which gives primarily to agricultural development, health, educational and other social causes worldwide.
While some of the billionaires on this list didn’t find their true — or current — love the first time around, wealthier couples in general are more likely to stay together, recent research finds. Couples who earn over $125,000 a year are 51% less likely to get divorced than couples earning less than $25,000 a year, according to a study released last year by Andrew Francis and Hugo Mialon, professors in the Department of Economics at Emory University in Atlanta. They examined the association between income and marriage duration for 3,000 married couples in the U.S. One theory: Financial security may give couples one less reason to fight.
10) James and Lynne Walton
Combined net worth: $36.2 billion
Country: U.S.
Source of wealth: Inheritance; Walton is the youngest son of Sam Walton, the founder of big-box retailer Wal-Mart
9) Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan
Combined net worth: $38.5 billion
Country: U.S.
Source of wealth: Self-made; Zuckerberg is the founder of social-networking site Facebook
8) Bernard Arnault and Hélène Mercier
Combined net worth: $38.7 billion
Country: France
Source of wealth: Inheritance/Self-made; Arnault is the chairman and CEO of LVMH and he started out working for his father, Jean Leon Arnault, owner of a civil engineering firm Ferret-Savinel.
7) Jeff and Mackenzie Bezos
Combined net worth: $39.8 billion
Country: U.S.
Source of wealth: Self-made; Bezos is founder of online retail giant Amazon (AMZN).
6) Wang Jianlin and Lin Ning
Combined net worth: $40.7 billion
Country: China
Source of wealth: Self-made; Jianlin is chairman of Dalian Wanda Group, a real-estate company and operator of movie theaters.
5) Charles and Elizabeth Koch
Combined net worth: $47.4 billion
Country: U.S.
Source of wealth: Inheritance; Koch shares control of the family firm, conglomerate Koch Industries, with his brother David.
4) David and Julia Koch
Combined net worth: $47.5 billion
Country: U.S.
Source of wealth: Inheritance; Koch shares control of the conglomerate Koch Industries, founded by his father Fred Koch, with his brother Charles.
3) Warren Buffett and Astrid Menks
Combined net worth: $65 billion
Country: U.S.
Source of wealth: Self-made; Buffett is Chairman and CEO of conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway
2) Amancio Ortega Gaona and Flora Pérez
Combined net worth: $70.7 billion
Country: Spain
Source of wealth: Self-made; Ortega Gaona is founding chairman of the Inditex fashion group, best known for the Zara clothing chain.
1) Bill and Melinda Gates
Combined net worth: $85.7 billion
Country: U.S.
Source of wealth: Gates is the co-founder of computer software company Microsoft
[h/t:marketwatch.com]
