Richest billionaires in California

The first billionaire is generally considered to be John D. Rockefeller in 1916, though some argue it was Henry Ford in 1925.

Fast-forward some 100 years to 2021: As the COVID-19 pandemic continued to rage, a record-breaking 660 people became billionaires globally, growing the previous year's number by 30%.

While the United States has the most billionaires of any country, Americans are somewhat split on their feelings about the billionaire class. According to data from the Pew Research Center, the nation became somewhat more critical of billionaires between 2020 and 2021.

Although support for individual billionaires like Bill Gates is relatively strong, many Americans view the ultrarich—as a group rather than as individuals—negatively. Meanwhile, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is projected to become the world's first trillionaire by 2026.

The U.S.'s wealthiest billionaires are mostly concentrated within just a couple of industries: finance and investments and technology. Other wealthy sectors include food and drink, fashion and retail, and media and entertainment. Stacker found the richest billionaires in California, using data from Forbes. Net worth is as of Sept. 18, 2025.

#20. Jack Dangermond
- Net worth: $14.8 billion
- Source: Mapping software
- Industry: Technology
- Lives in: Redlands, California

#19. David Sun
- Net worth: $15.7 billion
- Source: Computer hardware
- Industry: Technology
- Lives in: Irvine, California

#18. John Tu
- Net worth: $15.8 billion
- Source: Computer hardware
- Industry: Technology
- Lives in: Rolling Hills, California

#17. George Roberts
- Net worth: $17.3 billion
- Source: Private equity
- Industry: Finance & Investments
- Lives in: Atherton, California

#16. Jan Koum
- Net worth: $17.6 billion
- Source: WhatsApp
- Industry: Technology
- Lives in: Atherton, California

#15. John Doerr
- Net worth: $17.8 billion
- Source: Venture capital
- Industry: Finance & Investments
- Lives in: Woodside, California

#14. Donald Bren
- Net worth: $19.2 billion
- Source: Real estate
- Industry: Real Estate
- Lives in: Newport Beach, California

#13. David Cheriton
- Net worth: $19.8 billion
- Source: Google
- Industry: Technology
- Lives in: Palo Alto, California

#12. Henry Nicholas III
- Net worth: $22.0 billion
- Source: Semiconductors
- Industry: Technology
- Lives in: Newport Coast, California

#11. Adam Foroughi
- Net worth: $22.3 billion
- Source: marketing software, mobile games
- Industry: Technology
- Lives in: Truckee, California

#10. Peter Thiel
- Net worth: $25.2 billion
- Source: Facebook, investments
- Industry: Finance & Investments
- Lives in: Los Angeles, California

#9. Robert Pera
- Net worth: $27.3 billion
- Source: Wireless networking
- Industry: Technology
- Lives in: San Jose, California

#8. Andreas von Bechtolsheim & family
- Net worth: $29.4 billion
- Source: Google
- Industry: Technology
- Lives in: Palo Alto, California

#7. Eric Schmidt
- Net worth: $30.2 billion
- Source: Google
- Industry: Technology
- Lives in: Atherton, California

#6. Henry Samueli
- Net worth: $32.1 billion
- Source: Semiconductors
- Industry: Technology
- Lives in: Newport Beach, California

#5. Jensen Huang
- Net worth: $151.1 billion
- Source: Semiconductors
- Industry: Technology
- Lives in: Los Altos, California

#4. Sergey Brin
- Net worth: $193.7 billion
- Source: Google
- Industry: Technology
- Lives in: Los Altos, California

#3. Larry Page
- Net worth: $208.8 billion
- Source: Google
- Industry: Technology
- Lives in: Palo Alto, California

#2. Mark Zuckerberg
- Net worth: $267.4 billion
- Source: Facebook
- Industry: Technology
- Lives in: Palo Alto, California

#1. Larry Ellison
- Net worth: $362.6 billion
- Source: Oracle
- Industry: Technology
- Lives in: Woodside, California