Richest billionaires in Washington

The first billionaire ever is thought to be Standard Oil magnate John D. Rockefeller back in 1916, or perhaps 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 U.S. is home to the most billionaires out of any other country, Americans are somewhat split in their feelings on the billionaire class. According to Pew Research Center data, people in the U.S. 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 ultra-rich—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 compiled a list of the richest billionaires who are residents of Washington, using data from Forbes. Billionaires are ranked by net worth as of March 24. Forbes lists 13 billionaires in Washington.

#13. David Hindawi
- Net worth: $1.1 billion (#2,324 wealthiest in the world)
- Residence: Seattle
- Source of wealth: software, self made

#12. Orion Hindawi
- Net worth: $1.2 billion (#2,224 wealthiest in the world)
- Residence: Seattle
- Source of wealth: software, self made

#11. Martin Selig
- Net worth: $1.4 billion (#1,985 wealthiest in the world)
- Residence: Seattle
- Source of wealth: real estate, self made

#10. Craig McCaw
- Net worth: $2.0 billion (#1,471 wealthiest in the world)
- Residence: Hunts Point
- Source of wealth: telecom

#9. James Jannard
- Net worth: $2.2 billion (#1,323 wealthiest in the world)
- Residence: San Juan Islands
- Source of wealth: sunglasses, self made

#8. Howard Schultz
- Net worth: $3.7 billion (#757 wealthiest in the world)
- Residence: Seattle
- Source of wealth: Starbucks, self made

#7. Gabe Newell
- Net worth: $3.9 billion (#713 wealthiest in the world)
- Residence: Seattle
- Source of wealth: videogames, self made

#6. Charles Simonyi
- Net worth: $5.6 billion (#442 wealthiest in the world)
- Residence: Medina
- Source of wealth: Microsoft, self made

#5. Melinda French Gates
- Net worth: $6.2 billion (#400 wealthiest in the world)
- Residence: Medina
- Source of wealth: Microsoft

#4. MacKenzie Scott
- Net worth: $26.4 billion (#53 wealthiest in the world)
- Residence: Seattle
- Source of wealth: Amazon

#3. Steve Ballmer
- Net worth: $88.4 billion (#10 wealthiest in the world)
- Residence: Hunts Point
- Source of wealth: Microsoft, self made

#2. Bill Gates
- Net worth: $107.7 billion (#5 wealthiest in the world)
- Residence: Medina
- Source of wealth: Microsoft, self made

#1. Jeff Bezos
- Net worth: $121.1 billion (#3 wealthiest in the world)
- Residence: Medina
- Source of wealth: Amazon, self made