Forbes 2022 List: See Which Wisconsinites Are Among World's Wealthiest

WISCONSIN — The world's billionaires, including in Wisconsin, are still worth $12.7 trillion collectively, even though their fortunes fell by $400 billion since 2021.

The World's Billionaires List shrunk slightly after the U.S. put sanctions on Russia and squeezed a few oligarchs out of the list after Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, Forbes reported.

Wisconsin has held steady in the billionaire list — there were 8 Badger State billionaires in 2022, just like there were 8 in 2021, according to the list.

More than 1,000 billionaires are richer than they were a year ago. And more than 200 people became billionaires over the past year as ordinary Americans grapple with record gas prices and rising food costs at the grocery store.

The number of billionaires on this year’s list slipped to 2,668 — 87 fewer than last year.

Who are the richest people in Wisconsin? John Menard, namesake of the home improvement retail chain, tops the list with a net worth of $16.6 billion.

Other Wisconsin billionaires on the list include:

• Diane Hendricks, ABC Supply, $10.7 billion
• Herbert Kohler, Kohler, $8.8 billion
• Judy Faulkner, Epic, $7 billion
• James Cargill II, Cargill, $5 billion
• H. Fisk Johnson III, SC Johnson, $3.3 billion
• S. Curtis Johnson, SC Johnson, $3.3 billion
• Helen Johnson-Leipold, SC Johnson, $3.3 billion

To make a comparison, John Menard's net worth could buy a month's worth of groceries for over 5,500,000 Wisconsin residents.

To compile this year’s list, Forbes used a snapshot of its real-time billionaires rankings by analyzing stock prices and exchange rates for March 11.

The United States still leads the world with 735 billionaires worth a collective $4.7 trillion. This includes Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who tops the World’s Billionaires List for the first time.

Former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos fell to the second spot on this year’s list. Bezos, who founded the e-commerce giant out of his garage in Seattle, Washington, stepped down as CEO in 2021 and is now executive chairman of the company.

Meanwhile, France’s Bernard Arnault of LVMH remains at No. 3, followed by Bill Gates of Microsoft at No. 4. Rounding out this year’s top five is Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway.

U.S. billionaires could surrender more wealth should Congress pass a “Billionaire Minimum Tax” proposed in President Joe Biden’s fiscal year 2023 budget proposal.

See Also: These Wisconsin Billionaires Are Among Richest In U.S.: Forbes

Under the proposal, households worth more than $100 million would pay at least 20 percent in taxes on both income and “unrealized gains,” or the increase in an unsold investment’s value. Many wealthy people hold onto these investments for decades, meaning they’re never taxed, the administration said.

However, the bill’s prospects seem grim after Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin spoke out against it.

“You can’t tax something that’s not earned. Earned income is what we’re based on,” Manchin told The Hill. “There’s other ways to do it. Everybody has to pay their fair share.”

See the full 2022 Forbes Billionaires List.