A fortune of $1 billion was required to enter Forbes’ 2020 World’s Billionaires list.
Forbes defines a billionaire-list entrant as someone whose estimated net worth reaches at least one billion United States dollars at the ranking’s valuation date. The threshold is a wealth level, not an annual income figure and not the amount of cash held in a bank account.
Forbes estimates net worth by valuing public shareholdings at market prices and assessing private companies, property and other assets. Debts and other liabilities are deducted. Because the list is based on a specific date, someone’s estimated fortune can move above or below the threshold soon afterward.
The 2020 edition contained 2,095 billionaires, fewer than the 2019 total, after market declines affected valuations. The entry threshold itself remained $1 billion.