If you want to get rich, the old assumption is to go to work on Wall Street or in a related area such as investment banking or hedge funds.
The industry that has produced the most billionaires is financial, which includes stocks, hedge funds, banking and related fields. Over one-fifth, or 148 of billionaires on the Forbes list got their money through investing. That includes such luminaries as Warren Buffett, George Soros, Carl Icahn, and Seth Klarman.
And although finance-related businesses still offer a ticket to getting wealthy, there are other avenues nowadays.
Fashion
Fashion is the second most common industry that elevated working folk to the billionaires’ club.
Kevin Plank amassed a $1.2 billion fortune by making Under Armour t-shirts. Tory Burch became a billionaire selling “preppy Bohemian” women’s wear.
Kylie Jenner has built a billion-dollar makeup company backed by her Instagram following.
If you look at the Forbes list, fashion and retail were right behind investments in the billionaire creation category.
One hundred forty-six of those on the list got rich through fashion and other means.
However, there are still other top businesses to get wealthy.
Tech
An interesting discovery is that the technology business is not automatically a key to wealth. Only 95 of the world’s billionaires worked in the technology business.
Yet as individuals as diverse as Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Elon Musk, and Oracle’s Larry Ellison have proved, you can make a fortune introducing the right technology at the right time.
The good news is that you can still make billions without having to know a thing about computers or software.
Jobs in technology, which include positions such as computer programmers, high-tech company executives and website designers is seeing some of the most rapid growth.
The sector also represents the largest number of new business growth in the last five years, with 233,145 start-ups.
The jump in high tech business represents the largest increase for any industry in the nation as the technological revolution grows at the fastest pace since the U.S. steel industry’s historic growth following World War II.
But there are also booming industries outside of Wall Street, high-fashion and tech that you may want to consider, too.
Real Estate
It seems old-fashioned, but the real estate business can still also be a good means of making a fortune.
Of the 500 people on Forbes’ ranking, 129 made their billions through real estate. If you like buying and selling property and you have the resources and ability, flipping or developing properties can still make you a fortune.
Food
A degree from the Culinary Institute of America could be just as valuable as a degree from Harvard Business School or Stanford to get wealthy in business. Around 100 of the Forbes 500 made their wealth by creating tasty foods and drinks.
Hamdi Ulukaya made his fortune by introducing Greek yogurt to American refrigerators in the form of Chobani. People love to eat, and the success of Chipotle shows they’re still willing to pay extra for tasty treats even in a very lousy economy.
Healthcare
Working in healthcare for example, probably won’t make you a billionaire – but the demand is high fo workers.
Health care gained 5-million workers in the U.S. to lead job growth, according to a report released by the U.S. Census Bureau. Technology and mining also saw major job growth increases.
The Economic Census, which is taken every five years, said healthcare employees jumped 37.1% during the period as America’s population aged demanding more healthcare workers.
The growth in the number of older adults is unprecedented in the U.S. Aging baby boomers and advances in medicine contribute to the growth of Americans 65 and older.
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The senior population over the next 25 years is estimated to reach 72-million Americans, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The number is expected to compose one-fifth of the nation’s population by 2030 alone.
As the population ages, the demand for health care workers, including doctors, nurses, medical receptionists and doctor’s assistants growth explodes along with the increased number of consumers with health care insurance due to Obamacare.
Science
Employment in the scientific sector, which includes jobs in computer technology and teaching grew by 2.8 million workers to represent a 51.9% increase, the second highest area of employment growth.
Mining
Higher prices paid for gold and silver also pushed the mining industry to grow at its fastest pace in decades.
The changing U.S. economy has also seen major differences in the way consumers shop for goods and services, with an increasing number buying merchandise and ordering services online.
The technological revolution is expected to expand online sales, fueling job growth of online employment.
However, the largest number of business locations in any industry are still retail outlets with more than 1-million establishments in the U.S.
As retailers struggle to hold on to customers by offering lower prices to attract buyers, the number of retail locations is expected to fall in the next decade.
As more consumers shop for goods online to buy products at cheaper prices in a troubled economy.
Finally, all of the Forbes 500 billionaires have one thing in common.
They all know a lot about the industries that they work in. Anybody can get rich in almost any industry if they understand it well and have a lot of knowledge about the field.
Top Businesses to Get Wealthy From – Conclusion
If you want to get wealthy, get to know as much about a particular industry as you can. Understanding a particular business well is more important than knowing which industries produce the big bucks.