U.S. couples hold seven out of the top 10 spots in a recent ranking of the wealthiest couples in the world.
Topping the list, according to research firm Wealth-X, are BIll and Melinda Gates, with a combined worth of $85.7 billion.
The Gates, self-made millionaires of Microsoft fame, have pledged to give away most of their fortune. They along with billionaire investor Warren Buffet created the Giving Pledge, which is a campaign to spur the world’s wealthiest individuals to give a majority of their money to philanthropy.
Bill Gates married Melinda, a Microsoft employee, in 1994. In 2000, they set up the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which gives primarily to agricultural development, health, educational and other social causes.
Warren Buffet and his wife, Astrid Menks, came in third with $65 billion.
Spanish retail tycoon Amancio Ortega Gaona and his second wife, Flora Pérez, took the number two spot with $70.7 billion. Ortega married Flora in 2001, and she serves as the vice president of the Amancio Ortega Foundation.
The youngest couple on the Wealth-X list is Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg, 31, and his wife Priscilla Chan, 30, who hold the ninth spot with $38.5 billion. The couple met at Harvard in 2004 and were married in 2012.
The fourth and fifth spots are held by the Koch brothers and their wives, who inherited much of their wealth. David and Julia Koch have a combined wealth of $47.5 billion, while Charles and Elizabeth Koch are close behind with $47.4 billion.
China is represented on the list by Wang Jianlin and Lin Ning, self-made billionaires with $40.7 billion. A businessman and philanthropist, Jianlin is China’s largest real estate developer.
Jeff and Mackenzie Bezos are next with $39.8 billion. Jeff Bezos is the founder and CEO of Amazon.com and his wife is a novelist.
The third couple from outside the United States is Bernard Arnault and Helene Mercier of France, who inherited much of their $38.7 billion, according to Wealth-X. Arnault is a businessman and philanthropist and Mercier is a pianist.
The tenth spot on the list is held by James and Lynn Walton of the Walmart familiy, who have a combined wealth of $36.2 billion.
