Are 11.6% of world's billionaires Jews?

Question

The Jewish people may account for less than 0.2% of the world's population, but among the 1,426 billionaires around the globe, 165 or 11.6% of them are Jews, and their joint wealth has reached the incredible amount of $812 billion, according to Forbes Israel. Out of the 50 richest people in the world, about a quarter or 25% are Jewish, and of the top 10 richest Jews in the world, eight are from the U.S., while two are from Russia.

The above claim is all over the internet. Examples:

Forbes: 11.6% of the world’s billionaires are Jews (miricommunity.net)
Forbes: 11.6% of world's billionaires are Jews, totally admired by China, Korea (Pakistan Defence forums)
Forbes: 11.6% of world's billionaires are Jews, totally admired by China, Korea (Gamespot forums)

The 1426 is just Forbes 2013 list. The list doesn't really have all the billionaires. "Forbes does not include royal family members nor royalty who, often with large families, control the riches in trust for their nation. This means the wealthy royal families of the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries are not eligible for their global wealth ranking." https://www.quora.com/Why-arent-the-Arab-sheikhs-among-the-most-richest-people — DavePhD, Dec 11 '16 at 14:01
The claim is actually made by the publication http://www.forbes.co.il/rating/list.aspx?en6v0tVq=FK , note that is is not always easy to define who is a Jew (e.g. having one Jewish parent does not mean you identify as a Jew, or even be recognized as one by a particular religious authority), and these lists usually have broad definitions. Also note DavePhD's comment. Given these influences - the number does not seem unreasonable, it is lower than the ratio for Nobel prize winners. For historic reason, Jews have been driven towards Academic and Financial professions and that can generate wealth. — Ofir, Dec 11 '16 at 14:29
To elaborate about the claims I made in my previous comment, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Court_Jew#Background and https://www.algemeiner.com/2013/10/29/richard-dawkins-perplexed-by-high-number-of-jewish-nobel-prize-winners/ note that I may be biased as I am of Jewish descent (not a billionaire though) — Ofir, Dec 11 '16 at 14:38
This isn't a direct answer, but one study found: "There are 7,384,680 Christian HNWIs constituting 56.2 per cent of total HNWIs, followed by Muslims - 8,854,100 [sic 885,510] (6.5 per cent), Hindus - (512,460; 3.9 per cent) and Jews - (223,380; 1.7 per cent). As many as 4,165,380 HNWIs have either no religion or belong to 'other' religion." Where 'HNWI' means individual having over one million dollars in liquid financial assets. http://www.deccanherald.com/content/453467/christians-hold-largest-percentage-global.html6 — DavePhD, Dec 11 '16 at 17:39
I've fixed the links so they make sense (they looked like they were to Forbes!) and removed the H1 typography from the question (use it only on titles). — Sklivvz, Dec 12 '16 at 19:54
@DavePhD so it actually means 11.6% of the people who Forbes decided to put on their list. And that list does not contain all billionaires. So the answer is neither Yes nor No, but Needs more data. Actually since royal families are seldom Jewish, especially those in Arabic countries, the claim is not just wrong but misleading. In the stats class I attended you would have been laughed at for this. — RedSonja, Dec 13 '16 at 09:31
@RedSonja I want to add that to my answer, but I haven't found an official statement about the criteria for the list. I don't think quora is a good enough source. — DavePhD, Dec 13 '16 at 11:47

DavePhD · Accepted Answer · 2016-12-12T20:29:07.487

6

According to Jewish Billionaires Worth $812 Billion, Forbes Israel Reports Haaretz 2013

The 165 Jewish billionaires around the world have $812 billion in joint wealth, Forbes Israel reported on Thursday.

So, according to Forbes, who made the list of 1,426, billionaires, 165 are Jewish.

165/1426 = 11.6%

A more-primary source is from Forbes Israel itself דירוג המיליארדרים של פורבס: היהודים העשירים בעולם. This article gives a specific list of who particularly they consider to be the 165 Jewish billionaires of the 1426.

edited Dec 12 '16 at 20:29

answered Dec 12 '16 at 20:05

DavePhD

103,432
24
436
464

"165 are Jewish" -- Does that make the claim true or false? – Sakib Arifin Dec 12 '16 at 20:17
165/1426 = 11.6% – DavePhD Dec 12 '16 at 20:19
165/1426 = 0.11570827489 ha ha :-) – Sakib Arifin Dec 12 '16 at 20:21
1

I know the math, but those who will view it may not. I asked you so that you would update the answer and clarify that point. – Sakib Arifin Dec 12 '16 at 20:24
1

Any reason not to mention the [caveats](http://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/36251/are-11-6-of-worlds-billionaires-jews#comment138976_36251) you raised in a comment on the question? (Also, what's the point of including the image of the magazine cover?) – ff524 Dec 12 '16 at 20:45
@ff524 the cover is evidence that Forbes actually is the source. I might add more if I find official criteria for being on the 1426 list or the 165 list. – DavePhD Dec 12 '16 at 20:52
who is this man in the picture ?? – rainman Dec 13 '16 at 08:42
@rainman he's [Ronald Lauder](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Lauder). – asherbret Mar 09 '17 at 10:29

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Dec 12 '16 at 14:44

2

I cannot address the entire claim but I will address this statement:

Out of the 50 richest people in the world, about a quarter or 25% are Jewish

This site breaks down the list of the 50 richest people in the world by religion

http://www.slate.com/articles/business/billion_to_one/2013/11/the_world_s_top_50_billionaires_a_demographic_breakdown.html

9, 18% are listed under Jewish for religious background. Not 25%.

That part of the claim is false.

answered Dec 12 '16 at 14:44

Murphy

9,486
1
47
45

1

It seems like the wrong information came from the article originally saying that the Koch brothers were Jewish. – DavePhD Dec 12 '16 at 14:54
@DavePhD seems likely. That would bring it closer but we'd need 4 people to make the claim true. – Murphy Dec 12 '16 at 15:19
11/50 = 22%, so only one more person would make 24%. – DavePhD Dec 12 '16 at 15:22
Times of Israel says 10 out of the 50, http://www.timesofisrael.com/10-jews-in-forbes-top-50-billionaires/ (or 12/50 = 24% before Slate fixed the mistake about the Kock brothers). – DavePhD Dec 12 '16 at 17:54

Are 11.6% of world's billionaires Jews?

2 Answers2