Who are the richest gay billionaires in the world right now? Here’s a full list of the top 10 wealthiest LGBTQ members in 2024.
LGBT, which stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender, has gained significant attention and acceptance over the past few decades. With more representation in the media and advocacy for equal rights, members of the LGBT community have been able to openly express their identity and pursue their dreams without fear of discrimination.
Today, TheDistin will take a look at the top 10 current gay billionaires who have made their fortune in various industries and have used their platform to promote and support the LGBT community. From tech giants to fashion moguls, these individuals have made their mark in their respective industries and served as powerful role models for the LGBT community.
The top 10 richest gay people in the world
The list of the world’s billionaires has always skewed toward white men—and straight, cisgender white men at that. But LGBT billionaires do exist (though that list, too, is dominated by white men).
In 2014, Forbes reported that its list of 1,645 billionaires had just seven openly LGBT individuals, representing just 0.4 percent of the group. By comparison, an estimated 3.5 percent of Americans identified as lesbian, bisexual, or transgender at the time, according to a 2013 Gallup poll. Read on to see some of the most notable LGBT billionaires, along with Forbes’ real-time assessments of their current net worth.
10. Tim Cook: $1.9 billion
- Net worth (USD): $1.9 billion
- Wealth source: Apple
- LGBTQ+ identity: Gay
- Age: 63
- Country: United States
Timothy Donald Cook is an American business executive who has been the chief executive officer of Apple Inc. since 2011.
Cook previously served as the company’s chief operating officer under its co-founder, Steve Jobs.
In 2013, this Apple CEO, successor to the late Steve Jobs, became the first CEO of a Fortune 500 company to publicly come out as gay, as NBC News reported at the time. He later told CNN International’s Christine Amanpour that being gay was “God’s greatest gift” in his life.
9. Jennifer Pritzker: $2.1 billion
- Net worth (USD): $1.9 billion
- Wealth Source: Hotels, investments
- LGBTQ+ identity: Transgender
- Age: 73
- Country: United States
Jennifer Natalya Pritzker (born on August 13, 1950) is a member of the wealthy Pritzker family, which owns the worldwide hotel chain Hyatt.
Pritzker is based in Chicago.
She is an American investor, philanthropist, military veteran, heir to the Pritzker family fortune, and founder of the Pritzker Military Library.
Pritzker retired as a lieutenant colonel from the Illinois Army National Guard in 2001 and was later made an honorary Illinois colonel.
She came out as transgender in a 2013 email to employees, according to The Advocate. In a 2019 Washington Post opinion, Pritzker criticized her Republican Party for “continuing to champion policies that marginalize me out of existence, define me as an eccentric character, and persecute me for using the public restrooms that correspond to my gender identity.”
8. Stein Erik Hagen: $2.2 Billion
- Net worth (USD): $2.2 billion
- Wealth Source: Consumer goods
- LGBTQ+ identity: Bisexual
- Age: 67
- Country: Norway
Norwegian entrepreneur Stein Erik Hagen became a billionaire thanks to the supermarket chain RIMI, which he co-founded with his father in 1977.
Hagen came out as bisexual in a 2015 TV interview, revealing he realized his sexuality at age 30. “All of my friends … it comes as no surprise to them,” he said then.
6 & 7. Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana: $2.7 billion each
- Net worth (USD): $2.7 billion each
- Wealth source: Luxury goods
- LGBTQ+ identity: Gay
- Age: 65 & 61
- Country: Italy
Stefano Gabbana and Domenico Dolce are the brains behind the popular fashion brand Dolce & Gabbana. It was established in 1985 in Milan, Italy.
But did you know the designers were in a relationship?
The designers behind the luxury clothing brand Dolce & Gabbana were in a relationship until 2003, though they continue to work together as business partners. The former couple incited outrage—and calls for a boycott of Dolce & Gabbana from Elton John—when they told an interviewer that they opposed gay people having families, as The New York Times reported at the time.
5. Laura Ricketts: $4.5 Billion
- Net worth (USD): $4.5 billion (entire family wealth)
- Wealth source: TD Ameritrade, sports team owners
- LGBTQ+ identity: Lesbian
- Age: 56
- Country: United States
Laura Ricketts is the daughter of billionaire stock trading titan Joe Ricketts. She and her three siblings are the majority owners of the Chicago Cubs baseball team.
An openly lesbian entrepreneur, Laura is on the board of numerous LGBTQ+ organizations, including Lambda Legal and GayCo Productions.
4. Jon Stryker: $4.7 billion
- Net worth (USD): $4.7 billion
- Wealth Source: Medical equipment
- LGBTQ+ identity: Gay
- Age: 66
- Country: United States
Jon Lloyd Stryker is an American architect, philanthropist, and billionaire heir to the Stryker Corporation medical technology company fortune.
This heir to the medical-tech company Stryker Corp. has been a major donor to causes of LGBTQ equality. “About the time that I started the Arcus Foundation in 2000, I was also coming out as a gay man,” he said in a 2008 Synergos interview. “I quickly realized that there was very little funding for LGBT communities and that LGBT rights were a niche that was not only personally important to me but also an area where I could have a big impact as a donor.”
3. Peter Thiel: $6.2 billion
- Net worth (USD): $6.2 billion
- Wealth Source: Facebook, investments
- LGBTQ+ identity: Gay
- Age: 56
- Country: Germany, United States, and New Zealand
Peter Andreas Thiel is a German-American billionaire entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and political activist. A co-founder of PayPal, Palantir Technologies, and Founders Fund, he was the first outside investor in Facebook.
In 2016, the PayPal co-founder became the first person to announce that he was gay at the Republican National Convention, as NBC News reported at the time. “Every American has a unique identity,” he said during his speech. “I am proud to be gay. I am proud to be a Republican. But most of all, I am proud to be an American.” Thiel married longtime boyfriend Matt Danzeisen the following year.
2. David Geffen: $8.1 billion
- Net worth (USD): $8.1 billion
- Wealth Source: Movies, record labels
- LGBTQ+ identity: Gay
- Age: 80
- Country: United States
David Lawrence Geffen is an American business magnate, producer, and film studio executive. He co-created Asylum Records in 1971 with Elliot Roberts, Geffen Records in 1980, DGC Records in 1990, and DreamWorks SKG in 1994.
The Geffen Records founder and DreamWorks co-founder publicly came out as gay in 1992. “Coming out and saying it for some people is very difficult,” he told The New York Times in 2014 after Cook’s coming out. “I never felt that it got in the way of my career, but it’s all about the individual more than general prejudice.”
1. Giorgio Armani: $13.8 billion
- Net worth (USD): $13.8 billion
- Wealth source: Luxury goods
- LGBTQ+ identity: Bisexual
- Age: 89
- Country: Italy
Who is the richest LGBTQ member in the world? Giorgio Armani is an Italian fashion designer and now the wealthiest gay man on earth, with a fortune raking over $13 billion.
He first gained notoriety working for Cerruti and then for many others, including Allegri, Bagutta, and Hilton. He formed his company, Armani, in 1975, which eventually expanded into music, sports, and luxury hotels.
The fashion designer, who told Vanity Fair in 2000 that he had “had women in [his] life, and sometimes men,” sparked controversy in 2015 when he said that a gay man “does not need to dress homosexual” but should instead “be a man,” as The Washington Post reported at the time.
Summary
Below is a complete list of 20 of the wealthiest LGBTQ+ people worldwide with their fortune data from the Forbes Real Time Billionaires list, Celebritynetworth.com, and news reports as of 2024.
- Giorgio Armani: $13.8 billion.
- David Geffen: $8.1 billion.
- Peter Thiel: $6.2 billion
- Jon Stryker: $4.7 billion
- Laura Ricketts: $4.5 Billion
- Domenico Dolce: $2.7 billion
- Stein Erik Hagen – $2.7 Billion.
- Stefano Gabbana: $2.2 billion
- Jennifer Pritzker: $2.1 billion
- Tim Cook: $1.9 billion
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the richest gay person in the world?
Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani is now the wealthiest gay man on earth, with a fortune of $13.8 billion.
Who was the first billionaire?
American oil magnate John D. Rockefeller became the world’s first confirmed U.S. dollar billionaire in 1916, by Forbes Magazine in its first publication of the world’s richest.
Who is the richest man in the world?
Tesla and X (formerly called Twitter) CEO, Elon Musk is currently the wealthiest man on earth with an estimated fortune of $251.3 billion. He is followed by Bernard Arnault, the CEO and Chair of LVMH (Louis Vuitton) who has a net worth of $192.2 billion.
Who was the first African American billionaire?
Robert Johnson, who co-founded BET, became the first black billionaire in 2001.