The journey from employee to billionaire is rarely paved with salaries alone. In the world of technology, finance and global business, the biggest fortunes are increasingly being built through ownership stakes, early-stage equity and the ability to remain invested in companies long after their commercial success becomes apparent.
Anthropic, the artificial intelligence company founded by former OpenAI executives, has emerged as the leading example of this wealth creation phenomenon, producing seven billionaires from its founding team, with a combined fortune of $95.4 billion, according to a new study by trading firm Atmos.
The research, which examined nearly 100 companies to identify those that have created the most billionaires from their founders and employees, places Anthropic ahead of Meta, Alphabet, Glencore, Alfa Group and other global corporations.
According to the study, 12 companies have produced at least five billionaire founders or employees, illustrating how wealth creation has extended beyond traditional business ownership to include senior executives, early employees and professionals who accumulated significant stakes through their corporate careers.
The research counted self-made billionaires on Forbes’ real-time billionaire list whose fortunes were primarily generated from a company they founded or worked for. Investors, board members and heirs were excluded, while each billionaire was attributed to only one company.
The findings offer a perspective on the financial rewards of corporate participation, particularly in industries where equity ownership can appreciate dramatically as businesses expand, attract capital and achieve market dominance.
Anthropic tops billionaire wealth creation rankings
Founded in 2021, Anthropic leads the ranking with seven billionaire employees, all of whom are cofounders of the artificial intelligence company.
The fortunes of the seven founders range between $13.1 billion and $13.8 billion, giving them a combined net worth of $95.4 billion, according to the Atmos study.
The company was established by former OpenAI executives who left the organisation to develop artificial intelligence systems, placing it at the centre of the rapidly expanding AI industry.
The prospect of an initial public offering (IPO) has further intensified attention on the founders’ wealth.
According to the supplied research, Anthropic’s IPO filing indicates that each cofounder holds approximately 240 million shares, with estimates based on a potential $2 trillion listing valuation suggesting that individual stakes could rise to between $27 billion and $29 billion.
Such a valuation would significantly increase the founders’ paper wealth, although the eventual value of their holdings would depend on the company’s valuation at listing and subsequent market performance.
The report also notes that all seven cofounders have pledged to give away 80 per cent of their Anthropic stock, a commitment described in the filing as voluntary and revocable.
Meta showcases how employees can become billionaires
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, ranks alongside Russia’s Alfa Group and Switzerland’s Glencore, with six billionaire founders and employees each.
The company has produced three billionaire cofounders: Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin and Dustin Moskovitz.
Zuckerberg remains the wealthiest of the group, with an estimated fortune of $210.5 billion, followed by Saverin at $34.1 billion and Moskovitz at $8.9 billion.
Beyond its founding team, Meta has also produced billionaires from its workforce, reflecting the financial rewards available to early employees and senior executives who acquired equity as the company expanded.
The three employee billionaires identified by the research include Sean Parker, who became Facebook’s president at 24; Sheryl Sandberg, who served as chief operating officer between 2008 and 2022; and Jeff Rothschild, a former vice president of infrastructure engineering.
Their fortunes illustrate how early involvement in a technology company can generate substantial wealth when the business achieves global scale.
Glencore’s billionaire executives highlight rewards of corporate leadership
Glencore, the Swiss commodities trading and mining group, presents a different wealth creation model.
Unlike Anthropic, Meta or Alphabet, none of the six billionaires identified by the research founded the company.
Instead, their fortunes were generated through executive leadership and long-term involvement in the commodities business.
Ivan Glasenberg, who served as chief executive between 2002 and 2021, has an estimated fortune of $13.5 billion.
The other five billionaires reportedly accumulated their wealth through leadership or significant involvement in major business units, including copper, coal, oil and aluminium.
Together, Glencore’s six billionaire employees hold an estimated $29 billion.
The findings suggest that substantial wealth creation is not limited to founders of technology companies. Executives and employees in traditional industries can also become billionaires through ownership stakes, corporate expansion and long-term participation in profitable businesses.
Glencore’s position also demonstrates the importance of commodities trading and mining in generating substantial private wealth, particularly in industries characterised by large-scale operations, global markets and significant capital investment.
Alphabet records highest combined billionaire wealth
Alphabet, Google’s parent company, ranks among the leading wealth-producing corporations, with five billionaire founders and employees and a combined net worth of $553 billion.
The company’s two founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, account for the overwhelming majority of this wealth.
Page is estimated to be worth $267.4 billion, while Brin holds an estimated fortune of $246.1 billion.
Their combined wealth exceeds $513 billion, reflecting the extraordinary financial rewards generated by Google’s expansion into global search, digital advertising, cloud computing and other technology markets.
The other three billionaires identified by the study are former chief executive Eric Schmidt, current chief executive Sundar Pichai and former Google executive Marissa Mayer.
Schmidt, who led Google between 2001 and 2011, has an estimated fortune of $36.7 billion.
Pichai joined Google in 2004 and has led Alphabet since 2019, while Mayer was Google’s 20th employee.
The findings highlight how employees who joined technology companies during their formative years could benefit significantly from equity ownership as the businesses expanded.
Alphabet’s combined billionaire wealth is the highest among companies in the study with five or more billionaire founders and employees, demonstrating the extraordinary value generated by the company’s growth.
Xiaomi, CATL and Chinese businesses expand the wealth creation landscape
China also features prominently in the research, with Xiaomi and Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL) each producing five billionaires.
Xiaomi, the smartphone manufacturer, has five billionaire founders, including chairman and chief executive Lei Jun, whose fortune is estimated at $20.9 billion.
The five billionaires associated with Xiaomi have a combined net worth of $36 billion.
CATL, which operates in the electric vehicle battery industry, also has five billionaire founders and employees, with combined wealth estimated at $63 billion.
Other companies featured in the ranking include private equity firms Thoma Bravo and EQT, Indian technology services company Infosys, cloud software provider Snowflake and Chinese food manufacturer Foshan Haitian Flavouring and Food.
Equity ownership, rather than salaries, drives billionaire fortunes
Nick Cooke, chief executive of Atmos, said the research illustrates why equity ownership remains the principal mechanism through which employees and founders accumulate extraordinary wealth.
“Billionaires are rarely made with paychecks. Anthropic’s CEO earned about $18M in total pay in 2025, and only $654K of that was salary. The real money sits in the shares he owns,” Cooke said.
He explained that founders and early employees frequently accept relatively low compensation during the initial stages of a company’s development in exchange for stock or options.
As the company expands and its valuation increases, those holdings can become worth billions of dollars.
However, Cooke noted that the wealth generated through equity ownership may not immediately translate into cash.
Even after a company goes public, insiders are commonly subject to a 180-day lock-up period that restricts the sale of their shares.
Consequently, much of the wealth associated with billionaire founders and employees remains tied to the market value of their holdings rather than immediately available cash.
The research ultimately highlights the importance of ownership structures, early participation and long-term equity exposure in determining how corporate success translates into individual wealth.
