LGBTQ billionaires
Within the LGBTQ community, there are approximately one dozen known billionaires, according to Forbes magazine.[1] As of 2025,[update] entrepreneur and venture capitalist Peter Thiel[2] and Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani are the two richest individuals who identify as either gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or transsexual.[3]
History
[edit]In 1992, record executive, film producer, and media titan David Geffen came out, and is recognized as the first openly gay billionaire in the world. [4]
In 1999, Dolce and Gabbana co-founders and billionaires Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana announced in an interview that they were a gay couple.[5]
In 2000, Jon Stryker, a grandson of Homer Stryker, who founded Stryker Corporation, a medical technologies company, announced that he was gay around the same time as the launch of his Arcus Foundation, one of the largest funders of LGBT charitable organizations.[6]
On August 16, 2013, Jennifer Pritzker made headlines by announcing that she identifies herself as a woman for all business and personal undertakings. This announcement made Pritzker the world's first openly transgender billionaire.[7]
In 2014, Apple CEO and billionaire Tim Cook became the first openly gay chief executive of a Fortune 500 company.[8]
In October 2015, Norway's second richest billionaire Stein Erik Hagen came out as bisexual on the Norwegian talk show Skavlan.[9]
At the 2016 Republican National Convention, billionaire tech investor Peter Thiel announced that he was, "Proud to be Gay".[10]
For most of his career, Giorgio Armani was known for being private about his personal affairs. In 2024, he talked openly about his sexuality and his male and female partners.[11]
In 2024, Forbes estimated that United Therapeutics founder Martine Rothblatt, who is transgender, has a net worth greater than one billion dollars due to the appreciation of her company's stock.[12]
List
[edit]| Name | Net worth US$ (billions) |
LGBTQ identity | Citizenship | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peter Thiel | 16.3 | Gay man |
|
[2][13] |
| Giorgio Armani | 11.8 | Bisexual man | Italy | [3][14][1] |
| David Geffen | 8.7 | Gay man | United States | [13][15] |
| Jon Stryker | 5.6 | Gay man | United States | [13][16] |
| Tim Cook | 2.5 | Gay man | United States | [13][17] |
| Stein Erik Hagen | 2.5 | Bisexual man | Norway | |
| Jennifer Pritzker | 2.5 | Trans woman | United States | [13][1] |
| Domenico Dolce | 2.4 | Gay man | Italy | [13][1] |
| Stefano Gabbana | 2.4 | Gay man | Italy | [13][1] |
| Tom Ford | 2.2 | Gay man |
|
[20] |
| Sam Altman | 1.5 | Gay man | United States | [1][21][22] |
| Martine Rothblatt | 1.1 | Trans woman | United States | [1][12] |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h Forbes (April 2, 2025). The Richest People In The World.
- ^ a b 'Forbes (March 8, 2025). Peter Thiel $16.30. Real Time Net Worth.
- ^ a b Forbes (March 8, 2025). Giorgio Armani $11.6. Real Time Net Worth.
- ^ Cohan, William D. (October 30, 2014). Praise for Coming Out From Someone Who Did. New York Times.
- ^ Vogue (August 14, 2015). Domenico Dolce Apologizes for His Controversial Remarks. see “We made our first interview saying we are gay in 1999. It was a question, can you imagine, so late?” Gabbana says.
- ^ Interview with Jon Stryker: A Journey to Inclusive Philanthropy. Global Giving Matters.
- ^ Solomon, Brian (September 16, 2013). "Jennifer Pritzker Becomes First Transgender Billionaire". Forbes.
- ^ Goldman, David (October 26, 2018). Tim Cook: Being gay is God’s greatest gift to me. CNN.
- ^ "Norway's Second Richest Billionaire Comes Out As Bisexual". Towleroad. October 2015.
- ^ Selyukh, Alina (July 21, 2016). 'I Am Proud To Be Gay,' Tech Investor Peter Thiel Tells GOP Convention. NPR.
- ^ Duncan, Charlie (October 17, 2024). Giorgio Armani opens up about his sexuality and male partners: ‘I’ve never talked about this’. PinkNews.
- ^ a b Chang, Richard J. (July 18, 2024). The planet's latest billionaire is a helicopter-flying transgender woman hell-bent on curing her daughter's disease. Forbes.
- ^ a b c d e f g Robehmed, Natalie (March 3, 2014). "Meet The World's LGBT Billionaires". Forbes.
- ^ "#174 Giorgio Armani". Forbes.
- ^ Forbes (March 7, 2025). David Geffen $8.7B. Real Time Net Worth.
- ^ Forbes (March 8, 2025). Jon Stryker $5.6B. Real Time Net Worth.
- ^ Forbes (March 8, 2025). Tim Cook. $2.5B. Real Time Net Worth.
- ^ Forbes (March 7, 2025). Stein Erik Hagen. $2.3B. Real Time Net Worth.
- ^ "Norway's second richest billionaire comes out as bisexual on chat show watched by 3m viewers". The Independent.
- ^ "Profile - Tom Ford". Forbes.
- ^ "Sam Altman". Forbes.
- ^ Forbes (March 8, 2025). Sam Altman $1.1B. Real Time Net Worth.