This infographic shows how long it took 22 of the world's richest people to turn their first million into a billion

Visual Capitalist

Millionaire to Billionaire: How Long Does it Take? Years ago, a memorable exchange on Twitter took place after Canadian rapper Drake tweeted that “the first million is the hardest”.

Moments after, an unexpected reply came from Texan oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens:

Tweet Embed:
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/207984741260070914
The first billion is a helluva lot harder RT @Drake: The first million is the hardest.

Today’s infographic, also found here in interactive form, proves that Mr. Pickens may be on to something.

To get to a billion dollars, one has to make a million dollars at least 1000x over. While some people like Mark Zuckerberg have built companies that rapidly ascended the ranks, most people end up following the rule rather than the exception.

Credit Suisse says there are 33.7 million people that there were millionaires in 2015, and Forbes estimates that a mere 1,826 of these people are billionaires. That means only 0.0054% of millionaires become billionaires, making it quite a rare feat.

Whether you want to be the next Drake or the next Pickens, here’s a list of regions where immense wealth creation is happening, as well as the cities and countries with the most millionaires to help guide you.

Original graphic by: Fleximize
h/t: Business Insider

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