World's first trillionaire tipped within 20 years

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket after lift-off from Cape Canaveral earlier this month. A US serial entrepreneur believes the first trillionaire will make their fortune in the space industry. Photo / AP.

The world is likely to see its first trillionaire in 20 years, and they are likely to have made their fortune in the space industry according to one analyst.

In its 2013 Global Wealth Report, Credit Suisse said that two generations from now "future extrapolation of current wealth growth rates yields almost a billion millionaires, equivalent to 20 per cent of the total adult population.

"If this scenario unfolds, then billionaires will be commonplace, and there is likely to be a few trillionaires too - eleven according to our best estimate."

Earlier this week, Forbes released their 2015 Billionaires list which revealed there is now a record 1826 billionaires worldwide with an aggregate net worth of US$7.05 trillion (NZ$9.27 trillion), up from US$6.4 trillion (NZ$8.4 trillion) a year ago.

The richest person on the list is Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, with an estimate fortune of $79 billion - still a long way from the $1000 billion needed to reach trillionaire status.

The list also revealed a record 46 billionaires were under age 40, including 24-year-old Snapchat founder Evan Spiegel, 38-year-old Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick and 30-year-old Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.

Serial space entrepreneur Peter Diamandis this week told the Australian Business Insider that the first trillionaire was likely to make their fortune in the space industry.

"Space is infinite, it's where we go next in all directions, the future of humanity."

Diamandis said he has started and co-foudned 17 different companies including one focussed on prospecting near-earth asteroids.

"These asteroids are trillion dollar assets .

"They are everything that we hold of value on earth - metals, minerals, real estate and I think the first trillionaire is going to be made in space."

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates retained his number 1 spot on the Forbes list for the second consecutive year with an his net worth rising to US$79.2 billion in 2015 from $76 billion last year.

Gates has topped the list for 16 of the last 21 years.

Mexican telecommunications mogul Carlos Slim Helu was in second place with a net worth of $77.1 billion. He topped the list in 2013.