David Geffen, Tim Cook, Giorgio Armani, and Ellen DeGeneres have all accumulated huge wealth.
David Geffen, the co-founder of DreamWorks, is worth $9.9 billion, according to Forbes.
David Geffen.


Starting as a Hollywood talent agent, Geffen made the foundation of his fortune when he created record labels Asylum Records, Geffen Records, and DGC Records. In 1994, he created the DreamWorks film studio with Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg. Geffen also has a large real estate portfolio and a $2 billion art collection, according to Business Insider.

In 2007, Out magazine called Geffen the most powerful gay man in the country.

Fashion designer Giorgio Armani's fortune is about $8.1 billion.
Giorgio Armani.


Armani began his career in the military after leaving medical school. In the '70s, he started designing menswear clothing, but his career really took off when he started designing for Richard Gere in 1980. Since then, Armani's brand has expanded into an empire, which includes accessories, interior design, and hotels.

The famously private designer spoke about his sexuality in a 2000 interview with Vanity Fair, saying, "I have had women in my life. And sometimes men."

PayPal's co-founder Peter Thiel is worth $5 billion, according to Forbes.
Peter Thiel.


In 1999, Thiel co-founded PayPal, which was meant to be a simple way to exchange money via devices. He was CEO of the company up until eBay acquired PayPal, and his stake in the company was said to be worth $55 million. Thiel was also an early investor of Facebook, and he founded a data analytics company, Palantir, which is valued at $20 billion, according to Forbes.

He now lives with his husband, Matt Danzeisen, in Los Angeles.

Jon Stryker is an heir to a medical equipment company. Forbes reports his net worth at $4.3 billion.
Jon Stryker.


Stryker's grandfather founded Stryker Corp., which is a medical supply company that sold $14.9 billion in equipment in 2019, according to Forbes. One of the heirs to the family fortune, Stryker is a philanthropist, donating large sums of his money to charities and scholarships. So far, he has given away $585 million.

Stryker also founded the Arcus Foundation, which fights for LGBTQ rights and ape conservation.

Norwegian businessman Stein Erik Hagen is worth $2.7 billion, according to Forbes.
Stein Erik Hagen.


Hagen founded the supermarket chain Rimi with his father in the 1970s and is a major shareholder of the consumer goods conglomerate Orkla. He was Norway's seventh wealthiest person in 2020, according to Norwegian business magazine Kapital.

Hagen, who is bisexual, publicly came out on one of Norway's biggest chat shows, Skavaln, in 2015, saying he only came to understand his sexuality "well into adulthood," The Local reported.

Jennifer Pritzker, a hotel heiress, is the only openly transgender billionaire in the world.
Jennifer Pritzker.


A former lieutenant in the Army, Pritzker inherited part of the Hyatt hotel fortune, giving her a net worth of $2 billion, according to Forbes.

She came out as transgender in 2013 without much fanfare, but she made headlines in 2017 when President Trump announced a ban on transgender people serving in the military. Before this, Pritzker supported Trump and donated large sums to his campaign, but the ban prompted her to support Biden in his bid for the presidency.

Fashion designer Domenico Dolce is worth $1.6 billion.
Domenico Dolce.


After meeting in a club, Dolce and Stefano Gabbana started a fashion brand together in 1985. The company's signature animal print made waves at fashion events and even caught the attention of Madonna, solidifying Dolce & Gabbana's place in fashion history.

His business partner Stefano Gabbana is also worth $1.6 billion.
Stefano Gabbana.


Dolce and Gabbana ended their personal relationship in 2003 but still own the company and design together.

In 2020, Apple CEO Tim Cook officially became a billionaire.
Tim Cook.


Cook became CEO of Apple in 2011 after the death of its founder, Steve Jobs. A decade later, the company is nearing a market value of nearly $2 trillion, making Cook a billionaire.

He is now worth $1.3 billion, according to Forbes. Despite his billionaire status, he lives in a relatively modest home in Palo Alto.

He came out as gay in 2014.

Fashion designer Michael Kors used to be worth $1 billion, but today, his fortune is estimated to be $600 million.
Michael Kors.


Kors began his fashion design company in his mother's basement in the '80s and turned it into an empire. In 2011, he took the company public when it was valued at $3.5 billion. In 2004, he became a superstar when he became a judge on "Project Runway." Ten years later, Kors became a billionaire.

Today, his fortune is a bit smaller, but he calls downtown New York City home with his husband, Lance Le Pere.

Elton John has been in the music industry for decades, earning a fortune that's reportedly near $500 million.
Elton John.


John began his music career in England and became known for his flamboyant and outrageous costumes. Quickly, he became a cultural phenomenon, launching his decade-spanning career. He still tours today and has sold over 300 million records, according to The Times.

Plus, John has been with his partner, David Furnish, for nearly three decades.

Ellen DeGeneres' net worth is estimated at $370 million, according to Forbes.
Ellen DeGeneres.


DeGeneres began her career as a standup comedian and eventually landed a successful sitcom titled "Ellen" in the late '90s. During that time, she came out as a lesbian, and she was blacklisted from Hollywood. In 2003, she made her return as a daytime talk show host, although the show will end after its 19th season airs in 2022.

She's married to Portia de Rossi and they live in Los Angeles.

The Indonesian national football squad secured a historic tournament championship following a late equalizer, sparking nationwide celebrations and boosting the profile of regional sports.
A new industry analysis shows that the expanding ASEAN aviation sector supports over 23 million jobs, highlighting the importance of major airport infrastructure projects in hubs like Bangkok.
The administration of Anwar Ibrahim is working to balance essential cost-of-living relief for households against the need for subsidy reforms to maintain long-term national fiscal health.
The board of directors has dismissed the airline's chief executive following public backlash over the mishandling of passenger communications and baggage logistics during severe regional floods.
Following extreme weather that has caused dozens of deaths in Thailand since mid-September, urban development experts are calling for urgent civil engineering projects to protect the capital's economic core.
Lawmakers have implemented strict bans on the digital distribution of unsafe personal mobility vehicles to address urban pedestrian safety concerns and domestic fire hazards.
Authorities in southern Malaysia have shuttered educational institutions due to deteriorating air quality, while Indonesian courts face negligence complaints regarding agricultural fires driving the regional crisis.
In a move to deepen defense ties, Polish leadership is in the Philippines to negotiate military aviation contracts and align strategic interests regarding regional sovereignty.
National and municipal authorities are directing significant capital into seapert and multimodal transport infrastructure to transform the Hai Phong area into a competitive international maritime hub.
The Thai Ministry of Public Health has backed a proposed arrival fee for international visitors to fund an insurance pool intended to cover unpaid hospital bills and maintain care standards.
Authorities in Jakarta have committed to ending the conversion of pristine forests into rice paddies as part of a shift toward more sustainable agricultural intensification and food security.
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President Ferdinand Marcos has arrived in Singapore for a five-day working visit aimed at attracting foreign direct investment into the Philippines' domestic technology and infrastructure sectors.
Energy ministers from across Southeast Asia have inaugurated a new institutional body designed to harmonize utility frameworks and facilitate multi-billion dollar investments into an interconnected regional electricity grid.
Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan stated that Singapore will use its upcoming leadership of the regional bloc to push for deeper economic integration and stronger trade partnerships to navigate global volatility.
The Laotian government has introduced new resource nationalism policies requiring all extracted minerals to be processed domestically before export to capture higher industrial value and increase national revenue.
Domestic financial institutions across Vietnam are seeking massive capital injections from international and regional investors to expand lending capacity and support the country's rapid industrialization.
Malaysian infrastructure and technology authorities have commenced development of a large-scale technological hub aimed at attracting global semiconductor manufacturing and artificial intelligence data centers to compete with Singapore.
Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul confirmed that negotiators are drafting the final stages of a sweeping trade pact designed to strengthen Thailand’s position within global manufacturing and technology supply chains.
Cambodian and Lao energy authorities agreed to strengthen high-voltage grid connections, supporting larger flows of hydropower between the two countries and neighboring regional markets.
Norwegian shipbuilder VARD inaugurated a marine engineering and vessel design center in Ho Chi Minh City to support growing shipbuilding demand across Southeast Asia.
Malaysian sovereign funds, venture capital networks and technology agencies are allocating capital to local chip design and advanced packaging companies to strengthen the country’s electronics industry.
Chinese technology companies are increasing spending on regional data centers and cloud services as businesses across ASEAN adopt more artificial intelligence tools and digital financial platforms.
Indonesian authorities and Danantara are preparing several major state-owned companies for potential listings in 2027 as part of efforts to deepen the Jakarta capital market and attract institutional investors.
Bangkok authorities are rolling out electric river boats, additional skywalks and cycling lanes under the Car Free 2026 initiative to reduce congestion and emissions across the capital.
Large projects including the 20 billion baht Songklanagarind Phuket Advanced Medical Center are helping broaden Phuket’s economy into healthcare, residential development and retail alongside its traditional tourism base.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand signed a letter of intent with aviation and tourism partners to turn passenger stopovers at Bangkok airports into curated travel experiences aimed at increasing visitor spending.
Blockchain analytics data showed Vietnam processed more than $122 billion in digital asset transactions over a 12-month period, ranking second in Southeast Asia behind Singapore.
Analysts expect the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to conclude its monetary tightening cycle in October as imported inflation pressures ease and policymakers weigh the need to support domestic spending.
Philippine equities dropped to their lowest levels of the year amid foreign fund outflows, a weaker peso and concerns that high borrowing costs could weigh on domestic growth.
Singaporean officials are preparing for the country’s 2027 ASEAN chairmanship with a focus on deeper economic integration, digital trade standards and stronger regional security cooperation.
Thai economic officials outlined a three-part plan to reduce exposure to expensive fossil-fuel imports by increasing domestic renewable generation and allowing households to sell surplus electricity back to the grid.
German chipmaker Infineon Technologies inaugurated an expanded facility in Thailand that is expected to increase local engineering capacity toward 1,000 specialized jobs and deepen the country’s role in semiconductor supply chains.
Malaysia’s Johor chief minister called for urgent regional talks as smoke from agricultural fires in Sumatra and Borneo affected parts of Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia, increasing pressure for coordinated firefighting and enforcement.
Vietnam’s consumer price index rose to 5.08% in September as higher construction material and food costs pushed inflation to its highest level in a decade.
Severe monsoonal flooding across northern and central Thailand has damaged farms, disrupted food supply chains and pushed estimated national economic losses above 69 billion baht.
A World Bank assessment found that Malaysia and Vietnam are capturing strong demand for artificial intelligence hardware and electrical equipment, while Indonesia faces greater difficulty attracting advanced digital manufacturing investment.
The ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office said weaker global demand for artificial intelligence hardware could significantly slow regional growth by 2027, exposing economies increasingly reliant on semiconductor and electronics exports.
The World Bank lifted Vietnam’s 2026 GDP growth forecast by 1.1 percentage points to 7.4%, citing surging exports of computers, servers and other high-tech products tied to global artificial intelligence infrastructure demand.
International law enforcement agencies seized 521 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine from a private aircraft at a Laotian airport and arrested a Singaporean pilot in a major operation linked to the Golden Triangle drug trade. :chatgpt-content-reference{index="19"}
Thai developer Siam Piwat has announced IconPhuket, a large retail and entertainment project aimed at capturing growing demand from affluent international visitors to the southern island. :chatgpt-content-reference{index="18"}
Malaysia’s election commission has scheduled the Melaka state poll for mid-November, creating a significant political test for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and public support for his government’s economic reforms. :chatgpt-content-reference{index="17"}
Thailand recorded 7.5 billion baht in revenue from international film and television productions, supported by tax incentives and growing use of Thai locations and production talent. :chatgpt-content-reference{index="16"}
Singapore is urging ASEAN governments to expand cross-border intelligence sharing as criminal networks increasingly use advanced artificial intelligence tools to conduct sophisticated financial fraud. :chatgpt-content-reference{index="15"}
Thailand’s Board of Investment says its 10-year Long-Term Resident visa program has attracted more than 12,000 wealthy individuals, executives and digital professionals, supporting foreign spending and investment in the domestic economy. :chatgpt-content-reference{index="14"}
Malaysia has begun high-level discussions with visiting Myanmar officials over the return of undocumented Myanmar nationals as planned repatriations draw warnings from United Nations human rights monitors. :chatgpt-content-reference{index="13"}
Thailand has climbed to 38th place in the World Economic Forum’s Travel and Tourism Development Index, reflecting improvements in aviation connectivity and efforts to attract higher-value international visitors. :chatgpt-content-reference{index="12"}
Singapore is promoting deeper regional electricity integration and shared energy infrastructure as it prepares to chair ASEAN, seeking to reduce Southeast Asia’s exposure to volatile global fossil fuel markets. :chatgpt-content-reference{index="11"}
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