Who Is World's Richest Scientist?

Scientists are known for their discoveries, research, inventions and innovations, all of which have played a key role in progress of humanity. Their contributions and essentially selfless service and invaluable. While scientists are not necessarily associated with things like wealth and bank balance, there are quite a few scientists who happen to be rich. While many scientists have chosen to live a life of frugality, there are the ones who are billionaires. To satisfy your curiosity, here's a look at some of the richest scientists in the world.

James Dyson - A British industrial designer and inventor, James Dyson is the founder of Dyson Ltd. One of his most famous inventions was the dual cyclone bagless vacuum cleaner. Dyson and his company have various other inventions to their credit, although not every one of those were commercially successful. James Dyson net worth is estimated to be around $9.8 billion.

Gordon Earle Moore - The original proponent of Moore's Law, Gordon Earle Moore is the co-founder and chairman emeritus of Intel Corporation. His Moore's Law has stood the test of time, wherein it was observed that the number of transistors in an integrated circuit (IC) will double almost every two years. Moore has a Ph.D. in chemistry from Caltech and has also undertaken postdoctoral research at the Applied Physics Laboratory at Johns Hopkins University. Gordon Earle Moore net worth is estimated to be around $13 billion.

Ugur Sahin - A German immunologist and oncologist, Ugur Sahin currently serves as the CEO of BioNTech. Sahin owns around 17% stake in the company. BioNTech specializes in development and manufacturing of active immunotherapies. He started his career as a physician and also used to take up research and working at academia. Later, he switched over to entrepreneurial activities, which eventually led to the launch of BioNTech. Ugur Sahin net worth is estimated to be around $15.2 billion.

Stephen Hawking - A cosmologist and theoretical physicist, Stephen Hawking is probably one of the most famous icons from the scientific fraternity. He may not be around, but his theories and discoveries about black holes in space will continue to guide humankind for years to come. Stephen Hawking's views about universe, God and extraterrestrial life are also widely appreciated. At the time of his death, Hawking is estimated to have net worth of $20 billion.

James Watson - It is estimated that James Watson has net worth of more than $20 billion, which makes him the richest scientist in the world. James Watson has expertise in various fields such as biology, zoology and genetics. One of his major contributions relate to the DNA molecule's double helix structure. For this, Watson, along with Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins, were awarded the Nobel Prize in 1962. Watson has been associated with prestigious institutes such as Cambridge and Harvard.