The Problem with Billionaires — and the Debut of True Net Worth | Randall Lane | TED

As chief content officer of Forbes, Randall Lane oversees the magazine's signature list of billionaires, tracking the richest people on Earth. But he has noticed that this prompts the ultra-wealthy to stockpile their money instead of spending it on the public good. He debuts a new ranking — True Net Worth — that applauds billionaires for their philanthropy and rewards generosity. Guess who's in the top five? (Recorded at TED2026 on April 16, 2026)

Join us in person at a TED conference: https://tedtalks.social/events
Become a TED Member to support our mission: https://ted.com/membership
Subscribe to a TED newsletter: https://ted.com/newsletters

Follow TED!
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ted
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ted-conferences
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tedtoks
Facebook: https://facebook.com/TED
X: https://www.twitter.com/TEDTalks

The TED Talks channel features the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less) — plus originals, podcasts and exclusive content. Look for videos on Technology, Entertainment and Design as well as science, business, global issues, the arts and more. Visit https://TED.com for our entire library, transcripts, translations and personalized recommendations.

Watch more: https://go.ted.com/randalllane

https://youtu.be/6McT9-EbEPw

TED videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with the TED Talks Usage Policy: https://www.ted.com/about/our-organization/our-policies-terms/ted-talks-usage-policy. For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), submit a request at https://media-requests.ted.com

#TED #TEDTalks #Economics