Diamantaires Hold Steady on Forbes Billionaires List

At $5 billion, Nicky Oppenheimer (above) is the richest diamentaire, according to Forbes

Forbes released its annual list of the world’s billionaires on Wednesday, bringing to light the financial standing of the world’s top diamantaires. Nicky Oppenheimer and his family took the top spot among them on the Forbes list at #154, followed by Laurence Graff at #374, Beny Steinmetz at #488 and Lev Leviev at #655.

Oppenheimer, who ranked #98 on last year’s list, has a net worth of $5 billion. His wealth, inherited from his family’s long time holding in De Beers, remained intact during an arduous year for the company, which saw sales for the world's largest diamond drop 44 percent to $3.8 billion. Despite posting a net loss of $220 million in 2009, cutting costs has allowed De Beers to remain cash positive and consumer demand is starting to recover thanks to an increase in demand from China and India.

Graff, while dropping from #305 on the 2009 list, saw his wealth increase from $2.2 billion to $2.5 billion last year — thanks to a revival in demand for high-end diamonds this year. Forbes notes that jewelry business insiders call the British diamond merchant the “new Harry Winston.”

Steinmetz dropped in ranking from his spot at #334 last year but his net worth of $2 billion remained the same. Steinmetz chairs the Geneva-headquartered Steinmetz Diamond Group, which he inherited from his father. The company is De Beers' largest buyer of rough diamonds and is slowly starting to see profits again as diamond sales are beginning to rebound with the market.

Despite the many public hardships his company is enduring, Leviev has also maintained his 1.5 billion net worth since 2009, when he was #468 on the Forbes list. Both this year and last, Forbes notes that the “world's largest cutter and polisher of diamonds is trying to hold his empire together.”