Schmidt vs Ardoino

Alphabet (Google) and Tether.

The differences

Forbes puts Eric Schmidt about $0B ahead of Paolo Ardoino.Forbes figures from 9 Oct 2026 and 9 Oct 2026.
Eric Schmidt is about 29 years older than Paolo Ardoino.
Eric Schmidt is from United States; Paolo Ardoino is from Italy.
Eric Schmidt has held a public or government advisory role; Paolo Ardoino has none on record.

Put someone else on either side

Schmidt

Ardoino

Net worth, Forbes: $38BForbes, 9 Oct 2026; $38BForbes, 9 Oct 2026
Net worth, Bloomberg: $58.9BBloomberg, 11 Oct 2026; $18.2BBloomberg, 30 Aug 2026
Forbes rank: No. 58Real-Time list, 9 Oct 2026; No. 56Real-Time list, 9 Oct 2026
Billionaire since: Not stated; 2025First on Forbes' annual World's Billionaires list in 2025, at No. 293

How it started: Built it upNot a founder: joined Google as board chairman in March 2001, then CEO from 2001 to 2011; his fortune is mostly the Alphabet stock he acquired there; Built it upJoined Bitfinex as a software developer in 2014, became Tether's CTO in 2017 and its CEO in December 2023
Main source: Alphabet stockBloomberg: 'The majority of Eric Schmidt's fortune is derived from a 1% economic interest in Alphabet'; Stake in Tether HoldingsBloomberg: the bulk of his net worth comes from Tether Holdings; he is also a Bitfinex shareholder
Companies: Alphabet (Google), Relativity SpaceAlphabet (Google): None; former CEO and chairman; Relativity Space: CEO and executive chairman; Tether, BitfinexTether: CEO; Bitfinex: Chief technology officer
Biggest stake: Alphabet (Google)1% owned; Tether20% owned

Born: 27 Apr 1955Washington, D.C., United States; 1984Northern Italy
Country: United StatesLives in Atherton, California, United States; Italy
Education: Graduate degreeBS electrical engineering, Princeton (1976); MS (1979) and PhD (1982) in computer science, University of California, Berkeley; Not statedComputer science, University of Genoa
Parents: Grew up in Blacksburg, Virginia, where his father Wilson Schmidt was a professor of economics at Virginia Tech; Not stated

Giving Pledge: Not a signer; Not a signer
Foundation: Schmidt Family FoundationWith his wife Wendy he also founded Schmidt Ocean Institute, Schmidt Futures (2017) and Schmidt Sciences (2024); Not stated
Lifetime giving: $2BForbes, date not stated. Forbes: Wendy Schmidt 'has helped direct more than $2 billion in philanthropy alongside her husband Eric'; a joint figure, undated; Not stated

Role now: Runs the companyCEO and executive chairman of Relativity Space; Runs the companyCEO of Tether; chief technology officer of Bitfinex
Successor: Larry Page took back the Google CEO job from him in 2011No Schmidt family member is named in a Google executive role; Not stated
Public office: Member, President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology; Chairman, Defense Innovation Board (US Department of Defense); Chairman, US National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence; Member, NASA National Space Council User Advisory Group2009-2017; 2016-2020; three years, including 2020; two years, including 2020; None found
Legal record: None found; None found