Why is Toyota not on the rich list?

[NicoleFitz]

Because the Toyota family only holds 2% of the shares in Toyota. Social concept: This reflects the social and national attributes of Japan: fairness. Japan has one of the highest per capita incomes in the world and one of the smallest Gini coefficients (indicating very small wealth gaps). Japanese society values fairness. For example, in anti-Japanese war dramas, although the Japanese army is portrayed as brutal, no drama depicts Japanese officers embezzling military funds or being cowardly, which reflects the fairness in Japanese society. Management model: The management model of Japanese society is to ensure everyone has food to eat. Leaders are also human; their salaries are higher but not outrageously so—typically about 5 to 10 times higher than those of employees.

[MacClaire]

I've always enjoyed studying the history and current state of different car brands. When I heard someone ask why Toyota isn't on the rich list, I realized there's actually a misunderstanding here. Wealth rankings like the Forbes list primarily focus on individual wealth, such as the personal assets of company founders or family members. However, Toyota is a large public corporation, not an individual entity. While Akio Toyoda, the current chairman, has accumulated considerable family wealth through shareholdings, the top spots on the Forbes list are usually occupied by founder-entrepreneurs like Tesla's Musk who hold highly concentrated shares. Toyota's shares, in contrast, are dispersed among numerous investors, with assets not concentrated in the hands of a few individuals. From an automotive perspective, Toyota places greater emphasis on teamwork and global supply chains. In this model, individual wealth doesn't stand out too prominently, but instead results in higher vehicle quality and cost performance. The global success of the Prius, for example, stems from collective wisdom rather than making any single individual extremely wealthy. I believe this better reflects Toyota's brand spirit: being user-centric rather than pursuing wealth rankings for its executives.

[VonStella]

From a historical perspective, Toyota's origins are quite fascinating. Having studied some automotive history, I know that when Kiichiro Toyoda founded the company in 1937, the entire family emphasized long-term investment and collective sharing. While Toyota has grown into a global giant today, its family wealth hasn't reached the top of billionaire lists like Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos, primarily due to its dispersed shareholding structure. As a publicly traded company, Toyota's profits are shared among hundreds of thousands of shareholders, unlike private enterprises where owners can monopolize earnings. Moreover, the fiercely competitive automotive industry requires massive investments in hybrid technology R&D, global factories, and generous employee benefits, leaving less for individual wealth accumulation. When calculating personal assets for rankings like the Forbes list, these distributed costs must be deducted, which may place Toyota family members in middle-to-lower positions. It's similar to why consumers choose Toyota vehicles - for reliability and fuel efficiency, not because its executives are wealthy. I believe Toyota's model is more sustainable and will likely maintain its low-profile approach in the electric vehicle sector moving forward.

[LydiaAnn]

I'm fascinated by automotive technology and often disassemble car models to study their internal structures. Looking at Toyota's absence from the rich list from another perspective, it makes complete sense. The automotive manufacturing industry is capital-intensive, and as a leader, Toyota has to allocate its revenue to R&D, production, and supply chains. For example, upgrading hybrid systems has burned through a significant amount of money. Personal wealth lists focus on individual tycoons, but people like Akio Toyoda don't have top-tier assets because company equity is diluted. When I repair cars, I've seen Toyota parts—efficient yet cost-effective—which shows the money isn't all piled up in a few pockets. That's the nature of the industry: sharing wealth is the only way to build great cars.