They say on Wall Street that if you want to make a small fortune, start by investing a large one.

The billionaires and big-time money managers below all have fortunes of various sizes, and studying which stock picks they've chased with their capital ain't a half-bad idea. After all, there's a reason why the rich get richer.

No, you can't become a billionaire solely by copying their every move, but it's always interesting - and often constructive - to know what the "smart money" is up to. Their resources for research, as well as their intimate connections to insiders and others, can give them a unique insight into their stock picks.

Here are 50 top stock picks of the billionaire class. In all cases, these companies represent major holdings (5% or more) of at least one ultra-wealthy person or large hedge fund, if not several. In many cases, these stocks are owned by multiple billionaires. And while several of these investments are popular blue chips, others keep a much lower profile.

Adobe

Adobe (ADBE, $353.64) has always had little competition in creating software for designers and other creative types. Photoshop, for example, is so popular that it's often used generically to refer to any program that can edit and manipulate graphics.

But the company took a massive step a few years ago when it migrated its vast portfolio of offerings to the cloud - a move that still is paying off in spades. More recently, in late 2018, it moved into business-to-business marketing when it completed its acquisition of Marketo.

Suvretta Capital Management, with $4.5 billion in assets under management (AUM), is among several big-money managers that have Adobe among their top stock picks. In fact, Chief Investment Officer Aaron Cowen has made ADBE the hedge fund's single-largest holding, accounting for more than 7% of its portfolio.

ADT

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ADT (ADT, $5.73), which provides home alarm and security systems for homes and businesses, has something most investors adore: a subscription business. Customers send checks like clockwork to maintain their service. Billing ranges from $36.99 to $52.99 a month.

A predictable cash stream is just one of the company's attractive attributes. Safehome.org gives the company high marks: "Reliable systems backed by outstanding service. It's no wonder ADT is a household name with 7 million customers and counting. When you're ready for the big guns in home security, you go with ADT." Analysts surveyed by S&P Global Market Intelligence, meanwhile, have an average recommendation of Buy on ADT.

The company did shrink recently, however, selling off its Canadian operations in late 2019 to focus on higher-margin opportunities in the U.S. market.

ADT dominates the other stock picks held in Billionaire Leon Black's Apollo Management Holdings, a subsidiary of Apollo Global Management (APO). Apollo Management Holdings has a whopping 48.9% of its portfolio socked away in ADT. Black arranged to buy ADT in 2016 for about $7 billion.

Alibaba Group

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Jack Ma is probably the most famous billionaire from China. The founder of Alibaba (BABA, $202.67) created an e-commerce giant that propelled his net worth to truly stratospheric levels. Forbes puts his wealth at $42 billion.

Less well-known but plenty rich himself is Joseph Tsai. The Canadian billionaire who was born in Taiwan is the vice chairman and co-founder of BABA. Jack Ma may have been Alibaba's public face, but Tsai was no less important behind the scenes.

Tsai famously accepted an initial salary of just $50 a month when he first met Jack Ma in 1999.

In addition to owning 3.4%  of BABA's shares outstanding, Tsai also is the owner of the NBA's Brooklyn Nets. Forbes says Tsai's net worth comes to $10.9 billion.

Alphabet

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William Ruane and Richard Cunniff, of Ruane, Cunniff & Goldfarb, which boasts $8 billion in AUM, own a slew of Google-parent Alphabet's (GOOGL, $1,346.70) stock. Between ownership of both Class A GOOGL and Class C GOOG shares, the hedge fund sits on 1 million shares worth $135 million.

Taken together, the Google stakes come to nearly 17% of the fund's total value. Shares in GOOGL have declined 12.6% from the market top in February vs.