Tech billionaire Elon Musk has been named the world’s richest person in 2025 by Forbes magazine, overtaking Bernard Arnault and family to assume the position.
Forbes announced on Tuesday that there are currently 3,028 billionaires in the world, made up of entrepreneurs, investors, and heirs. This is 247 more than 2024.
“Not only are there more of them, but they’re richer than ever, worth $16.1tr in total—up nearly $2tr over 2024,” the magazine wrote.
“The U.S. has a record 902 billionaires, followed by China (516, including Hong Kong) and India (205). We used stock prices and exchange rates from March 7, 2025,” they added.
Disclosing the top 10, Forbes declared Musk, the co-founder of seven companies, including electric car maker Tesla, rocket producer SpaceX, and artificial intelligence startup xAI, as the world’s richest man.
The 53-year-old tops the list with a net worth of $342bn.
He is followed closely at No. 2 by Facebook owner Mark Zuckerberg (40) with a net worth of $216bn and Amazon boss Jeff Bezos (61) with a net worth of $215bn.
At 4th position is Larry Ellison (80), chairman, chief technology officer and cofounder of software giant Oracle, with a net worth of $192bn
Completing the top 5 is Bernard Arnault and family, which oversees the LVMH empire of 75 fashion and cosmetics brands, including Louis Vuitton and Sephora, with a net worth of $178bn.
Warren Buffett, Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Amancio Ortega, and Steve Ballmer all make up the top 10 richest men in the world.
Meanwhile, dropping to 13th is Microsoft co-founder and owner of the Los Angeles Clippers NBA team, Bill Gates, after being announced as the 7th richest person in 2024.
Nigeria’s Aliko Dangote was announced as the 83rd richest man in the world and the only African on the top 100 list.
