Forbes Releases New Billionaire Ranking: Elon Musk Back on Top

Forbes magazine has published its 39th annual list of the richest people on the planet. In 2025, the number of billionaires reached a record 3,028 people, which is 247 more than last year. Their combined wealth increased from $14.2 trillion to $16.09 trillion.

Info Apr 7, 2025 0 72 Add to Reading List

Forbes Releases New Billionaire Ranking: Elon Musk Back on Top

Elon Musk topped the list with a net worth of $342 billion. The Tesla and SpaceX founder has regained the top spot, which he hasn’t held since 2022. Over the past year, his net worth has increased by an impressive $147 billion, thanks to the success of his space company SpaceX and the sale of social network X to his AI startup xAI.

Mark Zuckerberg ($216 billion) returned to the top three after several years of absence. The founder of Meta* was able to rehabilitate himself after the failure of 2023: he climbed from 16th place to fourth place in 2024 and entered the top three in 2025. The founder of the online store Amazon Jeff Bezos ($215 billion) managed to retain his third place in the rating. Last year's leader, French magnate Bernard Arnault (LVMH), dropped to fifth place, having lost 55 billion.

Among the interesting trends:

1,422 billionaires increased their wealth.
698 people on the list became poorer.
288 new names, including 15 Russians, appeared in the ranking.

The technology industry has confirmed its dominance – 7 out of 10 of the world’s richest people owe their fortunes to the IT business. At the same time, the luxury goods market, which has shown steady growth in recent years, showed a decline in 2025, which especially affected the fortunes of Bernard Arnault and other representatives of this sector.