Forbes list of billionaires Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bernard Arnault, with a net worth of $162 billion, is the chairman and CEO of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the world’s largest luxury goods conglomerate. LVMH owns an impressive portfolio of prestigious brands across fashion, jewellery, wine, and spirits, including Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Tiffany & Co., and Sephora. His future projects involve expanding LVMH’s global footprint and acquiring more high-end brands. Steve Ballmer’s net worth is $172 billion, largely derived from his extensive tenure as Microsoft’s CEO and his substantial equity stake in the company. Under his leadership, Microsoft expanded its product portfolio and market reach. Beyond his tech legacy, Ballmer is the owner of top 100 richest person in world the Los Angeles Clippers NBA team, a significant investment.
On the 30th anniversary of the Forbes list of the world’s billionaires, for the fourth year in a row, Bill Gates was named the richest man in the world. In 2017, there was a record of 2,043 people on the list, which is the first time over 2,000 people were listed. This included 195 newcomers of whom 76 were from China and 25 from the U.S.; there were 56 people under 40 and it had a record of 227 women. The number of billionaires increased 13% to 2,043 from 1,810 in 2016; this was the biggest change in over 30 years of tracking billionaires globally.
- He also founded The Boring Company, which integrates efficient tunneling technology with an all-electric public transit system to reduce urban congestion and facilitate high-speed travel.
- Eric Li, also known as Li Shufu, is the chairman of Geely Automobile Holdings, one of China’s largest automakers and one of the few not controlled by the state.
- These platforms provide daily updates on the net worth of the world’s wealthiest individuals, accounting for changes in stock prices, company valuations, and other significant financial developments.
- Notably, two-thirds of these billionaires are wealthier than they were a year ago, with only one-quarter experiencing a decline.
- As of 2025, the world has over 3,030 billionaires, collectively representing more than $16 trln in wealth.
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Goh Cheng Liang gets the bulk of his wealth from a majority stake in Japan’s Nippon Paint Holdings, the world’s fourth-largest paint manufacturer by revenue. Dhanin Chearavanont is senior chairman of Charoen Pokphand Group, one of the world’s largest producers of animal feed and livestock. R. Budi Hartono and his brother, Michael (whose fortune is listed separately), are among the richest in Indonesia. Emmanuel Besnier is the controlling shareholder of family-held Lactalis, the world’s largest dairy conglomerate, with more than $30 billion in annual revenues. Wang Chuanfu is the chairman and CEO of BYD and has led it to become one of the world’s largest EV companies. Eyal Ofer is the chairman of the Monaco-based Ofer Global, active in shipping, real estate, technology, banking, energy and other investments.
Qin Yinglin is the chairman and CEO of Muyuan Foods, one of China’s largest pig breeder and pork producers. Scott Farquhar is cofounder of collaboration software company Atlassian, based in Sydney, Australia. Arthur Dantchik is a cofounder of Susquehanna International Group, one of Wall Street’s largest and most successful trading firms.
TOP 25 World’s Billionaires List 2025
Third, these billionaires have built their wealth over decades; they’re not overnight lottery winners. Unquestionably, they had some advantages — some were in the right place at the right time — but they all owned growing assets and then used time to compound their returns. And time is something that individuals have whether they’re rich or poor, well-placed or not. This list offers a handful of takeaways for people who are looking to build their own wealth. Bernard Arnault founded LVMH, a company that acquired various French fashion brands such as Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton, Moët and Hennessy. The luxury conglomerate acquired Tiffany more recently, and is among the largest companies in Europe by market capitalization.
#45 Colin Zheng Huang
- He has been particularly interested in longevity research and breakthrough medical technologies, areas where he has made significant philanthropic contributions through the Sergey Brin Family Foundation.
- The number of billionaires increased 13% to 2,043 from 1,810 in 2016; this was the biggest change in over 30 years of tracking billionaires globally.
- Elon Musk (53) has once again been named the world’s richest man in 2025 with an estimated fortune of $342 billion, according to Forbes’ 39th annual billionaires list, released Tuesday.
- Emmanuel Besnier is the controlling shareholder of family-held Lactalis, the world’s largest dairy conglomerate, with more than $30 billion in annual revenues.
The rankings are published annually in March, so the net worths listed are snapshots taken at that time. There are thousands of billionaires on the Forbes list; the excerpts below show only the wealthiest 10 for each year. The World’s Billionaires is an annual ranking of people who are billionaires, i.e., they are considered to have a net worth of US$1 billion or more, by the American business magazine Forbes. The total net worth of each individual on the list is estimated and is cited in United States dollars, based on their documented assets and accounting for debt and other factors.
His net worth is estimated at over $109bn, largely due to his stake in NVIDIA. Jensen Huang is the co-founder and CEO of NVIDIA Corporation, a leading company in graphics processing units (GPUs) and artificial intelligence (AI). He has been instrumental in driving advancements in AI, gaming, and data center technologies.
Charles Koch net worth — $74 bn
Forbes list of billionaires is based on an yearly measurement of wealth and assets which is published by Forbes magazine. Arnault’s father made millions in the construction business; to get his start, Arnault used $15 million of that fortune to buy Christian Dior. He has since built the largest luxury goods company in the world with some 70 fashion and cosmetics brands, including Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Moet & Chandon, Sephora and jeweler Tiffany & Co.
Technology clearly leads the rankings, accounting for more than half of the total wealth. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, at $174 bn, ranks eighth as demand for AI chips drives record growth. Michael Dell, a fortune built on Dell Technologies and investments in enterprise infrastructure sits ninth with $166 bn, his wealth tied to Berkshire Hathaway’s diversified portfolio. As of September, 2025, the wealthiest individual in the United States is Elon Musk with an estimated fortune of $472 bn, built through Tesla, SpaceX, and his wide-ranging bets on advanced technology. In second place is Larry Ellison at $342 bn, whose fortune comes from Oracle’s dominance in enterprise software and a sizable investment in Tesla. The table below lists India’s richest people as per their net worth published by the Forbes (April 2024).
She is the only child, heiress of Liliane Bettencourt and granddaughter of L’Oréal founder Eugène Schueller. His net worth exceeds $108bn, primarily from Microsoft stock and investments. He accumulated wealth as Microsoft grew into a global tech giant, later diversifying into real estate, stocks, and philanthropy. Bill Gates is an American businessman, software developer, and philanthropist. He co-founded Microsoft in 1975 with Paul Allen and played a key role in making it the world’s leading software company. Bill Gates led the company as chairman and CEO until stepping down as CEO in January 2000, succeeded by Steve Ballmer, but he remained chairman of the board of directors and became chief software architect.
Mark Zuckerberg
He and Page remain at Alphabet as co-founders, controlling shareholders, board members, and employees. Page’s wealth comes largely from his substantial stake in Alphabet, the parent company of Google. Google’s consistent growth and dominance in digital advertising have significantly increased Alphabet’s value, contributing to Page’s high net worth. Larry Ellison is best known as the co-founder of Oracle Corporation, one of the largest software companies globally, specializing in database management systems, cloud solutions, and enterprise software.
Oracle’s robust and widely adopted database systems and cloud services are foundational to countless businesses worldwide. Ellison’s future focus includes continued expansion of Oracle’s cloud offerings and strategic acquisitions. Musk’s fortune has primarily been fuelled by his leadership roles at Tesla and SpaceX, two companies that have significantly influenced technology and transportation. Tesla, known for its electric vehicles, is the most valuable carmaker globally, while SpaceX is a leader in aerospace innovation. He has maintained his position among the Top 10, with a modest 4% increase in his fortune to $143 billion. His current business strategy centres on investment activities, following his significant reduction in Microsoft ownership from 45% during the initial public offering to a mere 1% at present.
The list was finalized as of 18 March, thus was already partially influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the 36th annual Forbes list of the world’s billionaires, the list included 2,668 billionaires with a total net wealth of $12.7 trillion, down 97 members from 2021. The 38th annual Forbes list of the world’s billionaires found a record 2,781 billionaires with a total net wealth of $14.2 trillion. This is an increase of 141 members and $2 trillion from 2023, which held the previous record for the highest net worth gain on the list, surpassing the $900 billion record set in 2022. Two-thirds of the list members are wealthier compared to the previous year, including Mark Zuckerberg, whose net worth increased by $112.6 billion.
Like his Google cofounder Larry Page, Brin’s fortune also rose in the past month as Alphabet shares rallied. The $14.7 billion rise in his fortune lifted Brin up a notch to No. 7 from No. 8 at that start of December. Page moved up one rank from last month, supported by an 11% rise Google-Parent Alphabet’s Shares. In late November the Department of Justice said Google Should Sell Its Chrome Browser in order to reduce the company’s dominance online. In response, Google said in a statement that such a move would hurt consumers and America’s technological leadership.
#46 Reinhold Wuerth & family
Billionaires from countries such as India and Brazil are making significant strides on this prestigious list. In the 25th annual Forbes list of global billionaires, Slim added $20.5 billion to his fortune, the most of anyone, and retained his number one ranking with a total fortune of $74 billion. Gates remained in second place with $56 billion, while Warren Buffett was third with $50 billion. However, Nigerian commodity mogul Aliko Dangote was the greatest gainer on a percentage basis as his fortune increased 557 percent to $13.5 billion. Mark Zuckerberg was one of seven Facebook-related billionaires on the list, as he added $9.5 billion to his net worth to move up to 52nd. Aged 26, eight days younger than Zuckerberg, he debuted at number 420 with an estimated fortune of $2.7 billion.