According to the World’s Billionaires List 2025 released by Forbes, Elon Musk secured the top spot with a net worth of USD 433.9 billion largely driven by SpaceX’s valuation of USD 350 billion.
- Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has secured the 2nd position with USD 239.4 billion while Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg bagged the 3rd spot by surpassing Oracle founder Larry Ellison net worth of USD 211.8 billion.
About Elon Musk:
i.Elon Musk has become the first individual in history to cross a net worth of USD 400 billion, mainly due to SpaceX’s valuation of USD 350 billion.
ii.There has been an increase of USD 91 billion in his net worth since December 2024 leading to SpaceX being the most valuable private company worldwide.
iii.Besides SpaceX, he also has the ownership of X Corp. (the company that operates the social media platform X, formerly Twitter), and has role in the formation of the Boring Company, xAI (Artificial Intelligence), Neuralink, and OpenAI.
Key Highlights:
i..According to Forbes’ World’s Billionaires List 2025, the United States of America (USA) is on the top with a record 813 billionaires, followed by China with 473 and India on the 3rd spot with 200 billionaires.
ii.As of January 1, 2025, the world’s 10 richest individuals have a combined net worth of USD 1.9 trillion, up from USD 1.8 trillion in December 2024. .
iii.The 8 technology leaders, including Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Jensen Huan, Larry Ellison, Jeff Bezos, Michael Dell, and Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin have around USD 600 billion of the USD 1.5 trillion increase among the world’s wealthiest individuals.
iv.Jensen Huang, the CEO and co-founder of Nvidia (10th spot) has entered the list of top 10 richest people for the first time with a net worth of USD 120.2 billion.
- The company’s shares surged by 171% in 2024, totaling a market capitalisation of USD 3.28 trillion, making it the 2nd most valuable company after Apple.
Top 5 richest people in the world:
| Rank | Name | Net Worth (USD) | Source of Wealth | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Elon Musk | 433.9 billion | Tesla, SpaceX | United States of America (USA) |
| 2 | Jeff Bezos | 239.4 billion | Amazon | The USA |
| 3 | Mark Zuckerberg | 211.8 billion | The USA | |
| 4 | Larry Ellison | 204.6 billion | Oracle | The USA |
| 5 | Bernard Arnault | 181.3 billion | LVMH | France |
