Elon Musk tops 2025’s richest people's list with $433.9b

As of January 1, 2025, the world’s 10 richest individuals are collectively worth $1.9 trillion, up from $1.8 trillion just a month prior. Seven out of the 10 have seen their fortunes grow, underscoring the dynamic nature of wealth in the billionaire class.

Forbes has tracked global billionaires since 1987, identifying 2,781 of them in its April 2024 annual list. The US leads the Forbes' World’s Billionaires List 2025 with a record 813 billionaires, followed by China with 473, and India claiming third place with 200 billionaires.

Elon Musk starts 2025 as the world’s richest person, with a net worth of $433.9 billion, largely driven by SpaceX’s valuation of $350 billion. 

Musk's net worth has surged by an astounding $91 billion since December 1, 2024, cementing SpaceX’s position as the most valuable private company globally.

In addition to SpaceX, Musk leads Tesla, holds stakes in the social media platform X, AI company xAI, and tunneling firm Boring Co.

Meanwhile, Mark Zuckerberg has surpassed Oracle founder Larry Ellison to become the third-wealthiest individual globally, with his net worth rising by 4% to $217.7 billion. This shift reflects the strong performance of Meta's stock, in contrast to Oracle’s slight decline.

Additionally, Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, has broken into the top 10 richest people, now ranked 10th with an estimated $118 billion, thanks to a 171% rise in Nvidia’s stock price, making it the world’s second-most valuable tech company.

Here are the top 10 richest people on earth as of January 1, 2025:

Elon Musk – $421.2 billion

Jeff Bezos – $233.5 billion

Larry Ellison – $210 billion

Bernard Arnault – $192 billion

Bill Gates – $170 billion

Warren Buffett – $159 billion

Mark Zuckerberg – $149 billion

Sergey Brin – $139 billion

Larry Page – $134 billion

Jensen Huang – $118 billion