The World's Billionaires
The World's Billionaires is an annual ranking by the American business magazine Forbes of people who are billionaires, i.e., they are estimated to have a net worth of US$1 billion or more. The list was first published in March 1987.[1] The net worth of each individual is cited in United States dollars, based on their documented assets, and accounting for debt and other factors. This ranking excludes royalty and dictators whose wealth comes from their positions,[2] as well as people whose wealth is not able to be completely ascertained.[3]
In 2018, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos was first ranked at the top and became the first centibillionaire included in the ranking,[4] surpassing Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who had topped the list 18 of the previous 24 years.[5] In 2022, Bezos was surpassed by Elon Musk.[6] In 2023, Musk was surpassed by French businessman Bernard Arnault, the first French person to top the list.[7] In 2025 and 2026, Musk once again topped the list.[8]
Methodology
Each year, Forbes employs a team of over 50 reporters from a variety of countries to track the activity of the world's wealthiest individuals[9] and sometimes groups or families – who share wealth. Preliminary surveys are sent to those who may qualify for the list. According to Forbes, they received three types of responses – some people try to inflate their wealth, others cooperate but leave out details, and some refuse to answer any questions.[10] Business deals are then scrutinized and estimates of valuable assets – land, homes, vehicles, artwork, etc. – are made. Interviews are conducted to vet the figures and improve the estimate of an individual's holdings. Finally, positions in a publicly traded stock are priced to market on a date roughly a month before publication. Privately held companies are priced by the prevailing price-to-sales or price-to-earnings ratios. Known debt is subtracted from assets to get a final estimate of an individual's estimated worth in United States dollars. Since stock prices fluctuate rapidly, an individual's true wealth and ranking at the time of publication may vary from their situation when the list was compiled.[9]
When a living individual has dispersed their wealth to immediate family members it is included under a single listing (as a single "family fortune") provided that individual (the grantor) is still living. However, if a deceased billionaire's fortune has been dispersed, it will not appear as a single listing, and each recipient will only appear if their own total net worth is over a $1 billion (their net worth will not be combined with family members').[9] Royal families and dictators that have their wealth contingent on a position are always excluded from these lists.[11]
Annual rankings
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 table below shows only the wealthiest 100 for 2026.
| Rank | Name | Net Worth | Age | Country/Territory | Source | Industry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Elon Musk | $839 B | 54 | United States | Tesla, SpaceX | Technology |
| 2 | Larry Page | $257 B | 52 | United States | Technology | |
| 3 | Sergey Brin | $237 B | 52 | United States | Technology | |
| 4 | Jeff Bezos | $224 B | 62 | United States | Amazon | Technology |
| 5 | Mark Zuckerberg | $222 B | 41 | United States | Technology | |
| 6 | Larry Ellison | $190 B | 81 | United States | Oracle | Technology |
| 7 | Bernard Arnault & family | $171 B | 77 | France | LVMH | Fashion & Retail |
| 8 | Jensen Huang | $154 B | 63 | United States | Semiconductors | Technology |
| 9 | Warren Buffett | $149 B | 95 | United States | Berkshire Hathaway | Finance & Investments |
| 10 | Amancio Ortega | $148 B | 89 | Spain | Zara | Fashion & Retail |
| 11 | Rob Walton & family | $146 B | 81 | United States | Walmart | Fashion & Retail |
| 12 | Jim Walton & family | $143 B | 77 | United States | Walmart | Fashion & Retail |
| 13 | Michael Dell | $141 B | 61 | United States | Dell Technologies | Technology |
| 14 | Alice Walton | $134 B | 76 | United States | Walmart | Fashion & Retail |
| 15 | Steve Ballmer | $126 B | 69 | United States | Microsoft | Technology |
| 16 | Carlos Slim Helu & family | $125 B | 86 | Mexico | Telecom | Telecom |
| 17 | Changpeng Zhao | $110 B | 49 | Canada | Cryptocurrency exchange | Finance & Investments |
| 18 | Michael Bloomberg | $109 B | 84 | United States | Bloomberg LP | Finance & Investments |
| 19 | Bill Gates | $108 B | 70 | United States | Microsoft | Technology |
| 20 | Francoise Bettencourt Meyers & family | $100 B | 72 | France | L'Oréal | Fashion & Retail |
| 21 | Mukesh Ambani | $99.7 B | 68 | India | Diversified | Diversified |
| 22 | Giancarlo Devasini | $89.3 B | 61 | Italy | Cryptocurrency | Finance & Investments |
| 23 | Thomas Peterffy | $82.9 B | 81 | United States | Discount brokerage | Finance & Investments |
| 24 | Julia Koch & family | $81.2 B | 63 | United States | Koch, Inc. | Diversified |
| 25 | Charles Koch & family | $73.8 B | 90 | United States | Koch, Inc. | Diversified |
| 26 | Zhang Yiming | $69.3 B | 41 | China | TikTok | Technology |
| 27 | Zhong Shanshan | $68.1 B | 71 | China | Beverages, pharmaceuticals | Food & Beverage |
| 28 | Jeff Yass | $67.4 B | 67 | United States | Trading, investments | Finance & Investments |
| 29 | Dieter Schwarz | $67.2 B | 86 | Germany | Retail | Fashion & Retail |
| 30 | Germán Larrea Mota Velasco & family | $67.1 B | 72 | Mexico | Mining | Metals & Mining |
| 31 | Gautam Adani | $63.8 B | 63 | India | Infrastructure, commodities | Diversified |
| 32 | Tadashi Yanai & family | $61.8 B | 77 | Japan | Fashion retail | Fashion & Retail |
| 33 | Ma Huateng | $53.8 B | 54 | China | Online games | Technology |
| 34 | Robin Zeng | $53.2 B | 57 | Hong Kong | Batteries | Energy |
| 35 | Iris Fontbona & family | $52.6 B | 83 | Chile | Mining | Metals & Mining |
| 36 | Masayoshi Son | $51.5 B | 68 | Japan | Telecom, Investments | Finance & Investments |
| 37 | Ken Griffin | $49.8 B | 57 | United States | Hedge funds | Finance & Investments |
| 38 | Jacqueline Mars | $49.1 B | 86 | United States | Candy, pet food | Food & Beverage |
| 38 | John Mars | $49.1 B | 90 | United States | Candy, pet food | Food & Beverage |
| 40 | Lukas Walton | $48.9 B | 39 | United States | Walmart | Fashion & Retail |
| 41 | Giovanni Ferrero | $48.8 B | 61 | Italy | Nutella, chocolates | Food & Beverage |
| 42 | Li Ka-shing | $47 B | 97 | Hong Kong | Diversified | Diversified |
| 43 | Mark Mateschitz | $45.8 B | 33 | Austria | Red Bull | Food & Beverage |
| 44 | Gianluigi Aponte | $44.5 B | 85 | Switzerland | Shipping | Logistics |
| 44 | Rafaela Aponte-Diamant | $44.5 B | 80 | Switzerland | Shipping | Logistics |
| 46 | Andrea Pignataro | $42.6 B | 55 | Italy | Financial software | Finance & Investments |
| 47 | Klaus-Michael Kuehne | $41.9 B | 88 | Germany | Shipping | Logistics |
| 48 | Thomas Frist, Jr. & family | $41.1 B | 87 | United States | Hospitals | Healthcare |
| 49 | Alain Wertheimer | $39.4 B | 77 | France | Chanel | Fashion & Retail |
| 49 | Gerard Wertheimer | $39.4 B | 75 | France | Chanel | Fashion & Retail |
| 51 | Savitri Jindal & family | $39.1 B | 75 | India | Steel | Metals & Mining |
| 52 | Stephen Schwarzman | $38.3 B | 79 | United States | Investments | Finance & Investments |
| 53 | Paolo Ardoino | $38 B | 41 | Italy | Cryptocurrency | Finance & Investments |
| 53 | Jean-Louis van der Velde | $38 B | 62 | Netherlands | Cryptocurrency | Finance & Investments |
| 55 | William Ding | $37.9 B | 54 | China | Online games | Technology |
| 56 | Miriam Adelson & family | $37.5 B | 80 | United States | Casinos | Gambling & Casinos |
| 57 | Alexey Mordashov & family | $37 B | 60 | Russia | Steel, investments | Metals & Mining |
| 58 | Colin Huang | $36.6 B | 46 | China | E-commerce | Technology |
| 59 | Eduardo Saverin | $35.9 B | 43 | Brazil | Technology | |
| 60 | Eric Schmidt | $35.5 B | 70 | United States | Technology | |
| 61 | Idan Ofer | $34.6 B | 70 | Israel | Shipping | Diversified |
| 62 | Eyal Ofer | $33.6 B | 75 | Israel | Real estate, shipping | Diversified |
| 63 | He Xiangjian & family | $33.2 B | 83 | China | Home appliances | Manufacturing |
| 63 | Abigail Johnson | $33.2 B | 64 | United States | Fidelity | Finance & Investments |
| 63 | Zheng Shuliang & family | $33.2 B | 80 | China | Aluminum products | Metals & Mining |
| 66 | Marilyn Simons & family | $32.5 B | 75 | United States | Hedge funds | Finance & Investments |
| 67 | Robert Pera | $31.7 B | 48 | United States | Wireless networking | Technology |
| 68 | Phil Knight & family | $31.1 B | 88 | United States | Nike | Fashion & Retail |
| 68 | Michal Strnad | $31.1 B | 33 | Czech Republic | Defense Contracting | Manufacturing |
| 70 | Lakshmi Mittal | $31 B | 75 | India | Steel | Metals & Mining |
| 71 | Elaine Marshall & family | $30.9 B | 83 | United States | Koch Inc. | Diversified |
| 71 | Shiv Nadar | $30.9 B | 80 | India | Software services | Technology |
| 73 | Henry Samueli | $30.8 B | 71 | United States | Semiconductors | Technology |
| 74 | Melinda French Gates | $30.3 B | 61 | United States | Microsoft | Technology |
| 75 | Stefan Quandt | $30.1 B | 59 | Germany | BMW | Automotive |
| 75 | Reinhold Wuerth & family | $30.1 B | 90 | Germany | Fasteners | Manufacturing |
| 77 | Lyndal Stephens Greth & family | $30 B | 51 | United States | Oil & gas | Energy |
| 78 | Len Blavatnik | $29.9 B | 68 | United States | Music, chemicals | Diversified |
| 79 | Susanne Klatten | $29.7 B | 63 | Germany | BMW, pharmaceuticals | Automotive |
| 79 | Vladimir Potanin | $29.7 B | 65 | Russia | Metals | Metals & Mining |
| 81 | Vagit Alekperov | $29.5 B | 75 | Russia | Oil | Energy |
| 81 | François Pinault & family | $29.5 B | 89 | France | Luxury goods | Fashion & Retail |
| 83 | Jack Ma | $29.1 B | 61 | China | E-commerce | Technology |
| 84 | Prajogo Pangestu | $28.6 B | 81 | Indonesia | Petrochemicals, energy | Diversified |
| 84 | MacKenzie Scott | $28.6 B | 55 | United States | Amazon | Technology |
| 86 | Aliko Dangote | $28.5 B | 68 | Nigeria | Cement, sugar | Manufacturing |
| 87 | Peter Thiel | $28.4 B | 58 | United States | Facebook, investments | Finance & Investments |
| 88 | Emmanuel Besnier | $28.3 B | 55 | France | Cheese | Food & Beverage |
| 88 | Leonid Mikhelson & family | $28.3 B | 70 | Russia | Gas, chemicals | Energy |
| 90 | Daniel Gilbert | $27.9 B | 64 | United States | Rocket Mortgage | Finance & Investments |
| 90 | Lei Jun | $27.9 B | 56 | China | Smartphones, automobiles | Technology |
| 90 | Andreas von Bechtolsheim & family | $27.9 B | 70 | Germany | Technology | |
| 93 | Pham Nhat Vuong | $27.7 B | 57 | Vietnam | Diversified | Diversified |
| 94 | Vicky Safra & family | $27.1 B | 73 | Greece | Banking | Finance & Investments |
| 95 | Jay Y. Lee | $27 B | 57 | South Korea | Samsung | Technology |
| 95 | Cyrus Poonawalla | $27 B | 84 | India | Vaccines | Healthcare |
| 97 | Rick Cohen & family | $26.3 B | 73 | United States | Warehouse automation | Technology |
| 98 | Israel Englander | $25.8 B | 77 | United States | Hedge funds | Finance & Investments |
| 99 | Suleiman Kerimov & family | $25.7 B | 59 | Russia | Gold | Finance & Investments |
| 100 | Dilip Shanghvi | $25.6 B | 70 | India | Pharmaceuticals | Healthcare |
Notes
Notes
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedMW2014 - ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedAL2014 - ↑ Why Putin Isn't on 'Forbes' Billionaires List. Forbes.
- ↑ Forbes 2017 billionaires list: Meet the richest people on the planet.
- ↑ Bill Gates Was The 'World's Richest Man' For A Record 18 Years.. July 4, 2024. Yahoo Finance
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedFOB22 - ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedFOB23 - ↑ Forbes World’s Billionaires List 2025: The Top 200.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Template:Cite magazine
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedrferl2010 - ↑ Fortunes Of Kings, Queens And Dictators Template:Webarchive Forbes, 5 May 2006