Forbes Latest Annual Global Billionaires List: Musk Retains Top Spot, 539 Mainland Chinese on List

On March 10th, local time, Forbes released the 40th annual list of the World’s Billionaires. This year, 3,428 individuals made the list, an increase of 400 from last year, setting a new high since the list’s inception in 1987.

The total wealth of global billionaires reached $20.1 trillion (approximately 139.05 trillion RMB), up from $16.1 trillion in 2025. There are now 20 individuals with net worth exceeding $10 billion, an increase of 5 compared to last year, indicating a clear concentration of wealth.

In personal rankings, Elon Musk remains the world’s richest person for the second consecutive year, also setting a record for the highest wealth ever recorded, with a net worth of about $839 billion (approximately 5.8 trillion RMB). His wealth growth is mainly driven by the outstanding performance of his core companies—Tesla’s continued leadership in autonomous driving and humanoid robots supports its stock price, SpaceX’s valuation has risen to $800 billion with plans to go public in 2026, and his AI startup xAI completed a $20 billion funding round, reaching a valuation of $250 billion. These multiple positive factors have collectively boosted his net worth, making him the first person in history to surpass $800 billion.

Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin rank second and third, respectively, with their wealth increasing significantly over the past year. Their fortunes rose from around $156 billion and $140 billion at the start of the year to $257 billion (about 1.78 trillion RMB) and $237 billion (about 1.64 trillion RMB), respectively, with growth rates exceeding 60%. The core driver is the explosive growth of Alphabet, Google’s parent company, whose market value approaches $4 trillion, mainly due to the widespread application of the Gemini AI models and rapid growth in Google Cloud services. Additionally, to avoid the proposed billionaire tax in California, both moved their core legal entities out of California at the end of 2025, completing asset reallocation.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos ranks fourth, with his net worth remaining stable around $224 billion (about 1.55 trillion RMB) over the past year. During this period, he continued to optimize Amazon’s operations. In the first three quarters of 2025, Amazon’s total revenue reached $503.538 billion, with a net profit of $56.478 billion. He also planned to reduce his Amazon stock holdings to fund the development of his space company Blue Origin. After his wedding in late June, he cashed out about $737 million in a single transaction. He remains Amazon’s largest individual shareholder.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg ranks fifth, with his wealth steadily increasing alongside Meta’s performance, reaching $222 billion (about 1.54 trillion RMB). Meta’s full-year 2025 revenue is approximately $201 billion, a 22% increase year-over-year, with ad revenue exceeding $196 billion. The company plans to invest between $115 billion and $135 billion in AI computing power. Zuckerberg has also explicitly proposed a “personal superintelligence” strategy, aiming to expand AI applications through products like AI glasses.

In terms of country and region distribution, the United States continues to lead with 989 billionaires, totaling $8.4 trillion, accounting for over 40% of the global billionaire wealth. Among the top 20 wealthiest individuals, 15 are from the U.S. China Mainland ranks second with 539 billionaires, demonstrating economic vitality and resilience. The majority of the wealthiest are concentrated in technology, manufacturing, and consumer sectors. India ranks third with 229 billionaires.

The list also features many new highlights, with 390 newcomers, including celebrities like singer Beyoncé and tennis legend Roger Federer.

Forbes senior wealth editor stated that the stock market boom driven by AI has been a key reason for the surge in global billionaire wealth over the past year, with an average of more than one new billionaire added each day.

Additionally, 89 individuals dropped off the list due to a decline in wealth, and 39 billionaires passed away over the past year.