Forbes has unveiled its billionaires list for 2025, and this year, not only has the number of billionaires increased, but their combined wealth has surged to $16.1 trillion—almost $2 trillion more than in 2024. The United States leads with a record 902 billionaires, followed by China (516, including Hong Kong) and India (205).
Elon Musk, co-founder of Tesla and SpaceX, claimed the top spot in the billionaire rankings with a fortune of $342 billion. Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook and Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, secured second and third place, respectively. This year, Forbes’ list of the world’s richest people includes 3,028 entrepreneurs, investors and heirs.
Here are the richest people in the world according to Forbes’ 2025 list –
| Rank | Name | Net Worth | Description |
| 1 | Elon Musk | $342 Billion | Cofounded Tesla, SpaceX and xAI. |
| 2 | Mark Zuckerberg | $216 Billion | Started Facebook in 2004 for students to match names with photos of classmates. |
| 3 | Jeff Bezos | $215 Billion | Founded Amazon in 1994 out of his Seattle garage. |
| 4 | Larry Ellison | $192 Billion | Cofounded Oracle and owns roughly 40% of the company. |
| 5 | Bernard Arnault & family | $178 Billion | Oversees LVMH, a conglomerate of 75 fashion and cosmetics brands, including Louis Vuitton. |
| 6 | Warren Buffett | $154 Billion | Known as the “Oracle of Omaha,” a successful investor and owner of Berkshire Hathaway. |
| 13 | Bill Gates | $108 Billion | Cofounded Microsoft and diversified into various sectors, including waste disposal and machinery. |
| 14 | Michael Bloomberg | $105 Billion | Cofounded Bloomberg LP in 1981, a financial information and media company. |
| 18 | Mukesh Ambani | $92.5 Billion | Chairs Reliance Industries, with interests in petrochemicals, telecom, retail and more. |
| 28 | Gautam Adani | $56.3 Billion | Chairs Adani Group, involved in ports, airports, power generation, and green energy. |
| 51 | Shiv Nadar | $34.5 Billion | Cofounded HCL in 1976 to make calculators and microprocessors. |
| 58 | Melinda French Gates | $30.4 Billion | Known for philanthropy, resigned as co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2024. |
| 97 | Kumar Birla | $20.9 Billion | Head of Aditya Birla Group, a multinational conglomerate with revenue generated in 40 countries. |
| 103 | Lakshmi Mittal | $19.2 Billion | Chairman of ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steel and mining company. |
| 146 | Vinod Adani | $14.9 Billion | Older brother of Gautam Adani, involved in diversified sectors, with significant global presence. |