The world’s billionaire class has entered uncharted territory, with their combined wealth reaching a $20.1 trillion this year, according to the latest Forbes billionaires ranking. The number itself tells us how rapidly wealth creation has accelerated over the past year, with the strength of artificial intelligence, booming stock markets and aggressive tech investments. The global billionaire count climbed to a record 3,428 people — nearly 400 more than last year — which means that the planet added almost one new billionaire every single day. The United States continued to dominate the list with 989 billionaires, followed by China and India, which now has a record 229 billionaires.
The rise in wealth was not evenly spread. According to Forbes, a small group at the very top captured a massive share of the gains, increasing the gap even within the billionaire club itself. Twenty people now hold fortunes above $100 billion, compared to just 15 last year, and together they control $3.8 trillion. Five of them have crossed the $200 billion mark. The average billionaire is now worth more than $5 billion, showing how the ultra-rich benefited disproportionately from the rally in technology and financial markets. Forbes based the rankings on stock prices and exchange rates as of March 1.
AI mania creates massive wealth
Artificial intelligence emerged as the biggest driver of new wealth, creating some of the fastest gains ever seen among the world’s richest people. Elon Musk remained firmly at the top after adding an unprecedented $497 billion to his fortune in just one year. Musk’s wealth briefly crossed $850 billion, and with plans to eventually take SpaceX public, speculation is already growing about whether he could become the world’s first trillionaire.
AI boom also sharply boosted the fortunes of Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, whose combined wealth jumped by more than $200 billion thanks to Alphabet’s strong AI performance and the success of Gemini. Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg also climbed higher on the list as Meta poured tens of billions of dollars into AI infrastructure, servers and data centres. Meanwhile, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang entered the exclusive $100 billion club for the first time after Nvidia became one of the most valuable companies in the world during the AI chip frenzy.
Even traditional technology giants benefited from the wave. Michael Dell saw his wealth jump sharply as Dell Technologies and Broadcom shares surged, Steve Ballmer remained among the richest despite slower growth at Microsoft. Across the board, investors rewarded companies seen as central to the future of AI, cloud computing and advanced chips, leading to one of the biggest wealth creation phases in recent years.
Beyond tech: Retail, luxury and crypto fortunes rise
While technology dominated the rankings, several billionaires from retail, luxury, telecom and cryptocurrency sectors also saw major gains. Jeff Bezos remained among the world’s richest as Amazon continued to benefit from e-commerce and cloud growth, even as his aerospace company Blue Origin expanded its space ambitions. Walmart heirs Rob Walton, Jim Walton and Alice Walton gained from Walmart becoming the first traditional retailer to hit a $1 trillion market value.
In Europe, luxury goods titan Bernard Arnault remained one of the richest people globally despite a slowdown in luxury demand. Fashion billionaire Amancio Ortega continued expanding his real estate empire using dividends from Inditex, while telecom magnate Carlos Slim Helú saw his fortune jump as shares of América Móvil rallied strongly.
Cryptocurrency also made a strong comeback in the rankings. Changpeng Zhao became the first major crypto entrepreneur to enter the top 20 richest people globally after Binance attracted billions in new investment and crypto markets rebounded sharply. Veteran investor Warren Buffett and philanthropists like Bill Gates and Michael Bloomberg also featured prominently, reflecting how wealth today extends far beyond technology alone.