The world’s billionaire class has never been bigger—or richer. In its 39th annual edition, Forbes reports a record-breaking 3,028 billionaires across the globe, collectively holding $16.1 trillion in wealth. That figure is $2 trillion more than last year and exceeds the GDP of every country in the world except the United States and China. This year marks the first time the billionaire population has crossed the 3,000 threshold. The average net worth among these individuals has climbed to $5.3 billion, an increase of $200 million from 2024.
Billionaires continue to wield enormous influence, particularly in the United States, where Donald Trump was sworn in again as America’s billionaire-in-chief in January. In his current term, Trump has handed more control to the billionaire class than any administration before. Among his closest advisers is the world’s richest person, and his government includes at least ten billionaires or their spouses. Prominent corporate titans, including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and French luxury magnate Bernard Arnault, have rallied behind Trump.
Globally, the surge in billionaires has been widespread. In addition to the United States, countries such as China and India maintain their positions near the top. The U.S. leads the pack with 902 billionaires, followed by China with 516 (including Hong Kong) and India with 205. More than half of all the billionaires on the list are citizens of one of these three nations. However, billionaires now come from 76 countries and two semi-autonomous territories. Notably, Albania appears on the list for the first time. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has returned to the rankings with 15 entrants, following their removal in 2018 due to a government crackdown.
Elon Musk returns as the world’s richest person with an estimated net worth of $342 billion. He has added $147 billion to his fortune over the past year, propelled by the success of SpaceX and his AI company xAI, which recently merged with his social media platform X. Tesla, despite facing protests and a volatile stock market, is also trading higher than it did a year ago. Musk now leads second-ranked Mark Zuckerberg, worth an estimated $216 billion, by $126 billion. Jeff Bezos follows closely at $215 billion, while Larry Ellison holds fourth with $192 billion. Arnault, once the world’s richest man, has slipped to fifth with a fortune of $178 billion, his lowest ranking since 2017 amid a downturn in LVMH’s stock.
For the first time in history, three individuals are worth more than $200 billion. In total, fifteen people have joined the elite $100 Billion Club, up from fourteen last year and none as recently as 2017. Together, these fifteen centibillionaires are worth $2.4 trillion—more than the combined wealth of the bottom 1,500 billionaires on the list.
This year’s ranking includes 288 newcomers. Among the fresh faces are familiar celebrities such as Bruce Springsteen, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Jerry Seinfeld, each with fortunes exceeding $1 billion. Newcomers also include controversial figures like crypto mogul Justin Sun, as well as a number of artificial intelligence entrepreneurs behind companies like Anthropic, CoreWeave, and DeepSeek. Several billionaires also made the list thanks to their success with major food chains including Cava, Chipotle, Jersey Mike’s, and Zaxby’s.
The richest newcomer of the year is Marilyn Simons, widow of hedge fund legend Jim Simons, who passed away in May 2024. Her net worth is estimated at $31 billion. Overall, thirty-two billionaires died in the past year, although some, like Israeli industrialist Stef Wertheimer, passed away after Forbes had finalized this year’s list and still appear in the rankings.
There are 406 women on this year’s list, representing 13.4% of the total, a slight increase from 13.3% last year. Most inherited their fortunes, including Alice Walton, now the world’s richest woman with $101 billion, surpassing L’Oréal heiress Françoise Bettencourt Meyers. Of the women listed, just 113 are self-made. The wealthiest among them is Swiss shipping tycoon Rafaela Aponte-Diamant, who holds an estimated $37.7 billion and recently partnered with BlackRock to acquire 43 ports, including two in Panama.
Across the full list, 67% of billionaires are self-made, a slight increase from 66% in 2024. This group built their fortunes through entrepreneurship or investments rather than inheritance. The youngest self-made billionaire is Alexandr Wang, the 28-year-old cofounder and CEO of Scale AI, who is worth $2 billion. The youngest billionaire overall is Johannes von Baumbach, a 19-year-old heir to a German pharmaceutical fortune, who is worth $5.4 billion and now holds the title of the world’s youngest billionaire. The oldest billionaire on the list is U.S. insurance magnate George Joseph, who is 103 years old and valued at $1.9 billion. He is one of four billionaires to have reached 100 years of age. The average age of those on the list is 66.
Among those experiencing the biggest financial leaps is Donald Trump. Since returning to the White House, Trump’s net worth has more than doubled to an estimated $5.1 billion. This surge is attributed to his strategic investments in cryptocurrency and the public launch of Trump Media & Technology Group, which occurred just after Forbes finalized this year’s rankings.
Still, not everyone had a good year. A total of 107 individuals who appeared on the 2024 list failed to make the cut this year. Notable drop-offs include Lisa Su, CEO of AMD; Sara Liu, cofounder of Supermicro; and Nicholas Puech, a former Hermès heir whose fortune reportedly disappeared.
Forbes compiles its rankings based on net worths as of March 7, 2025, using publicly available data, interviews, and analysis of assets such as company shares, real estate, art, yachts, and other luxury holdings. Known debt and charitable contributions are factored in. When family wealth is shared among immediate heirs, Forbes attributes the wealth to the founder and may list “& family” in the entry.
This year’s list reflects not only the shifting dynamics of global wealth but also the growing influence of billionaires across sectors and governments. For real-time updates and detailed profiles, Forbes invites readers to explore its online Billionaire Tracker.
SOURCE :- FORBES
