Forbes Annual Billionaires List: Elon Musk $839 billion remains the world's richest, Zhang Yiming is China's richest

The total wealth of global billionaires hits a new high, with Elon Musk’s assets surpassing the $800 billion mark.

On March 10th, local time, Forbes released the 40th annual “World’s Billionaires List,” based on data as of March 1st this year. Over the past year, the wealth of global billionaires grew at an unprecedented rate, continuing to expand rapidly. A total of 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 a record $20.1 trillion, up from $16.1 trillion the previous year.

Meanwhile, 20 individuals worldwide have crossed the $100 billion wealth threshold, an increase of 5 from last year, showing a clear concentration of wealth, whereas in 2017, this number was zero. The combined wealth of this elite group amounts to $3.8 trillion, meaning just 0.5% of the 3,428 billionaires control nearly one-fifth of billionaire wealth.

Forbes senior editor Chase Peterson-Withorn said, “This has been a year for billionaires. Over the past 12 months, AI-driven stock market booms have propelled wealth to previously unimaginable heights, with the global average adding more than one new billionaire each day.”

On the list, Tesla CEO Elon Musk ranks first for the second consecutive year, with a net worth of approximately $839 billion, making him the wealthiest person in history and the first to surpass the $800 billion mark. Driven by Tesla’s rising valuation and plans to go public with SpaceX in 2026, Musk’s net worth surged by $500 billion in 2025, potentially making him the world’s first trillionaire.

Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin rank second and third respectively. Over the past year, their fortunes soared due to Alphabet’s explosive market value, rising from $156 billion and $140 billion at the start of the year to $257 billion and $237 billion, an increase of over 60% each.

In fourth place is Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, who remains Amazon’s largest individual shareholder, with his net worth stable around $224 billion over the past year. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg entered the top five, with his wealth steadily increasing alongside Meta’s growth, reaching $222 billion.

Notably, at least 86 billionaires on this year’s list have wealth closely tied to AI, totaling $2.9 trillion. Among them, 45 are new billionaires, such as Edwin Chen, founder of data annotation company Surge AI, with a net worth of about $18 billion.

In terms of country and region distribution, the United States still leads with 989 billionaires, totaling $8.4 trillion, accounting for over 40% of the world’s billionaire wealth. Among the top 20 wealthiest individuals, 15 are from the U.S… China mainland ranks second with 539 billionaires, mainly in technology, manufacturing, and consumer sectors. India is third with 229 billionaires.

In China, ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming is the richest with a net worth of $69.3 billion, ranking 26th globally. Nongfu Spring founder Zhong Shanshan follows closely with $68.1 billion, ranking 27th worldwide. Tencent co-founder Ma Huateng, the third wealthiest in China, has a net worth of $53.8 billion, ranking 33rd globally.

This year, the list includes 390 new billionaires, such as singer Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, Greg Abel (who will succeed Warren Buffett as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway), tennis legend Roger Federer, and other notable figures.

Additionally, 89 billionaires saw their wealth decline and dropped off the list, while 39 billionaires passed away over the past year.

Earlier, on March 5th, Hurun Research Institute released the “Hurun Global Rich List 2026,” with wealth calculated as of January 15th, 2026. The list features 4,020 billionaires from 2,914 companies across 73 countries, a 17% increase from 3,442 last year, with total wealth rising by 28%. Elon Musk topped the list with ¥5.5 trillion, and Zhang Yiming remained China’s richest with ¥550 billion.

Source: The Paper

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