The World's Billionaires facts for kids
| List of the world's billionaires, ranked in order of net worth | |
 The total wealth of the world's billionaires grew rapidly over the past few decades.
|
|
| Publication details | |
|---|---|
| Publisher |
|
| Publication | Forbes |
| First published | March 1987 |
| Latest publication | March 10, 2026 |
| 2026 list details | |
| Wealthiest | Elon Musk |
| Net worth (1st) |  US$839 billion |
| Number of billionaires | 3,428 |
| Total list net worth value | US$20.1 trillion |
| Number of women | 481 |
| Number of men | 2,947 |
| New members to the list | 309 |
| World's Billionaires List | |
The World's Billionaires is a famous yearly list published by an American business magazine named Forbes. A billionaire is someone who has a net worth of one billion United States dollars or more. One billion dollars is written as $1,000,000,000. It is a huge amount of money. The magazine printed its first ranking back in March 1987. Since then, reporters have studied company records, bank accounts, and possessions to see who holds the most wealth.
The magazine reports everyone's wealth in US dollars so that each person can be compared fairly. However, the list does not count members of a royal family whose wealth comes entirely from holding a crown. It also leaves out any political dictator whose riches belong to the government. When Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, took the top spot in 2018, he became the very first centibillionaire on the list. A centibillionaire has more than 100 billion dollars. Bill Gates, the creator of Microsoft, was the richest person for eighteen out of twenty-four earlier years. Later, Elon Musk reached the first spot with his companies Tesla and SpaceX. Bernard Arnault became the first person from France to grab the top rank in 2023.
Contents
Understanding How the Billionaires List is Made
To figure out who belongs on the ranking, Forbes hires a big team of more than fifty reporters across the globe. These reporters keep track of wealthy people, their companies, and how their businesses perform each year. They study the worth of public businesses, real estate, airplanes, big ships, and famous collections of art. They also send surveys and talk directly with business leaders to see how much their companies make.
Figuring out someone's true fortune takes careful math. Reporters take all the valuable things a person owns, which are called assets, and subtract any money they owe, which is called debt. What remains after paying debts is known as their net worth. If a company is traded publicly, reporters look at stock values. For private companies, financial experts look at numbers such as the price-to-sales balance or the price-to-earnings balance to make a good estimate.
Prices in the stock market go up and down every single day. Because stock prices change quickly, a billionaire might gain or lose millions of dollars within hours. The list printed in March shows a snapshot taken on one specific day. If a family shares a fortune while the original creator is alive, the whole family appears together. If the founder passes away, their children only appear on the list if each child has over one billion dollars alone.
Many people on the list give away large parts of their wealth through charitable giving to help other human beings. In 2010, Bill Gates and his good friend Warren Buffett launched the Giving Pledge. This is a public promise where rich people pledge to donate most of their fortunes to charity, helping schools, hospitals, and scientists find cures for diseases.
Historical Highlights of the Wealthiest People
The rankings have tracked big changes in technology, world trade, and inventions over four decades. Different industries have created huge wealth at different points in modern history.
The Early Years: 1987 to 1999
When the ranking first appeared in 1987, Japanese businessmen held the very top ranks because land values in Japan were extremely high. A business leader named Yoshiaki Tsutsumi, who ran Seibu Corporation, took the first spot. Taikichiro Mori, who owned many buildings through the Mori Building Company, was second. The American retail pioneer Sam Walton, who created Walmart, held third place.
During the early 1990s, business empires in the United States and Europe began growing very quickly. The famous du Pont family, known for chemistry and science inventions at DuPont, climbed into the top ranks. In Sweden, brothers Hans Rausing and Gad Rausing built a fortune selling drink cartons with Tetra Pak. In Canada, Paul Reichmann built famous skyscrapers through Olympia and York, while Kenneth Thomson ran the media empire Thomson Corporation.
Computer technology soon started changing the entire world. In 1992, software creator Bill Gates entered the top ten with Microsoft. The Walton family held the top rank as retail superstores spread everywhere. Around the same time, Warren Buffett became famous for investing through his company Berkshire Hathaway. Brothers Karl Albrecht and Theo Albrecht grew a worldwide grocery network with their store Aldi.
By 1995, Bill Gates moved up to the number one position globally. Personal computers were becoming common in offices, schools, and homes. Computer makers such as Michael Dell through Dell saw their fortunes soar. Other successful tech leaders included Larry Ellison, who started Oracle Corporation, and Paul Allen, who co-founded Microsoft. People also built fortunes in places like Hong Kong, where Li Ka-shing led CK Asset Holdings and Cheung Kong Holdings, and Lee Shau-kee developed buildings with Henderson Land Development.
The New Millennium and Dot-Com Era: 2000 to 2009
At the end of the 1990s, an event known as the dot-com bubble caused tech stocks to reach enormous values. Bill Gates reached a net worth of $90 billion in 1999. When that technology bubble burst in 2000, stock prices fell quickly. His fortune dropped to $60 billion, though he still remained the wealthiest person on the planet.
This decade also brought historical milestones in diversity. In 2001, BET founder Robert L. Johnson became the first African-American billionaire. In 2003, television host Oprah Winfrey became the world's first female African-American billionaire. The internet brought young creators into the top ranks as well. The founders of the search engine Google, named Larry Page and Sergey Brin, became billionaires in 2004 when they were only thirty years old.
The list expanded into many new countries during the middle of the 2000s. In India, steel leader Lakshmi Mittal turned Mittal Steel Company into a global powerhouse. In Mexico, Carlos Slim built a telecommunications network through América Móvil and Grupo Carso. In Sweden, Ingvar Kamprad made simple furniture famous through IKEA. In Spain, Amancio Ortega created popular fashion lines with Inditex and Zara.
The Great Recession hit the world economy hard in 2008 and 2009. Billions of dollars in value vanished when housing and stock markets declined. Because of this crash, the 2009 list shrank by almost one-third. Even so, innovative young inventors continued to appear. In 2008, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg became the youngest self-made billionaire ever at the age of twenty-three.
A Decade of Global Growth: 2010 to 2019
The global economy recovered during the 2010s, and the number of billionaires grew past two thousand. Carlos Slim became the wealthiest person on the planet in 2010, holding the top spot for four consecutive years. Christy Walton and Alice Walton of the Walmart retail company ranked as the wealthiest women in the world during this period.
Luxury brands and mobile technology produced major fortunes. France's Bernard Arnault expanded his luxury group LVMH Moët Hennessy • Louis Vuitton. In the United States, industrial leaders Charles Koch and David Koch held high positions with Koch Industries. Meanwhile, Jeff Bezos built Amazon into a giant store for online shopping and cloud computing.
In 2018, Jeff Bezos soared to the top position with an estimated fortune of $112 billion. This made him the very first person to reach a twelve-figure fortune on the official annual list. By 2019, more than two thousand people across dozens of countries were counted as billionaires.
Modern Eras: 2020 to 2026
The early 2020s brought fast changes in online software, electric cars, and artificial intelligence. Although the COVID-19 pandemic briefly upset world markets in early 2020, wealth grew quickly over the following years. Elon Musk climbed rapidly up the ranks as people bought electric cars from Tesla and launched rockets with SpaceX. In 2022, Musk took the first spot on the list for the first time.
The battle for the top spot remained close. In 2023 and 2024, Bernard Arnault took first place due to strong worldwide demand for fine goods. Meta Platforms, led by Mark Zuckerberg, and Google, led by Page and Brin, saw their company values multiply. In 2025, Bill Gates dropped out of the top ten for the first time in thirty-three years. By 2026, Elon Musk stood at the top of the list with a record net worth of $839 billion, while computer chip leader Jensen Huang of Nvidia joined the top ten for the first time.
Annual Top Ten Lists of the Wealthiest Individuals
Below are the official top ten billionaires recorded by the magazine across key years.
- Legend
| Icon | Description |
|---|---|
 |
Has not changed from the previous ranking. |
|
Has increased from the previous ranking. |
 |
Has decreased from the previous ranking. |
Top Ten in 1990
| No. | Name | Net worth (USD) | Nationality | Source(s) of wealth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Yoshiaki Tsutsumi | $16.0 billion |
 Japan |
Seibu Corporation |
| 2 |
Taikichiro Mori | $14.6 billion |
Japan |
Mori Building Company |
| 3 |
Walton family | $13.5 billion |
 United States |
Walmart |
| 4 |
du Pont family | $10.0 billion |
United States |
DuPont |
| 5 |
Hans and Gad Rausing | $9.6 billion |
 Sweden |
Tetra Pak |
| 6 |
Kitaro Watanabe | $9.2 billion |
Japan |
Azabu Building |
| 7 |
Paul Reichmann & brothers | $9.0 billion |
 Canada |
Olympia and York |
| 8 |
Kenkichi Nakajima | $8.4 billion |
Japan |
Heiwa Corporation |
| 9 |
Shin Kyuk-ho | $7.5 billion |
 South Korea |
Lotte Corporation |
| 10 |
Eitaro Itoyama | $5.8 billion |
Japan |
Shin Nihon Kanko |
Top Ten in 1995
| No. | Name | Net worth (USD) | Nationality | Source(s) of wealth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Walton family | $23.5 billion |
United States |
Walmart |
| 2 |
Bill Gates | $12.9 billion |
United States |
Microsoft |
| 3 |
Warren Buffett | $10.7 billion |
United States |
Berkshire Hathaway |
| 4 |
Hans and Gad Rausing | $9.0 billion |
Sweden |
Tetra Pak |
| 5 |
Yoshiaki Tsutsumi | $9.0 billion |
Japan |
Seibu Corporation |
| 6 |
Paul Sacher & Hoffman family | $8.6 billion |
 Switzerland |
Hoffmann-La Roche |
| 7 |
Tsai Wan-lin & family | $8.5 billion |
 Taiwan |
Cathay Financial Holding |
| 8 |
Kenneth Thomson | $6.5 billion |
Canada |
Thomson Corporation |
| 9 |
Lee Shau-kee | $6.5 billion |  Hong Kong |
Henderson Land Development |
| 10 |
Chung Ju-yung | $6.2 billion |  South Korea |
Hyundai |
Top Ten in 2000
| No. | Name | Net worth (USD) | Age | Nationality | Source(s) of wealth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Bill Gates | $60.0 billion |
44 | United States |
Microsoft |
| 2 |
Larry Ellison | $47.0 billion |
55 | United States |
Oracle Corporation |
| 3 |
Paul Allen | $28.0 billion |
47 | United States |
Microsoft |
| 4 |
Warren Buffett | $25.6 billion |
69 | United States |
Berkshire Hathaway |
| 5 |
Karl and Theo Albrecht | $20.0 billion |
80 |  Germany |
Aldi |
| 6 |
Al-Waleed bin Talal | $20.0 billion |
43 |  Saudi Arabia |
Kingdom Holding Company |
| 7 |
S. Robson Walton | $20.0 billion |
57 | United States |
Walmart |
| 8 |
Masayoshi Son | $19.4 billion |
43 |  Japan |
SoftBank Mobile |
| 9 |
Michael Dell | $19.1 billion |
35 | United States |
Dell |
| 10 |
Kenneth Thomson | $16.1 billion |
77 | Canada |
The Thomson Corporation |
Top Ten in 2005
| No. | Name | Net worth (USD) | Age | Nationality | Source(s) of wealth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Bill Gates | $46.5 billion |
49 | United States |
Microsoft |
| 2 |
Warren Buffett | $44.0 billion |
74 | United States |
Berkshire Hathaway |
| 3 |
Lakshmi Mittal | $25.0 billion |
54 |  India |
Mittal Steel Company |
| 4 |
Carlos Slim | $23.8 billion |
65 |  Mexico |
América Móvil, Grupo Carso |
| 5 |
Al-Waleed bin Talal | $23.7 billion |
49 | Saudi Arabia |
Kingdom Holding Company |
| 6 |
Ingvar Kamprad | $23.0 billion |
79 | Sweden |
IKEA |
| 7 |
Paul Allen | $21.0 billion |
52 | United States |
Microsoft |
| 8 |
Karl Albrecht | $18.5 billion |
85 | Germany |
Aldi |
| 9 |
Larry Ellison | $18.4 billion |
60 | United States |
Oracle Corporation |
| 10 |
S. Robson Walton | $18.3 billion |
61 | United States |
Walmart |
Top Ten in 2010
| No. | Name | Net worth (USD) | Age | Nationality | Source(s) of wealth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Carlos Slim & family | $53.5 billion |
70 | Mexico |
América Móvil, Grupo Carso |
| 2 |
Bill Gates | $53.0 billion |
54 | United States |
Microsoft |
| 3 |
Warren Buffett | $47.0 billion |
79 | United States |
Berkshire Hathaway |
| 4 |
Mukesh Ambani | $29.0 billion |
53 | India |
Reliance Industries |
| 5 |
Lakshmi Mittal | $28.7 billion |
60 | India |
ArcelorMittal |
| 6 |
Larry Ellison | $28.0 billion |
66 | United States |
Oracle Corporation |
| 7 |
Bernard Arnault | $27.5 billion |
61 |  France |
LVMH |
| 8 |
Eike Batista | $27.0 billion |
53 |  Brazil |
EBX Group |
| 9 |
Amancio Ortega | $25.0 billion |
74 |  Spain |
Inditex Group |
| 10 |
Karl Albrecht | $23.5 billion |
90 | Germany |
Aldi |
Top Ten in 2015
| No. | Name | Net worth (USD) | Age | Nationality | Source(s) of wealth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Bill Gates | $79.2 billion |
59 | United States |
Microsoft |
| 2 |
Carlos Slim | $77.1 billion |
75 | Mexico |
América Móvil, Grupo Carso |
| 3 |
Warren Buffett | $72.7 billion |
84 | United States |
Berkshire Hathaway |
| 4 |
Amancio Ortega | $64.5 billion |
78 | Spain |
Inditex |
| 5 |
Larry Ellison | $54.3 billion |
70 | United States |
Oracle Corporation |
| 6 |
Charles Koch | $42.9 billion |
79 | United States |
Koch Industries |
| 6 |
David Koch | $42.9 billion |
74 | United States |
Koch Industries |
| 8 |
Christy Walton | $41.7 billion |
66 | United States |
Walmart |
| 9 |
Jim Walton | $40.6 billion |
66 | United States |
Walmart |
| 10 |
Liliane Bettencourt | $40.1 billion |
92 | France |
L'Oréal |
Top Ten in 2020
| No. | Name | Net worth (USD) | Age | Nationality | Source(s) of wealth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Jeff Bezos | $113 billion |
56 | United States |
Amazon |
| 2 |
Bill Gates | $98 billion |
64 | United States |
Microsoft |
| 3 |
Bernard Arnault & family | $76 billion |
71 | France |
LVMH |
| 4 |
Warren Buffett | $67.5 billion |
89 | United States |
Berkshire Hathaway |
| 5 |
Larry Ellison | $59 billion |
75 | United States |
Oracle Corporation |
| 6 |
Amancio Ortega | $55.1 billion |
84 | Spain |
Inditex, Zara |
| 7 |
Mark Zuckerberg | $54.7 billion |
35 | United States |
Facebook, Inc. |
| 8 |
Jim Walton | $54.6 billion |
71 | United States |
Walmart |
| 9 |
Alice Walton | $54.4 billion |
70 | United States |
Walmart |
| 10 |
S. Robson Walton | $54.1 billion |
77 | United States |
Walmart |
Top Ten in 2026
| No. | Name | Net worth (USD) | Age | Nationality | Primary source(s) of wealth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Elon Musk | $839 billion |
54 | Tesla and SpaceX | |
| 2 |
Larry Page | $257 billion |
52 | United States |
|
| 3 |
Sergey Brin | $237 billion |
52 | United States |
|
| 4 |
Jeff Bezos | $224 billion |
62 | United States |
Amazon |
| 5 |
Mark Zuckerberg | $222 billion |
41 | United States |
Meta Platforms |
| 6 |
Larry Ellison | $190 billion |
81 | United States |
Oracle Corporation |
| 7 |
Bernard Arnault & family | $171 billion |
77 |  France |
LVMH |
| 8 |
Jensen Huang | $154 billion |
63 |  Taiwan United States |
Nvidia |
| 9 |
Warren Buffett | $149 billion |
95 | United States |
Berkshire Hathaway |
| 10 |
Amancio Ortega | $148 billion |
89 |  Spain |
Inditex |
Tracking Global Wealth Across the Years
Over the years, the number of billionaires in the world has changed based on economic conditions. When businesses grow, stock values rise and new companies are founded. When recessions happen, values drop.
The dot-com bubble made many tech founders rich on paper, meaning their company stock was worth a lot on paper before dropping later. During the Great Recession, billionaires lost large amounts of money. The year 2009 saw the total number of billionaires drop for the first time in five years. Eventually, healthy markets and modern technological advances helped wealth grow again.
| Year | Number of billionaires |
Combined net worth |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 470 | $898 billion |
| 2005 | 691 | $2.2 trillion |
| 2010 | 1,011 | $3.6 trillion |
| 2015 | 1,826 | $7.1 trillion |
| 2020 | 2,095 | $8.0 trillion |
| 2025 | 3,028 | $16.1 trillion |
| 2026 | 3,428 | $20.1 trillion |
| Sources: Forbes. | ||
Related Articles
In Spanish: Anexo:Milmillonarios según Forbes para niños
- Bloomberg Billionaires Index
- List of centibillionaires
- List of cities by number of billionaires
- List of countries by number of billionaires
- List of wealthiest animals
- List of wealthiest families
- List of wealthiest religious organizations
