Elon Musk tops Forbes' 39th annual billionaires list

Forbes today released its 39^th annual World’s Billionaires list, the definitive ranking of the world’s richest people. Wealth has surged this year in ways we’ve never seen. This year’s list features 3,028 billionaires, the most since the list’s inception in 1987. The world’s wealthiest people are collectively worth a record-breaking $16.1 trillion. A record 15 people worldwide now have 12-figure fortunes, up from 14 last year and zero in 2017.

Elon Musk dethrones French luxury goods titan Bernard Arnault for the top spot, as Musk’s net worth grew by 75% to an estimated $342 billion. His jump in wealth follows big new valuations of xAI and SpaceX, and a 12-month rise in Tesla stock, despite the recent selloff. Musk is the first person to reach the $300 billion mark.

President Donald Trump more than doubled his net worth to an estimated $5.1 billion, thanks to his shares of Trump Media & Technology Group and big cash inflows from his recent crypto ventures.

Mark Zuckerberg follows Musk, in the No. 2 spot with an estimated net worth of $216 billion, followed by Jeff Bezos at No. 3 ($215 billion), Larry Ellison at No. 4 ($192 billion) and Bernard Arnault & family ($178 billion) rounding out the top five.