Top 10 Richest People in the World
It’s aspirational to look at the richest people in the world and study the background, techniques and tendencies that characterize their journey. By analyzing their wealth-building traits and areas they have invested in, you can start applying their business acumen to your everyday life.
Read: 6 Genius Things All Wealthy People Do With Their Money
Top 10 Richest People in the World
These founders, leaders and visionaries are individuals with a unique story behind their success that allowed them to amass vast amounts of wealth. Here is a look at the top 10 richest people in the world.
Bernard Arnault: $227 billion
Jeff Bezos: $198.1 billion
Elon Musk: $196.1 billion
Mark Zuckerberg: $170.8 billion
Larry Ellison: $155.3 billion
Warren Buffett: $137.7 billion
Bill Gates: $131.1 billion
Larry Page: $125.8 billion
Steve Ballmer: $124.4 billion
Sergey Brin: $120.9 billion
Here’s an even closer look at how the world’s 10 richest people on Forbes’ Billionaires Index list got to where they are.
1. Bernard Arnault
Bernard Arnault has a net worth of $227 billion.
Age: 75
Nationality: France
Company: LVMH
Industry: Fashion and hospitality
Quote: “Money is just a consequence. I always say to my team, don’t worry too much about profitability. If you do your job well, the profitability will come.”
How Bernard Arnault Made His Billions
Bernard Arnault amassed his fortune in the luxury goods industry with the ownership of world-renowned brands such as Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior. By targeting wealthy demographics — and, according to CNBC, maintaining a roughly 50% stake in his company, LVMH — he has climbed his way to being one of the top 10 richest people in the world.
Arnault’s luxury fashion empire spans over 70 brands, which he manages with his siblings. As of January 2021, Tiffany & Co. was added to the panel for $15.8 billion, which was estimated to be the largest acquisition of all time in luxury fashion. Not limited to just fashion, Arnault also owns several luxury hotels and cruise lines that have only added to his wealth over the years.
2. Jeff Bezos
Jeff Bezos has a net worth of $198.1 billion.
Age: 60
Nationality: USA
Company: Amazon
Industry: E-commerce and technology
Quote: “A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person. You earn a reputation by trying to do hard things well.”
How Jeff Bezos Made His Billions
At 30 years old, Jeff Bezos left the finance industry to start a business that many saw as foolish — buying and selling books online. That little company that could is known today as Amazon, and it reached a value of more than $1 trillion before dropping into the billion-dollar range. Bezos has a net worth of $169.2 billion and is credited for pioneering the e-commerce landscape, which has become one of the largest industries in the world.
Following his tremendous success, Bezos stepped away from the company but still is a top stakeholder in it. He has gone on to focus his efforts on Blue Origin, a suborbital space flight company to preserve Earth by colonizing space. The space race among the richest people in the world continues.
3. Elon Musk
Elon Musk has a net worth of $196.1 billion.
Age: 52
Nationality: South Africa
Companies: Tesla, SpaceX, The Boring Company, Neuralink, PayPal, X (formerly Twitter)
Industry: Technology
Quote: “I think it is possible for ordinary people to choose to be extraordinary.”
How Elon Musk Made His Billions
Elon Musk founded Tesla and currently still holds about 23% between stock and options.
However, Musk has long been occupied with several other well-known companies and had his roots within a group known as the “PayPal Mafia.” This consisted of serial entrepreneurs and angel investors who made up PayPal’s alumni and have been extremely successful in their own right.
Musk may be the richest man in the world, but he doesn’t want to stop there. As of October 2022, he also owns the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. He also owns Neuralink and The Boring Company and is the founder and CEO of SpaceX.
4. Mark Zuckerberg
Mark Zuckerberg has a net worth of $170.8 billion.
Age: 39
Nationality: USA
Company: Meta
Industry: Technology
Quote: “In a world that’s changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks.”
How Mark Zuckerberg Made His Billions
The youngest on this list is Mark Zuckerberg, who is most notable for the creation of Facebook, the social media platform he founded in 2004 while a student at Harvard and that currently has over 2 billion active daily users. Facebook’s parent company is Meta Platforms, which encompasses a variety of products and services, such as the VR headset Meta Quest, WhatsApp and Instagram.
Microsoft acquired a 1.6% percent stake in Facebook for $240 million, followed by Digital Sky Technologies, which gained a 1.96% share worth $200 million.
5. Larry Ellison
Larry Ellison has a net worth of $155.3 billion.
Age: 79
Nationality: USA
Company: Oracle
Industry: Technology and software
Quote: “Great achievers are driven, not so much by the pursuit of success, but by the fear of failure.”
How Larry Ellison Made His Billions
Like many others on this list, Larry Ellison can attribute his great fortune to the rise of technology. Having founded Oracle in 1977 after dropping out of college, he grew the company from its startup phase to one of the largest software and database companies in the world. Oracle now has a market capitalization of $313.74 billion, and Ellison has retained a stake of over 35% to date.
Ellison made his fortune, but thanks to substantial investments he made in Tesla before its meteoric rise, he generated a net gain of more than 1,000% on his capital. He joined Tesla’s board of directors in 2018; however, Tesla announced in June 2022 that Ellison would step down. He still holds a stake in Tesla.
6. Warren Buffett
Warren Buffett has a net worth of $137.7 billion.
Age: 93
Nationality: USA
Company: Berkshire Hathaway
Industry: Financial, insurance, diversified
Quote: “Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.”
How Warren Buffett Made His Billions
Nicknamed the Oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffett is regarded as the greatest investor of all time. His holding company, Berkshire Hathaway, owns dozens of businesses, including Geico Auto Insurance, Kraft Heinz and Fruit of the Loom. It also manages a portfolio of investments that include large positions in Apple stock and several bank stocks. Buffett has long spoken about the benefits of index funds and long-term investing that have helped him accumulate his fortune.
Even as it continues to work in his favor, Buffett has pledged to give 99% of his wealth to charitable foundations and philanthropic causes during his final years, and he had already donated around $48 billion as of mid-2022. Despite his vast wealth, Buffett doesn’t live in a multimillion-dollar mansion. Instead, he still resides at the same Omaha house he bought in 1958 for just $31,500.
7. Bill Gates
Bill Gates has a net worth of $131.2 billion.
Age: 68
Nationality: USA
Company: Microsoft
Industry: Technology and software
Quote: “Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can’t lose.”
How Bill Gates Made His Billions
Bill Gates was a tech whiz kid growing up, having designed his first software program at age 13. From this foundation, he would go on to become a co-founder of Microsoft, the largest computer software company in the world. Microsoft was first founded in 1975, but Gates decided to step down as CEO in 2000.
He maintained an active role in the company over the years, as Microsoft continued its expansion in the computing, software and gaming sectors, with the company purchasing Activision Blizzard in a deal valued at $68.7 billion. Gates relinquished his duties at Microsoft to focus on philanthropy through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
8. Larry Page
Larry Page has a net worth of $125.8 billion.
Age: 51
Nationality: USA
Company: Google
Industry: Technology and advertising
Quote: “Good ideas are always crazy until they’re not.”
How Larry Page Made His Billions
Larry Page co-founded Google in 1998 and was CEO until 2001. He returned as CEO from 2011 to 2015 and remains a board member and majority shareholder. Google falls under the umbrella of Alphabet, the tech conglomerate holding company that owns YouTube, Google Play, Android, Fitbit, Mandiant, Looker and Nest.
Google first built its search engine but repeatedly redefined technology with developments in GPS mapping and translation. This, in turn, led to the creation of one of the largest platforms for advertising in the world — to the good fortune of Page. In 2022 alone, Google generated $279.8 billion in total ad revenue.
9. Steve Ballmer
Steve Ballmer has a net worth of $124.4 billion.
Age: 68
Nationality: USA
Company: Microsoft
Industry: Technology
Quote: “Great companies in the way they work, start with great leaders.”
How Steve Ballmer Made His Billions
As the former CEO of Microsoft, Steve Ballmer oversaw the world’s largest software developer until he stepped down in 2014. As Ballmer still maintains 4% ownership of Microsoft, he is its largest individual shareholder. Ballmer has also bought the Los Angeles Clippers basketball team in a deal valued at $2 billion.
10. Sergey Brin
Sergey Brin has a net worth of $120.9 billion.
Age: 50
Nationality: Russia
Company: Google
Industry: Technology and advertising
Quote: “Solving big problems is easier than solving little problems.”
How Sergey Brin Made His Billions
Sergey Brin, along with Larry Page, co-founded Google. So it’s no surprise he also made it onto the list of the richest people in the world. The pair met at Stanford University before starting their venture, and just like Page, Brin continues to hold an active role as a board member with a similar stake. More recently, Brin has set up Bayshore Capital Management in Singapore, a region ripe for investment with favorable tax legislation to manage his wealth.
The Richest Billionaires in the World
It can be difficult to grasp the concept of a billionaire, let alone a multibillionaire. The richest people in the world come from diverse backgrounds and areas of expertise. It is always interesting to see what paths they walked and the habits they formed to amass their wealth.
As this list is ever-evolving, stay tuned to see what fortune has in store for the next generation of billionaires, and quite possibly, the world’s first trillionaires, to crack the top 10.
Richest People in the World FAQ
Who are the top 10 richest people in the world?
The top 10 richest people in the world rank currently as follows:
Bernard Arnault
Jeff Bezos
Elon Musk
Mark Zuckerberg
Larry Ellison
Warren Buffett
Bill Gates
Larry Page
Steve Ballmer
Sergey Brin
Who is the No. 1 richest person in the world?
The current richest person in the world is Bernard Arnault and family, with a net worth of $227 billion.
How much are the top 10 richest people worth?
Here are the current net worths of the top 10 richest people in the world:
Bernard Arnault: $227 billion
Jeff Bezos: $198.1 billion
Elon Musk: $196.1 billion
Mark Zuckerberg: $170.8 billion
Larry Ellison: $155.3 billion
Warren Buffett: $137.7 billion
Bill Gates: $131.1 billion
Larry Page: $125.8 billion
Steve Ballmer: $124.4 billion
Sergey Brin: $120.9 billion
Who is the richest person in South Korea in 2024?
The current richest person in South Korea is Michael Kim who has a net worth of $9.7 billion.
Daria Uhlig, Caitlyn Moorhead, Cynthia Measom, Melanie Grafil and Amber Barkley contributed to the reporting for this article.
Data was compiled on Mar. 28, 2024, and is subject to change.
This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Top 10 Richest People in the World
