MethodologyThe Forbes World’s Billionaires list is a snapshot of wealth using stock prices and exchange rates from March 11, 2022. Some people become richer or poorer within days of publication. We list individuals rather than multigenerational families who share fortunes, though we include wealth belonging to a billionaire’s spouse and children if that person is the founder of the fortune. In some cases we list siblings or couples together if the ownership breakdown among them isn’t clear, but here an estimated net worth of $1 billion per person is needed to make the cut. We value a variety of assets, including private companies, real estate, art and more. We don’t pretend to know each billionaire’s private balance sheet (though some provide it). When documentation isn’t supplied or available, we discount fortunes. For daily updates of net worths, go to www.forbes.com/real-time-billionaires. Show
AcknowledgementsSpecial thanks to CBRE, FactSet Research Systems, LCH Investments, Orbis by Bureau Van Dijk, PitchBook Data, Real Capital Analytics, S&P Capital IQ, VesselsValue and the other experts who helped us with our reporting and valuations, including George de Benedicty, Ocala Ranches; Ben Bienvenu, Stephens; Jurgen Brauer, Small Arms Analytics; Sebastian Bray, Berenberg; Jonathan Chappell, Evercore ISI; Rommel T. Dionisio, Aegis Capital Corp.; Truman Fleming; Randy Giveans, Jefferies; Seth Goldstein, Morningstar; Lars Haugen, CBRE; Ashley Helgans, Jefferies; Evelyn Hendrich, Hendrich Real Estate; Arpine Kocharyan, UBS; Jonathan Lamers, BMO Nesbitt Burns; Gail Lissner; Irene Luke, Savills Monaco; Jack McCabe; Alison McGavigan, JLL; Ross Moore, Cresa; Bruce Nash, Nash Information Services; Joel Paige; Alok Patel, Berenberg; Carrie Russell, HVS; James Rutherford, Stephens; Brian Sudano, Beverage Marketing Corporation; Tim Swannie, Home Hunts; Douglas B. Taylor; Andrea Teixeira, J.P. Morgan; Steph Wissink, Jefferies; Jeffrey Wlodarczak, Pivotal Research Group; Anastasia Yianni, Cyprus Sotheby's International Realty; Ian Zaffino, Oppenheimer & Co. CreditsEDITOR: Kerry A. Dolan
turk_stock_photographer / iStock.com 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. Explore:
Your Biggest Money Etiquette Questions Answered Top 10 Richest People in the WorldThese 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.
Here’s an even closer look at how the 10 richest people in the world got to where they are. Take Our Poll: Do You Think Student Loan Debt Should Be Forgiven? 1. Bernard Arnault
Bernard Arnault is the richest man in the world. He amassed his fortune in the luxury goods industry with the ownership of world-renowned brands such as Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior. He has a net worth of $162 billion. By targeting wealthy demographics and maintaining a nearly 50% stake in his company, LVMH, he has climbed his way to 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. Elon Musk
Elon Musk is the second richest man in the world despite his recent losses. He has a net worth of $137 billion. He founded Tesla and currently still holds a 13% stake in the company. 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 that made up PayPal’s alumni, who have been extremely successful in their own right. He also owns Neuralink and The Boring Company, and famously has a stake in the social media platform Twitter. Musk may be the second richest man in the world, but he doesn’t want to stop there. He is the CEO of SpaceX, a rocket manufacturer that supplies the space stations for NASA. 3. Gautam Adani
Gautam Adani is the richest person in India. He has a net worth of $121 billion. His entrepreneurial DNA comes directly from his father, who owned a textile business. Despite the opportunity to inherit, Adani had no interest in the business and decided to follow his own ambitions to achieve great wealth. Soon after leaving home, Adani entered the diamond industry, which saw him quickly rise to millionaire status. Upon acquiring this wealth, he founded Adani Enterprises, a conglomerate that now oversees several businesses in sectors such as energy, transportation, mining, infrastructure, logistics, cement and fast-moving consumer goods. Thanks to India’s economic growth, Adani’s stock market success and recent investments in green energy have added about $44 billion to his net worth over the past year, propelling him toward the top of the rich list. 4. Bill Gates
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. Gates has a net worth of $109 billion. 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 and Melinda Gates Foundation. 5. Warren Buffett
Nicknamed the “Oracle of Omaha,” Warren Buffett is regarded as the greatest investor of all time. Buffett has a net worth of $107 billion. His holding company, Berkshire Hathaway, manages a portfolio of investments that include large positions in Apple stock and several bank stocks. Buffett has long spoken about the benefits of compound interest 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 has already donated around $48 billion. Despite his vast wealth, Buffett doesn’t live in a multi-million-dollar mansion. Instead, he still resides at the same Omaha house he bought in 1958 for just $31,500. 6. Jeff Bezos
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 $107 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 sub-orbital space flight company with the goal of preserving Earth by colonizing space. The space race amongst the richest people in the world continues. 7. Larry Ellison
Ellison has a net worth of $91.8 billion. 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 start-up phase to one of the largest software and database companies in the world. Oracle now has a market capitalization of $223.91 billion, and Ellison has retained a stake of more than 40% to date. Ellison made his own 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 that Ellison would step down. He still holds a stake in Tesla. 8. Mukesh Ambani
Mukesh Ambani serves as chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries Limited, which grew from the yarn trading company his father started in 1957 to become India’s largest private-sector company. Ambani has a net worth of $87.1 billion. After earning a degree in chemical engineering, Ambani enrolled in Stanford University’s MBA program but left to return to India to help his father grow the business. Ambani is credited with expanding Reliance from textiles and polyester fibers to petrochemicals and petroleum refining, and ultimately to oil and gas exploration and production. Today, Reliance is also India’s largest retailer, and it operates the world’s largest 4G broadband wireless network. 9. Steve Ballmer
Steve Ballmer has a net worth of $85.8 billion. As the former CEO of Microsoft, he 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 currently owns the L.A. Clippers basketball team. 10. Larry Page
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. Page has a net worth of $85.1 billion. Nowadays, Google has moved 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 2021 alone, Google generated $209.49 billion in total ad revenue. The Richest Billionaires in the WorldIt can be difficult to grasp the concept of a billionaire, let alone a multi-billionaire. 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, or quite possibly, trillionaires, to crack the top 10. Richest People in the World FAQ
Daria Uhlig, Caitlyn Moorhead and Melanie Grafil contributed to the reporting for this article. Information is accurate as of Jan. 3, 2023. David is a qualified financial advisor in the Republic of Ireland. He has a bachelor's degree in business and entrepreneurship, as well as over five years of investing experience. Learn More Who is the richest person in the world in 2022?1. Bernard Arnault & family. Bernard Arnault is the CEO and Chair of LVMH (Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton) and his net worth is $190.4 billion, meaning Elon Musk was overtaken as the world's richest man in 2022.
How many billionaires are there in the world in 2022?The Richest in 2022
War, pandemic and sluggish markets hit the world's billionaires this year. There are 2,668 of them on Forbes' 36th-annual ranking of the planet's richest people—87 fewer than a year ago. They're worth a collective $12.7 trillion—$400 billion less than in 2021.
Is Elon Musk no longer the richest man in the world?Notable Elon Musk business ventures
The title of the world's richest person no longer belongs to Elon Musk. On Forbes' real-time billionaires list, Musk currently holds the No. 2 spot, with his net worth estimated to be $176.6 billion.
Who is the richest person in the world 2022 top 20?20 richest persons in the world in 2022:
According to the Forbes Genuine Billionaires Index, Elon Reeve Musk is the world's richest person, with a total wealth of $239.3 billion as of February 9, 2022. Bernard Arnault, his family, and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos follow him.
|