Who is the richest man on the planet currently?

Methodology

The 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.

Acknowledgements

Special 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.

Credits

EDITOR: Kerry A. Dolan
DEPUTY EDITOR: Chase Peterson-Withorn
ASIA EDITOR: Naazneen Karmali
COUNTRY EDITORS: Russell Flannery, Jane Ho, Luisa Kroll, Natalie Robehmed
WEALTH TEAM: Richard J. Chang, David Dawkins, Matt Durot, Eliza Haverstock, Cole Horton, John Hyatt, Belle Long, Jemima McEvoy, Andrea Murphy, James O’Donnell, Rachel Sandler, Giacomo Tognini, Gigi Zamora and reporters at Forbes-licensed editions in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Israel, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia and Ukraine, and Affärsvärlden of Sweden.
REPORTERS: Dan Alexander, Anderson Antunes, Angel Au-Yeung, Megha Bahree, Nina Bambysheva, Karina Barrymore, Margherita Beale, Justin Birnbaum, Tim Boreham, Igor Bosilkovski, Thomas Brewster, Jonathan Burgos, Kenrick Cai, Nilgun Cavdar, Shu-Ching Jean Chen, Isabel Contreras, Lauren Debter, Michael del Castillo, Steven Ehrlich, Amy Feldman, Gloria Haraito, Chris Helman, Alvaro Hernandez Zorrilla, Katie Jennings, John Kang, Jeff Kauflin, Alex Knapp, Alex Konrad, Eunice Lam, Zinnia Lee, Pudji Lestari, Nicole Lindsay, Katherine Love, Iain Martin, Anis Shakirah Mohd Muslimin, Lan Anh Nguyen, Robert Olsen, Phisanu Phromchanya, Jonathan Ponciano, Aayushi Pratap, Marella Putri, Anu Raghunathan, Yessar Rosendar, Leonard Schoenberger, James Simms, Chloe Sorvino, Deborah Steinborn, Jessica Tan, Michela Tindera, Hank Tucker, Ozer Turan, Simran Vaswani, Lisette Voytko, Catherine Wang, Yue Wang, Ardian Wibisono, Rachel Williamson, Candice Wong, Will Yakowicz, January Yen, Itai Zehorai.
RESEARCH: Sue Radlauer
EDITORIAL OPERATIONS: Justin Conklin
DESIGN DIRECTOR: Alicia Hallett-Chan
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: Robyn Selman
PHOTO RESEARCH: Merrilee Barton, Gail Toivanen
DESIGN: Fernando Capeto, Stephanie Jones, James Kim, Nick Sheeran, Philip Smith
VIDEO PRODUCERS: Meg Christensen, Matt Kang, Juliet Muir, Jon Palmer, Kirsten Taggart
VIDEO DIRECTORS: Greg Andersson, Ivan Clow, Riley Hallaway, Bernard Osei, Morgan Sun
PRODUCT: Autumn Jones
ENGINEERING: Gustavo Faria, Mays Shatnawi, Dmitri Slavinsky
QA: Waed Mousa, Ronak Ray

  • Richest People in the World

Who is the richest man on the planet currently?

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
See: 3 Easy Tips to Turn Your Credit Woes into Wows

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.

  1. Bernard Arnault: $162 billion
  2. Elon Musk: $137 billion
  3. Gautam Adani: $121 billion
  4. Bill Gates: $109 billion
  5. Warren Buffett: $107 billion
  6. Jeff Bezos: $107 billion
  7. Larry Ellison: $91.8 billion
  8. Mukesh Ambani: $87.1 billion
  9. Steve Ballmer: $85.8 billion
  10. Larry Page: $82.9 billion

Key Takeaways

  • The richest person in the world is Bernard Arnault, after overtaking Elon Musk for first place. He has a net worth of $162 billion.
  • Elon Musk is the second richest person in the world. His net worth ranges, but he has a current net worth of $137 billion.
  • Though everyone on this list is one of the richest billionaires in the world, Gautam Adani is the only one to have a higher net worth than this time last year.
  • Six of the top 10 billionaires are in the technology industry.
  • Mark Zuckerberg of Meta dropped off the top 10 list in February of 2022. He currently ranks 25th with a net worth of $45.6 billion.

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

  • Age: 73
  • Nationality: France
  • Company: LVMH
  • Net Worth: $162 billion
  • 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.”

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

  • Age: 51
  • Nationality: South Africa
  • Companies: Tesla, SpaceX, The Boring Company, Neuralink, PayPal, Twitter
  • Net Worth: $137 billion
  • Industry: Technology
  • Quote: “I think it is possible for ordinary people to choose to be extraordinary.”

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

  • Age: 60
  • Nationality: India
  • Company: Adani Group
  • Net Worth: $121 billion
  • Industry: Energy and Transportation
  • Quote: “Being an entrepreneur is my dream job, as it tests one’s tenacity.”

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

  • Age: 67
  • Nationality: USA
  • Company: Microsoft
  • Net Worth: $109 billion 
  • Industry: Technology and Software
  • Quote: “Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can’t lose.”

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

  • Age: 92
  • Nationality: USA
  • Company: Berkshire Hathaway
  • Net Worth: $107 billion
  • Industry: Investing and Finance
  • Quote: “Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.”

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

  • Age: 58
  • Nationality: USA
  • Company: Amazon
  • Net Worth: $107 billion
  • Industry: E-commerce and Technology
  • Quote: “A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person. You earn reputation by trying to do hard things well.”

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

  • Age: 78
  • Nationality: USA
  • Company: Oracle
  • Net Worth: $91.8 billion
  • Industry: Technology and Software
  • Quote: “Great achievers are driven, not so much by the pursuit of success, but by the fear of failure.”

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

  • Age: 65
  • Nationality: India
  • Company: Reliance Industries Limited
  • Net Worth: $87.1 billion
  • Industry: Energy, Telecommunications, Retail
  • Quote: “Everybody has equal opportunity, and I think that is true for everything.”

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

  • Age: 66
  • Nationality: USA
  • Company: Owner of L.A. Clippers basketball team
  • Net Worth: $85.8 billion
  • Industry: Technology
  • Quote: “Great companies in the way they work, start with great leaders.”

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

  • Age: 49
  • Nationality: USA
  • Company: Google
  • Net Worth: $82.9 billion
  • Industry: Technology and Advertising
  • Quote: “Good ideas are always crazy until they’re not.”

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 World

It 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

  • Who are the top 10 richest people in the world?
    • The top 10 richest people in the world are:
      • 1. Bernard Arnault: $162 billion
      • 2. Elon Musk: $137 billion
      • 3. Gautam Adani: $121 billion
      • 4. Bill Gates: $109 billion
      • 5. Warren Buffett: $107 billion
      • 6. Jeff Bezos: $107 billion
      • 7. Larry Ellison: $91.8 billion
      • 8. Mukesh Ambani: $87.1 billion
      • 9. Steve Ballmer: $85.8 billion
      • 10. Larry Page: $82.9 billion
  • Who is the No. 1 richest man in the world?
    • The current richest man in the world is Bernard Arnault with a net worth of $162 billion.
  • Are there trillionaires?
    • There are currently no trillionaires in the world.

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.