A record-breaking 3,028 individuals have made it onto Forbes’ annual World’s Billionaires list for 2024, an increase of 247 from last year, with their combined wealth reaching an unprecedented $16.1 trillion. The figure is $2 trillion higher than a year ago, surpassing the GDP of every nation except the U.S. and China, according to the latest ranking released on Tuesday.
The average billionaire’s fortune now stands at $5.3 billion, reflecting a $200 million increase from 2024. The United States leads with 902 billionaires, followed by China (including Hong Kong) with 516 and India with 205.
Tesla and SpaceX chief Elon Musk has reclaimed the title of the world’s richest person with an estimated net worth of $342 billion. His fortune surged by $147 billion in the past year, driven by the stellar performance of SpaceX and the rising valuation of his artificial intelligence startup xAI, which he recently merged with his social media platform X.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg ranks second with an estimated $216 billion, marking his first time in the runner-up position. Amazon’s Jeff Bezos follows closely at $215 billion, while Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison is fourth at $192 billion. Luxury tycoon Bernard Arnault, who held the top spot in 2023, has slid to fifth place with $178 billion amid a decline in shares of his LVMH empire.
Notably, U.S. President Donald Trump’s net worth has more than doubled over the past year, soaring from $2.3 billion to an estimated $5.1 billion.
This year’s list features 288 newcomers, including celebrities who have joined the billionaire ranks. Music legend Bruce Springsteen ($1.2 billion), actor and former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger ($1.1 billion), and comedian Jerry Seinfeld ($1.1 billion) are among the high-profile additions.
Walmart heiress Alice Walton is now the world’s richest woman, with a net worth of $101 billion, surpassing Francoise Bettencourt Meyers, the French L’Oréal heiress, who stands at $81.6 billion. Meanwhile, Swiss shipping magnate Rafaela Aponte-Diamant is considered the wealthiest self-made woman, with a fortune of $37.7 billion.
With the world’s ultra-wealthy accumulating record fortunes, the gap between the super-rich and the rest of the global population continues to widen, fueling debates over wealth distribution and economic inequality.
According to the World Inequality Database, the top 10% of the global population owns nearly 75% of the world’s wealth, while the bottom 50% holds just around 2%. Notably, the share of wealth owned by the top 0.01% increased from less than 8% in 1995 to nearly 12% in recent years.
As per global wealth estimates, the aforementioned list of billionaires, now control more than 3% of the entire estimated global wealth. For reference, they account for less than 0.000035% of the entire world’s population.
