After a volatile April for U.S. stocks, a guide to which of the world’s top ten richest came out ahead–and whose fortunes fell.
Key Facts
- Elon Musk is the richest person in the world, a title he’s held since May 2024.
- Jeff Bezos the founder and chairman of Amazon, has been No. 2 richest for the second month in a row.
- Bill Gates dropped out of the top 10 richest in October 2024 after Forbes obtained new information about a significant contraction in his fortune.
- 8/10 of the richest people in the world are Americans. The two non-U.S. citizens: France’s Bernard Arnault and Spain’s Amancio Ortega.
- All of the top ten richest people as of May 1 are men. Each of them is worth $118 billion or more.
Seven of the world’s ten wealthiest billionaires are starting off May with fatter fortunes than a month ago, led by Elon Musk, the world’s No. 1 richest. Shares of Tesla, one of his most valuable assets, recovered from a plunge early in April to end the month up about 7%. That contributed to a $46 billion increase in Musk’s fortune in the past month, landing him at $386.5 billion, per Forbes’ estimates.
The rise in fortunes of those at the top of the billionaires ranking came as the Nasdaq climbed 0.7% in the past month while the S&P 500 fell 1.1%. Stocks have been volatile in response to news about President Trump’s tariff plans, reports about adjustments to the tariffs and concerns about a possible recession. Business leaders across the country are pausing new ventures and investments amid the uncertainty.
The second biggest top-10 gainer for the month was Spain’s Amancio Ortega, founder of fashion firm Inditex–best known for its Zara chain. Ortega, ranked No. 9, is nearly $9 billion wealthier than at the beginning of April. That’s thanks to a 2% increase in the price of Inditex shares combined with about a 5% strengthening of the Euro against the dollar during the month of April, which put his fortune at an estimated $123.3 billion.
Luxury goods tycoon Bernard Arnault of France did not fare as well, despite the stronger Euro. In mid April, LVMH, the luxury conglomerate he leads, posted first quarter revenue that fell short of analyst expectations. The group’s sales in the U.S. fell 3%, led by a decline at cosmetics chain Sephora, while in Asia excluding Japan, sales tumbled 11%. That drove LVMH shares down more than 15% for the month, shaving nearly $15 billion off Arnault’s fortune. He did manage to keep his No. 6 rank among the world’s richest.
The two others in the top 10 whose fortunes fell: No. 2 Jeff Bezos (down $5.3 billion) and No. 3 Mark Zuckerberg (down $9.3 billion).
As a group, the top ten kick off this month worth $1.77 trillion–up $40 billion compared to April 1.
Forbes has been keeping track of the world’s billionaires since 1987. In April 2025 we found 3,028 of them for our annual list.
Below are the 10 richest people on earth as of May 1, 2025 at 12 a.m. Eastern time, according to Forbes. Stock prices fluctuate routinely, so these net worths may change on a daily basis. Forbes tracks the daily changes on our Real Time list of billionaires.
Who are the top 10 richest people in the world?*
1. Elon Musk
2. Jeff Bezos
3. Mark Zuckerberg
4. Larry Ellison
5. Warren Buffett
6. Bernard Arnault
7. Larry Page
8. Sergey Brin
9. Amancio Ortega
10. Steve Ballmer
*As of May 1, 2025 at 12 a.m. ET
1. Elon Musk
Net worth: $386.5 billion
Source: Tesla, SpaceX, xAI, X
Age: 53
Residence: Austin, Texas
Citizenship: U.S.
Tesla reported a weak first quarter on April 22—notably the worst quarterly profits since 2021 —yet shares of the electric vehicle maker climbed—likely because Musk said during the earnings call that he would be spending less time working at the Dept. of Government Efficiency (aka DOGE) starting in May. Investors are betting he’ll spend more time running Tesla, where he is the CEO.
In addition, Musk is CEO of rocket firm SpaceX; chairman and chief technology officer of social media company X, formerly known as Twitter; and founder of artificial intelligence firm xAI. In late March xAI acquired X at a valuation that Musk stated was $45 billion (including debt); Musk paid $44 billion to acquire Twitter in October 2022.
He owns about 12% of Tesla stock and has pledged some of his stock as collateral for loans. The electric car maker’s shareholders voted in June in favor of Musk keeping nearly $50 billion of performance based stock options in what a Delaware judge had earlier called “the largest potential compensation opportunity ever observed in public markets,” when she voided the award this January and affirmed the ruling in December. A lengthy appeal of the Delaware ruling is likely ongoing. Until Musk receives those options, Forbes will continue to discount the Tesla options from the pay package by 50%.
Originally from South Africa, Musk moved to Canada before his 18th birthday, worked a variety of jobs, enrolled at Queen’s University in Ontario and then transferred to University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in economics.
In 2000, he merged an online bank he cofounded, X.com, with a similar outfit cofounded by Peter Thiel to form PayPal, which eBay bought in 2002 for $1.4 billion. He founded SpaceX in 2002 in El Segundo, near Los Angeles. In 2004 he joined Tesla as an investor and chairman, a year after it was founded; he was later granted the cofounder title. Musk, who became CEO of Tesla in 2008, took the company public in 2010. In September 2021, Musk became the world’s richest person. Musk was also the world’s richest person for most of 2022—until December 2022. Musk became the world’s richest person again on June 8, 2023 and held onto the number one spot for the remainder of 2023. He fell to No. 2 on January 31, 2024.
Musk became the world’s richest person yet again in late May 2024, after his startup xAI raised $6 billion from private investors at a $24 billion valuation. According to Musk, xAI is now worth $80 billion.
2. Jeff Bezos
Net worth: $201.6 billion
Source: Amazon
Age: 60
Residence: Miami, Florida
Citizenship: U.S.
Despite a $5.3 billion drop in his fortune in the past month, Bezos kept his spot at No. 2 for the second month in a row. He’s now worth about $11 billion more than No. 3 last Mark Zuckerberg. Amazon’s shares fell about 4% during April.
Bezos created e-commerce giant Amazon in 1994 and ran it as CEO until July 2021 (he remains chairman); that same month he went to space on a rocket built by private rocket company Blue Origin, which he founded and has funded with billions of dollars. (Blue Origin briefly sent an all-female crew to space last month—including pop star Katy Perry, CBS Mornings co-host Gayle King and Bezos’ fiancée, Lauren Sanchez.)
Before founding Amazon.com in his garage in Seattle, Bezos worked in New York at hedge fund D.E. Shaw. Amazon began as an online bookseller at a time when few people bought goods online. The company also grew to dominate cloud storage and moved into movie and series production to feed Amazon Prime Video.
Bezos was the world’s richest person on Forbes’ list of the World’s Billionaires from 2018 through 2021; he dropped to second richest on the 2022 billionaires list and No. 3 on the 2024 list.
In 2019, Bezos and his wife MacKenzie divorced; as part of the settlement, she got 4% of Amazon’s shares and he kept 12%. He has since sold and given away more of his stake and owns just under 10% of the company. Since Amazon went public in 1997, Forbes calculates that he has sold more than $38 billion worth of his stock. Through his Bezos Expeditions he has invested in an array of companies, including Airbnb and software firm Workday.
3. Mark Zuckerberg
Net worth: $190 billion
Source: Meta (Facebook)
Age: 40
Residence: Palo Alto, California Citizenship: U.S.
Meta shares tumbled about 5% during April, erasing $9.3 billion from his fortune. The downward move followed a decline in March that knocked Zuckerberg to the No. 3 spot from No. 2.
Zuckerberg cofounded Facebook—now called Meta Platforms—when he was a student at Harvard University in 2004. It has grown to be the world’s largest social network, with several billion users globally. The company also owns Instagram and WhatsApp, both of which it acquired and greatly expanded. Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, took the company public in 2012 and still owns about 13% of it.
4. Larry Ellison
Net worth: $176.9 billion
Source: Oracle
Age: 80
Residence: Woodside, California
Citizenship: U.S.
Ellison’s fortune rose by $1.9 billion in the past month as shares of software firm Oracle ticked up.
On January 21, the day after Donald Trump was inaugurated as president, Ellison was on hand when Trump announced the Stargate Project, a venture with Ellison’s firm Oracle, Chat GPT creator OpenAI, Japan’s Masayoshi Son and his firm Softbank and MGX of the UAE. The group said it will spend $500 billion over four years to build AI infrastructure—mainly data centers—in the U.S.
Ellison cofounded software firm Oracle in 1977 and ran it as CEO until 2014; he now serves as chairman and chief technology officer of the company.
In 2012, Ellison bought 98% of the Hawaiian island of Lanai for $300 million. He also owns homes in California, Nevada and Florida. Ellison invested in Tesla and served on the board of the electric vehicle company from 2018 through August 2022.
5. Warren Buffett
Net worth: $166.4 billion
Source: Berkshire Hathaway
Age: 94
Residence: Omaha, Nebraska
Citizenship: U.S.
Buffett’s fortune inched up by $500 million in the past month—a rounding error for someone worth more than $160 billion. His rank remains unchained from April at No. 5
Known as the “Oracle of Omaha,” Buffett is one of the most successful investors of all time. He runs Berkshire Hathaway, which owns dozens of companies, including insurer Geico, battery maker Duracell and restaurant chain Dairy Queen. The son of a U.S. congressman, he first bought stock at age 11 and first filed taxes at age 13.
Buffett created the Giving Pledge with Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates in 2010, asking billionaires to commit to give away at least half their fortune to charitable groups. Buffett has said he would donate 99% of his fortune. So far he’s give more than $60 billion of Berkshire Hathaway stock to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and foundations run by his children and one started by his late first wife. The Giving Pledge turns 15 years old this year.
6. Bernard Arnault
Net worth: $146.5 billion
Source: LVMH/ luxury goods
Age: 75
Residence: Paris
Citizenship: France
Bernard Arnault is CEO and chairman of luxury goods group LVMH, which reported weaker than expected first quarter 2025 earnings in April. Shares of the company tumbled in response, wiping $14.6 billion from Arnault’s fortune during the month.
Arnault’s father made millions in the construction business; to get his start, Arnault used $15 million of that fortune to buy Christian Dior. He has since built the largest luxury goods company in the world with some 70 fashion and cosmetics brands, including Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Moet & Chandon, Sephora and jeweler Tiffany & Co.
All five of Arnault’s children work in parts of the LVMH empire. Earlier this year, Arnault nominated two of his sons—Alexandre and Frédéric—to the board of LVMH and in November Alexandre was named deputy CEO of LVMH’s wine and spirits division. His daughter Delphine, who runs Dior, and son Antoine, already sit on the board. In June he named son Frédéric as head of LVMH’s family holding group. His youngest son, Jean, is director of watches at Louis Vuitton.
Arnault was the world’s richest person for most of the first half of 2023 and again from February through late May 2024.
7. Larry Page
Net worth: $132.7 billion
Source: Google
Age: 51
Residence: Palo Alto, California
Citizenship: U.S.
Google cofounder Page’s fortune grew by $3.4 billion during April as Alphabet shares climbed.
In late November the Department of Justice said Google should sell its Chrome browser in order to reduce the company’s dominance online. In response, Google said in a statement that such a move would hurt consumers and America’s technological leadership. The decision may have been one reason that Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai attended Donald Trump’s inauguration in January.
Page cofounded search engine Google with fellow Stanford PhD student Sergey Brin in 1998 and served as CEO until 2001 and from 2011 to 2015. He now serves as a board member of Google’s parent Alphabet and continues to be a controlling shareholder.
Page was a founding investor in asteroid mining company Planetary Resources, which was acquired by blockchain firm ConsenSys in 2018.
8. Sergey Brin
Net worth: $127.2 billion
Source: Google
Age: 51
Residence: Los Altos, California
Citizenship: U.S.
Like his Google cofounder Larry Page, Brin’s fortune also expanded in the past month —up $3.3 billion—as Alphabet shares rose.
Brin cofounded search engine Google with fellow Stanford computer science PhD candidate Larry Page. Like Page, he currently serves as a board member of Google’s parent company Alphabet and is a controlling shareholder.
Brin came out of semi-retirement to submit changes to Google’s Gemini AI chatbot last year and was listed as a “core contributor” when the model was released in December.
9. Amancio Ortega
Net worth: $114.4 billion
Source: Inditex
Age: 88
Residence: La Coruna, Spain
Citizenship: Spain
Amancio Ortega keeps his No. 9 rank for the fourth month in a row. His fortune rose by $8.9 billion in the past month, helped by a stronger Euro vs. the U.S. dollar and an uptick in shares of Inditex.
Ortega, one of the pioneers of fast fashion, founded Inditex—parent of the Zara chain of stores—in 1975 with his then-wife Rosalia Mera. (They later divorced and she died in 2013.) He owns about 60% of Madrid-listed Inditex, which has eight brands including Massimo Dutti and Pull & Bear, and 5,000 stores around the world. In 2022, after working at Inditex for 15 years, his daughter Marta Ortega Pérez became chairperson of the company.
Ortega has invested dividends from the clothing business into commercial real estate in Europe and North America.
10. Steve Ballmer
Net worth: $114.1 billion
Source: Microsoft, LA Clippers, investments
Age: 68
Residence: Hunts Point, Washington
Citizenship: U.S.
A 4% jump in Microsoft shares in the past month pushed up Ballmer’s fortune by $4.4 billion, per Forbes’ estimates.
Ballmer, a classmate of Bill Gates’ at Harvard University, joined Microsoft as employee number 30 in 1980 after dropping out of the MBA program at Stanford University. He ran Microsoft as its CEO from 2000 to 2014.
When Ballmer retired from Microsoft, he purchased the Los Angeles Clippers team for $2 billion—a record high for an NBA team at the time. Forbes now values the team at $5.5 billion. The new home for the Clippers, the Intuit Dome in Inglewood—not far from Los Angeles International Airport—opened in August 2024.
Who is the richest man in the world?
As of May 1, 2025, the richest person in the world is Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. He’s worth $386.5 billion. He moved into the number one spot in late May 2024, overtaking Bernard Arnault of France.
Who is the richest woman in the world?
The richest woman in the world is Alice Walton, daughter of Walmart founder Sam Walton. As of May 1, 2025, she is worth an estimated $106.3 billion and is the world’s 14th richest person. Her fortune lies in her ownership stake in retailer Walmart, which she inherited from her late father. Her brothers Rob, Jim and John (d. 2005) also inherited stakes in Walmart from their father. John’s widow Christy Walton and their son Lukas Walton inherited John’s shares and both rank on Forbes’ billionaires list.
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