The rivalry never ends among the billionaires to take the top spot for the richest person in the world – with the five richest people in the world having a combined net worth of $1,044 billion.
We can begin with a teaser – David Beckham and Kim Kardashian don’t make the cut despite their impressive net worth, and neither does Taylor Swift even though she recently debuted on the billionaires' billboard.
Some of these billionaires were also recently spotted at Anant Ambani's pre-wedding bash – the son of Asia's richest man, Mukesh Ambani.
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You can expect to see entrepreneurs who show vision, leadership and have led innovation, including the masterminds behind big tech firms such as Google and social media giant X, formerly known as Twitter.
The list differs from the richest people on The Sunday Times Rich List 2024, published on 17 April, where Gopi Hinduja and family have taken the top spot with a net worth of £37.196 billion. The Indian billionaire owns companies across 48 countries. UK's former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has also made the list, with his ranking up 20 places compared to 2023.
The Sunday Times Rich List is based on the newspaper's estimates of the minimum wealth of Britain's 350 richest people. Our list is based on Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index, which provides a daily ranking based on changes in the market and the economy. Here’s the lowdown of the five richest people in the world.
The richest person in the world
1. Elon Musk
Although the name Elon Musk is synonymous with controversy, he is the richest person in the world. Musk has a net worth of $274 billion. This has shot up from last month when his net worth was recorded at $201 billion – and higher than the $219 billion figure at the end of 2023.
The entrepreneur is the face behind some of the most genius ideas and ground-breaking businesses, including Tesla, SpaceX and ‘X,’ formerly known as Twitter, in which he acquired a 9% stake, making him the largest shareholder in the company.
Due to the billionaire’s fearless personality, he made some controversial decisions on the social media site, such as unblocking Donald Trump and Andrew Tate.
Find out how he created Tesla and a more in-depth look into Elon Musk’s net worth.
2. Jeff Bezos
Jeff Bezos takes second place as the richest person in the world, with a net worth of $221 billion, surpassing Bernard Arnault and Mark Zuckerberg.
The billionaire is most famous for founding Amazon in 1994. It all started when Bezos saw a gap in the market for e-commerce and began to sell books online, working out of his garage.
Due to his commitment to good customer service and savvy marketing, Amazon was publicly listed in 1997, which acted as the catalyst for Bezos’ billionaire title. Now, Amazon is the world’s largest online retailer with a great deal of offerings, from vacuum cleaners to clothes.
Find out more about the factors that contributed to Jeff Bezos’ net worth.
3. Bernard Arnault
Bernard Arnault’s luxury empire has made him billions, so it's no surprise that he ranks as the richest person in the world. The businessman is one of the largest shareholders of LVMH – a company that owns luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton and Dior.
He has a net worth of $194 billion according to the Bloomberg Index. Arnault started as a young entrepreneur who inherited his father's construction company in 1971. He sold this company and used the money to fund the acquisition of Christian Dior in 1985.
The businessman realised the power of economies of scale and decided to merge several luxury goods brands under one roof. These big names now sit under the conglomerate, LVMH.
Read more on how China’s economy played a big role in the transformation of luxury products, and Bernard Arnault’s net worth.
4. Mark Zuckerberg
Mark Zuckerberg is behind the world’s most popular social media channels – Facebook (now Meta), Instagram, Threads and WhatsApp.
According to the Bloomberg Index, Zuckerberg’s net worth is $188 billion. Most of his wealth comes from his acquisitions such as Instagram (bought for $1 billion) and WhatsApp, purchased at $19 billion. Threads is the latest addition to Instagram, which now competes with Musk’s ‘X’.
Zuckerberg’s wealth is linked to Meta stocks and the company paid out its first dividends to investors this year as it hit its 20th birthday in February.
Zuckerberg recently announced an increase in artificial intelligence (AI) spending, which rattled investors. As a result, the company saw its second-worst daily loss in market value.
Read more on how Facebook became Meta, Zuckerberg’s net worth and his rivalry with Elon Musk.
5. Larry Page
Co-founder of Google, Larry Page is the fifth richest person in the world. The billionaire is worth $167 billion, just above Microsoft owner Bill Gates.
Page’s journey started off at Stanford University where he met Sergey Brin (who became his co-founder of Google). The pair took advantage of the gap in the search engine market. In the 1990s, there were search engines, but Page and Brin wanted to revolutionise the market with a more efficient tool. Google officially launched in 1998, and it now sits as the most popular search engine in the world.
In 2015, the brand had a restructure and Alphabet is now Google’s parent company. The move allowed the brand to stay competitive and invest more in innovation, such as AI. Alphabet is now one of the biggest tech companies in the world and is part of the Magnificent 7, alongside Apple and Tesla.
Read more on Larry Page’s net worth and his Google journey.
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