When it comes to the richest person in the world, the rivalry never ends among the billionaires as to who takes the top spot. The title-holder changes regularly as does the combined net worth of the five richest people in the world – currently a staggering $1.01 trillion.
We can begin with a teaser – Steven Bartlett and Kim Kardashian don’t make the top five – despite their impressive self, and neither does Selena Gomez who recently joined the billionaire’s club.
Some of the billionaires on the list were spotted at Anant Ambani's wedding festivities in July – the son of Asia's richest man, Mukesh Ambani.
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You can expect to see entrepreneurs who show vision and have led innovation, including the masterminds behind 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 £37.2 billion. The Indian billionaire owns companies across 48 countries. UK’s former prime minister Rishi Sunak has also made this 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, it doesn’t stop the multi-billionaire from amassing wealth and making his way to the top of the list after a period (post-Twitter acquisition) languishing in the number two and three spots. Musk is currently the richest person in the world with a net worth of $249 billion – and he is on track to become the world’s first trillionaire, according to Bloomberg. This figure has increased from last month when his net worth was recorded at $230 billion – and is far higher than the $219 billion he had at the end of 2023.
The entrepreneur is the face behind a number of tech 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.
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 $209 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 $190 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. Arnault merged several luxury goods brands under one roof, deciding that even premium brands could benefit from economies of scale. These big names now sit under the conglomerate, LVMH.
Read more on how China’s economy played a big role in the transformation of the luxury goods sector, and Bernard Arnault’s net worth.
4. Mark Zuckerberg
Mark Zuckerberg is the innovator behind the world’s most popular social media channels – Facebook, Instagram, Threads and WhatsApp.
According to the Bloomberg Index, Zuckerberg’s net worth is $180 billion. Most of his wealth comes from acquisitions such as Instagram (bought for $1 billion) and WhatsApp, purchased for $19 billion. Threads, an ‘X’ competitor, is the latest addition to Zuckerberg’s social network portfolio. Meta stocks, the parent company to Facebook, Instagram and the rest, paid out its first dividends to investors this year when it hit its 20th birthday in February.
Read more on how Facebook became Meta, Zuckerberg’s net worth and his rivalry with Elon Musk.
5. Larry Ellison
Larry Ellison is back on the list, bumping off Bill Gates in the regular rollercoaster that’s the richest person list. Ellison is the man behind one of the largest software companies in the world, Oracle (ORCL) which he founded in 1977. The entrepreneur owns around 35% of Oracle, best known for its database management systems and cloud services.
According to the Bloomberg Index, Ellison’s net worth is $178 billion. When Ellison launched Oracle, it took the world by storm and was favoured by businesses due to its speed and efficiency. It became a top competitor amongst the likes of Intel, Microsoft and IBM. The Oracle software is now used by big names including Coca-Cola, Netflix and Zoom.
Read more on Larry Ellison’s net worth and how he makes his billions away from Oracle.
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