Who is the richest person in the world?

The rivalry never ends among billionaires striving for the top spot on the richest person in the world list. The title holder changes regularly, as does the combined net worth of the five richest people in the world – currently a staggering $1.06 trillion.

As stock markets reeled from Trump’s tariffs, the richest 500 people in the world saw their combined wealth drop by $208 billion on 3 April, according to Bloomberg. It was the fourth-largest one-day drop in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index and the largest since the pandemic.

Despite substantial wealth, Bernard Arnault has been pushed down the rich list by Warren Buffett, Larry Ellison and Bill Gates.

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Here’s the lowdown of the five richest people in the world, based on Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index. The top five richest people are all men – we look at the richest woman in the world in a separate guide.

The richest person in the world

1. Elon Musk  

Multi-billionaire Elon Musk has been named the richest person in the world. Currently, Musk’s net worth is $326 billion, according to Bloomberg. Forbes puts his fortunes at $380.9 billion.

The second-richest billionaire, Jeff Bezos, is worth nearly $116 billion less than Musk, which puts the tycoon comfortably above anyone else on the list.

The entrepreneur is the face behind several tech businesses, including Tesla, SpaceX and ‘X,’ formerly known as Twitter. He acquired a 9.2% stake in the social media company in 2022, making him the largest shareholder.

Musk was appointed to Donald Trump’s new Department of Government Efficiency. However, since entering the White House, Musk’s net worth has taken quite a tumble.

According to CNBC, around $31 billion of his fortune was wiped out between 3 and 4 April. This was a result of a 6% S&P 500 decline due to Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs — the biggest dip since the pandemic.

So far, Bloomberg reports that Musk has lost a staggering $107 billion this year.

Moreover, CNBC also reported that Tesla’s stock plummeted 36% in the first quarter of 2025, costing the company over $460 billion in market capitalisation.

Get an in-depth insight into Elon Musk’s net worth and find out how he created Tesla.

2. Jeff Bezos

Jeff Bezos has a net worth of $210 billion. 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. Now, the empire has a market capitalisation of $2.03 trillion.

Bezos also owns The Washington Post, one of the largest newspapers in the United States. He has a stake in Blue Origin, a space exploration company he founded in 2000, which is set to launch singer Katy Perry, former NASA scientist Aisha Bowe, and a few others into space as part of an all-female crew.

Find out more about the factors that contributed to Jeff Bezos’ net worth.

3. Mark Zuckerberg 

Mark Zuckerberg is the innovator behind the world’s most popular social media channels – Facebook, Instagram, Threads and WhatsApp.

Zuckerberg’s net worth is $207 billion, according to Bloomberg. Most of his wealth comes from acquisitions such as Instagram (bought for $1 billion) and WhatsApp, purchased for $19 billion. Threads, a competitor to ‘X’, is the latest addition to Zuckerberg’s social network portfolio.

In 2024, Zuckerberg’s fortunes went up by 70%, adding around $72 billion to his net worth, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

However, he’s been the worst hit by Trump’s tariffs, as Meta’s share price plunged by 9%, causing a $17.9 billion dent in the CEO’s net worth.

Read more on how Facebook became Meta, and Mark Zuckerberg’s net worth.

4. Warren Buffett

A new entry on the world’s richest people list, Warren Buffett is one of the few billionaires whose wealth has grown this year, especially after Trump’s tariffs have disrupted global trade and resulted in a stock market selloff.

Buffett’s net worth now stands at $162 billion, up by nearly $20 billion this year. The Berkshire Hathaway CEO and largest shareholder is best known for generating average annual returns of 19.8% between 1965 and 2023, which is almost double what the S&P 500 gained during the same period, per The Motley Fool.

He’s known for his investing style and for finding undervalued companies with a strong foundation. As a result, some of his biggest investments include Apple, Coca-Cola and American Express.

As of late, shares in Berkshire Hathaway have dropped 8.8% since 2 April, whereas the S&P 500 has witnessed a 10.7% drop, according to Bloomberg.

Read more on Warren Buffett’s net worth and how he built Berkshire Hathaway.

5.  Larry Ellison

Larry Ellison is the man behind one of the world’s largest software companies, Oracle, which he founded in 1977.

When Ellison launched Oracle, it took the world by storm and was favoured by many businesses due to its speed and efficiency. It became a top competitor among the likes of Intel, Microsoft and IBM.

The Oracle software is now used by big names including JPMorgan Chase, Netflix and UnitedHealth Group, as per Thomson Data. The entrepreneur owns around 42% of Oracle, totalling more than 1.1 billion shares.

Ellison’s net worth is $159 billion. According to Business Insider, the billionaire’s fortunes rose by more than $67 billion in 2024, putting him ahead of Steve Ballmer and Bill Gates. However, the recent tariff turmoil has rocked his fortunes, which are down by $32.7 billion this year.

Read more on Larry Ellison’s net worth and how he makes the rest of his billions away from Oracle.