On Forbes’ 39th annual list of the world’s billionaires, Elon Musk has surpassed French luxury tycoon Bernard Arnault to claim the top place.
Due to the remarkable performance of Tesla stock over the previous year, as well as the growing valuations of xAI and SpaceX, Musk’s net worth soared 75% to $342 billion.
He is still the first individual to have more over $300 billion in wealth, even with the current market downturn.
Forbes revealed this in a statement posted on its website on Tuesday.
Forbes’ latest rankings show a record 3,028 billionaires worldwide, the highest since the list began in 1987.
Collectively, they are worth an unprecedented $16.1 trillion.
US President Donald Trump also saw a sharp rise in wealth, more than doubling his net worth to $5.1 billion.
This growth comes from his Trump Media & Technology Group shares and profits from recent crypto ventures.
“It’s another record-breaking year for the world’s richest people, despite financial uncertainty for many and geopolitical tensions on the rise.
“And, from Elon Musk to Howard Lutnick and the other billionaires taking over the U.S. government, they’re growing more and more powerful,” said Chase Peterson-Withorn, Forbes’ Senior Editor for Wealth.
