After a while topping the real-time rich list, it’s now official… Elon Musk is the world’s richest person. According to the Forbes 36th Annual World’s Billionaires List, the Tesla chief has taken the top spot for the first time ever.
When Forbes “locked in” the net fortunes of the world’s richest in 2022, Musk was worth an estimated $219bn. He added $68bn to his fortune over the past year “on the back of a 33% jump in the share price” of the electric vehicle maker.
Musk has surpassed Jeff Bezos, who fell to second place for the first time in four years “due to a 3% drop in Amazon stock and increased charitable giving, which wiped $6bn from his net worth”. French luxury goods tycoon Bernard Arnault added $8bn to his fortune over the past 12 months and he remains the world’s third-richest person.
It’s not all been good news for the richest people on the planet, as “war, pandemic and plunging stock markets” have “dented the fortunes” of many. Forbes’s 2022 list features 2,668 billionaires – down from a record 2,755 last year. “Collectively, they’re worth $12.7trn, down from a record $13.1trn on the 2021 list,” said Chase Peterson-Withorn.
Elon Musk is the CEO of electric car giant Tesla and the founder and CEO of SpaceX. He divides his time between the two companies and projects like Hyperloop, a proposed ultra-high-speed train line. In April 2022 it was announced that Musk had become Twitter’s single biggest shareholder after buying a 9.2% stake worth almost $3bn.
Former hedge fund manager Jeff Bezos started Amazon in his garage in 1994. He has invested heavily in space technology too, and also owns The Washington Post newspaper. After stepping down as Amazon CEO he took on the new role of executive chair.
Bernard Arnault is the wealthiest European on the list. The Frenchman oversees the LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton empire of more than 70 brands, including Louis Vuitton, Moët & Chandon and TAG Heuer.
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Bill Gates: $129bn
Microsoft founder Bill Gates has been a permanent fixture near the top of the rich list for the past 20 years, despite selling and then giving away much of his stake in the tech company. He now owns just 1% and focuses predominantly on his philanthropic work.
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Warren Buffett: $118bn
Now in his ninth decade, Berkshire Hathaway chief executive Warren Buffett, known as the “Oracle of Omaha”, is one of the most successful investors of all time. Like Bill Gates, Buffett has pledged to give away more than 99% of his fortune to charity.
Internet entrepreneur Larry Page is one of the co-founders of Google. He stepped down as CEO of Google’s parent company Alphabet Inc in December 2019 but remains a board member.
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Sergey Brin: $107bn
Along with Larry Page, Sergey Brin was a co-founder of Google. Until December 2019, he was president of Alphabet Inc.
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Larry Ellison: $106bn
American business magnate Larry Ellison is co-founder, chairman and chief technology officer of Oracle. He owns around 35% of the software giant.
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Steve Ballmer: $91.4bn
Steve Ballmer is the former CEO of Microsoft and led the tech giant from 2000 to 2014. He is now the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers basketball team.
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Mukesh Ambani: $90.7bn
Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani is founder and chairman of Reliance Industries. The company has interests in petrochemicals, oil and gas, telecom and retail.
