Top billionaires: who is the richest person in the world?

Musk is the CEO of Tesla and the founder and CEO of SpaceX. He divides his time between SpaceX, Tesla and projects like Hyperloop, a proposed ultra-high-speed train line.

The former hedge fund manager started Amazon in his garage in 1994. Bezos 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. 

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.

The Microsoft founder 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 company. He now owns just 1% and focuses predominantly on his philanthropic work.

The American business magnate is co-founder, chairman and chief technology officer of Oracle. He owns around 35% of the software giant.

Internet entrepreneur 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.

Zuckerberg made his fortune after launching Facebook in 2004 at the age of 19, while studying psychology and computer science at Harvard University.

Now in his ninth decade, the Berkshire Hathaway chief executive, known as the “Oracle of Omagh”, is one of the most successful investors of all time. Like Gates, he has pledged to give away more than 99% of his fortune to charity.

Along with Larry Page, Brin was a co-founder of Google. Until December 2019, he was president of Alphabet Inc.

The former CEO of Microsoft led the tech giant from 2000 to 2014. He is now the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers basketball team.