1. Elon Musk: $241 billion
Elon Musk owns 74% of X, formerly Twitter, the social media platform he bought for $44 billion in late 2022
The South African businessman’s wealth is linked to the success of Tesla, his electric car company.
Musk also owns 74% of X, formerly Twitter, the social media platform he bought for $44 billion in late 2022.
In December, Forbes estimated that Musk’s stake in X is now worth nearly 70% less than what he paid for it, based on investor Fidelity’s valuation of the company.
Musk also owns about 42% of Space X and has stakes in brain implant company Neuralink and The Boring Company.
2. Jeff Bezos: $204 billion
Bezos owns retail giant Amazon, as well as The Washington Post and Blue Origin.
The American businessman is the president and founder of Amazon, which he launched from his Seattle garage in 1994.
The retail giant is now considered a technology company because much of its revenue is generated through its AWS cloud computing service.
Bezos also owns The Washington Post and Blue Origin, an aerospace company that develops rockets.
The billionaire said in an interview with CNN in 2022 that he plans to give away most of his wealth during his lifetime, although he did not provide specific details.
3. Bernard Arnault: $187 billion
Bernard Arnault, 75, is the chief executive of French luxury conglomerate LVMH
Arnault serves as CEO and chairman of French luxury conglomerate LVMH, which owns well-known brands such as Louis Vuitton, Tiffany & Co and Dom Pérignon.
But the bulk of his fortune comes from his 97.5 percent stake in Christian Dior, according to Bloomberg.
In 2022, the 75-year-old raised LMVH’s mandatory retirement age to 80, giving him another five years at the helm.
His five children work at LVHM and its brands.
4. Mark Zuckerberg: $165 billion
Mark Zuckerberg, 40, is one of the youngest billionaire tech moguls
The Facebook founder started the social media platform when he was 19 and an undergraduate at Harvard in 2004.
The 40-year-old, one of the youngest tech moguls, took his company public in 2012.
The company took over Instagram and Zuckerberg rebranded it as Meta in 2021 to shift its focus to the metaverse.
Zuckerberg owns 13 percent of Meta, and the company’s shares have nearly tripled in value in the past year.
5. Bill Gates: $157 billion
Microsoft boss Bill Gates has enjoyed a $24 billion increase in wealth in 2023, bringing his net worth to a whopping $128 billion.
Microsoft boss Bill Gates is set to enjoy a $24 billion increase in his wealth by 2023, making him the richest he has ever been.
But he also fell to his lowest spot on the billionaires list since 1992, in a sign of how tough competition has become at the top of the pyramid.
A costly divorce set the 68-year-old back, along with a $59 billion donation he made to charities.
According to Forbes, Gates was the richest man in the world for 18 of the 23 years between 1995 and 2017.
Source: Bloomberg Billionaires Index
Note: The list of billionaires may change daily as the ranking is based on stock valuations.