The world’s wealthiest individuals have a number of issues in widespread, however some of the distinguished is that the ten richest have greater than $100 billion to their identify. The very high have greater than $200 billion. These quantities don’t consist of money sitting in a financial institution however are primarily investments, typically of a few of the largest publicly traded corporations, which even most people can put money into.
These billionaires reached their lofty heights by means of exhausting work, nice concepts, serendipity and loads of cautious planning with clever monetary advisors alongside the way in which.
Listed here are the world’s 10 richest individuals and a few of their key investments, in keeping with the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, as of March 19, 2025.
The world’s 10 wealthiest people
1. Elon Musk: $310 billion
Elon Musk is likely one of the most controversial enterprise figures, however what’s not beneath dispute is his wealth. Born in South Africa, Musk constructed Tesla into a number one participant within the electrical automobile market, and is pushing area journey together with his SpaceX enterprise.
Musk made a small fortune as an early shareholder of PayPal, and extra lately bought Twitter, which he renamed X. Musk has courted controversy in recent times, changing into politically aligned with Donald Trump through the 2024 presidential election earlier than changing into the face of the Division of Authorities Effectivity (DOGE) in addition to utilizing medication throughout a broadcast interview with high podcaster Joe Rogan.
2. Jeff Bezos: $217 billion
Because the founding father of Amazon, Jeff Bezos turned one thing of a family identify within the dot-com growth of 1999-2000, however his wealth actually took off after the 2008-2009 monetary disaster. Within the decade that adopted, Amazon expanded into net providers, logistics and transport and extra.
Bezos bought the Washington Put up in 2013 for $250 million and based Blue Origin, an aerospace firm that’s commercializing area journey. He’s additionally a famous philanthropist, founding the Bezos Earth Fund in 2020 with a donation of $10 billion and has stated that he’ll give away most of his fortune.
3. Mark Zuckerberg: $207 billion
Mark Zuckerberg is the founding father of Meta Platforms, the corporate beforehand often known as Fb. The youngest member of this checklist, Zuckerberg started Fb out of his dorm room at Harvard and rapidly expanded it over the following years.
Meta owns social media platforms Fb and Instagram, in addition to the messaging service WhatsApp. The corporate can also be closely investing in synthetic intelligence.
4. Bernard Arnault: $179 billion
Bernard Arnault based LVMH, an organization that acquired numerous French style manufacturers resembling Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton, Moët and Hennessy. The posh conglomerate acquired Tiffany extra lately, and is among the many largest corporations in Europe by market capitalization.
5. Larry Ellison: $172 billion
Larry Ellison co-founded software program firm Oracle and ran it for many years earlier than changing into its chief expertise officer and govt chairman. Ellison additionally owns practically all the Hawaiian island of Lana’i.
6. Warren Buffett: $164 billion
Warren Buffett, lengthy often known as the Oracle of Omaha for his prophetic funding acumen, has been investing since he was a boy. He has been the top of Berkshire Hathaway, an investing conglomerate, for practically 60 years.
Berkshire owns large stakes in a variety of America’s largest companies, together with Apple, Coca-Cola and plenty of extra. His firm’s annual assembly attracts tens of hundreds of buyers and has been known as the “Woodstock of Capitalism.”
7. Invoice Gates: $162 billion
Invoice Gates is the co-founder of Microsoft and has lengthy been among the many wealthiest individuals as his software program firm continued to broaden over many years. Gates can also be recognized for his philanthropic endeavors, particularly on the Invoice & Melinda Gates Basis, a non-public charitable basis.
8. Larry Web page: $149 billion
Larry Web page co-founded Google — subsequently renamed Alphabet — with one other member of this checklist (No. 8). He headed up the corporate from 1997 to 2001 after which once more from 2011 to 2019.
9. Sergey Brin: $140 billion
Together with Web page, Sergey Brin co-founded Google and served as the corporate’s president for a few years till stepping down in 2019. He and Web page actually developed Google in a Silicon Valley storage.
10. Steve Ballmer: $136 billion
Steve Ballmer additionally made his fortune by means of Microsoft and was one of many firm’s earliest executives. He ultimately led the corporate from 2000 to 2014, and subsequently bought the Los Angeles Clippers, a professional basketball franchise of the Nationwide Basketball Affiliation.
Methods to construct your individual fortune
This checklist gives a handful of takeaways for individuals who want to construct their very own wealth.
First, all these people personal inventory. Their immense wealth is constructed upon proudly owning massively profitable corporations which might be among the many leaders of their respective industries. They’ve vital possession stakes in these companies. Whereas they’ve usually labored of their companies, their actual wealth comes from the possession of these corporations.
Second, as a result of these corporations are publicly traded, particular person buyers — anybody in most people — may also take a stake in them. Many individuals have turn into millionaires and multi-millionaires by using the coattails of those people and proudly owning inventory of their corporations. It’s straightforward to get began with among the best brokers for freshmen, and if you happen to’re on the lookout for robust investments, a monetary advisor may also provide help to discover those who meet your wants.
Third, these billionaires have constructed their wealth over many years; they’re not in a single day lottery winners. Unquestionably they’d some benefits — some have been in the proper place on the proper time — however all of them owned rising property after which used time to compound their returns. And time is one thing that people have whether or not they’re wealthy or poor, well-placed or not.
Right here’s the best way to construct your final investing plan.
| Individual | Wealth | Key investments |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Elon Musk | $310 billion | Tesla, SpaceX |
| 2. Jeff Bezos | $217 billion | Amazon, Blue Origin |
| 3. Mark Zuckerberg | $207 billion | Meta Platforms |
| 4. Bernard Arnault | $179 billion | LVMH |
| 5. Larry Ellison | $172 billion | Oracle |
| 6. Warren Buffett | $164 billion | Berkshire Hathaway |
| 7. Invoice Gates | $162 billion | Microsoft |
| 8. Larry Web page | $149 billion | Alphabet |
| 9. Sergey Brin | $140 billion | Alphabet |
| 10. Steve Ballmer | $136 billion | Microsoft |
Editorial Disclaimer: All buyers are suggested to conduct their very own impartial analysis into funding methods earlier than investing resolution. As well as, buyers are suggested that previous funding product efficiency is not any assure of future value appreciation.
