Elon Musk begins 2025 not only as the richest man in the world but also as the only billionaire recorded by Forbes in nearly 40 years to surpass the $400 billion net worth mark.
With an estimated fortune of $421.2 billion, the founder of SpaceX and Tesla has seen his wealth grow by $91 billion since December, driven by the revaluation of SpaceX. The rocket company, now valued at $350 billion after an internal agreement to buy back shares from employees, has become the most valuable private company in the world, surpassing ByteDance and Stripe. Musk owns approximately 42% of SpaceX and also leads other key companies such as Tesla, X (formerly known as Twitter), xAI, and The Boring Company.
Additionally, his influence has expanded following his appointment by Donald Trump as co-director of the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an entity aimed at optimizing public spending in the United States.
While Musk continues to break records, Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, remains in second place with a fortune of $233.5 billion, though still $188 billion behind the South African entrepreneur. Bezos climbed one position in December, benefiting from a 5% rise in Amazon shares.
Meanwhile, Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, made his debut in the world's top 10 thanks to the impressive performance of his semiconductor company, whose shares rose by 171% in 2024. Huang, with a fortune of $118 billion, pushed Spanish businessman Amancio Ortega out of the most exclusive group. The shares of Inditex, Zara's parent company, showed weakness during the last month of the year.
Declines and New Dynamics
Not all names in the top 10 had a strong close to 2024. Larry Ellison, chairman of Oracle, lost $17.2 billion in December, dropping to third place with an estimated net worth of $210 billion. Even so, he remains among the wealthiest figures on the planet.
The top 10 billionaires collectively hold $1.9 trillion in net worth, up from $1.8 trillion in December, marking a historic record in wealth concentration.
According to Forbes, the billionaire list, which includes 2,781 individuals in its latest update, continues to reflect the dynamism of global markets and the daily fluctuations in the fortunes of the world's richest people.
