Forbes Annual Rich List: Musk continues to be the world's richest man with 839 billion US dollars, Zhang Yiming is the richest man in China

# The Paper

Source: Wallstreetcn

Forbes Releases 40th Annual World’s Billionaires List: Record 3,428 Billionaires, Total Wealth Tops $20.1 Trillion

Elon Musk Retakes Top Spot with $839 Billion, Becoming First Person Ever to Surpass $800 Billion; On Track to Be World’s First Trillionaire.

Zhang Yiming, Founder of ByteDance, Is China’s Richest with $69.3 Billion, Ranking 26th Globally.

AI Boom Fuels Wealth Surge: More Than One New Billionaire Created Per Day Worldwide.

Total wealth of the world’s billionaires hits a new high, with Elon Musk’s fortune breaking the $800 billion mark.

On March 10 local time, Forbes released its **40th annual World’s Billionaires List**, based on data as of March 1 this year.

Over the past year, the wealth of the world’s richest people has grown at an unprecedented pace.

A record **3,428 people** made the list — 400 more than last year — the highest number since the ranking launched in 1987.

Combined net worth of global billionaires reached a record **$20.1 trillion**, up from $16.1 trillion a year earlier.

Meanwhile, **20 people** now have fortunes exceeding $100 billion — five more than last year, highlighting a clear trend of wealth concentration.

For perspective, that figure was zero in 2017.

This elite group holds a combined $3.8 trillion, meaning just **0.5%** of the world’s 3,428 billionaires control nearly one-fifth of all billionaire wealth.

“This has been a year for billionaires,” said Chase Peterson-Withorn, senior editor at Forbes.

“Over the past 12 months, an AI-fueled stock market boom has lifted wealth to unimaginable heights, producing more than one new billionaire every single day around the world.”

### Top Rankings

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, tops the list for the second consecutive year with a net worth of approximately **$839 billion** — making him the richest person in history and the first individual ever to surpass $800 billion.

Boosted by rising Tesla valuation and SpaceX, which plans to go public in 2026, Musk’s wealth surged by $500 billion in 2025, putting him on track to become the world’s first trillionaire.

Larry Page and Sergey Brin, co-founders of Google, rank second and third respectively.

Buoyed by a sharp rally in parent company Alphabet, both saw massive gains:

- Larry Page: $257 billion (up from $156 billion)

- Sergey Brin: $237 billion (up from $140 billion)

Each grew their fortune by more than 60%.

Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, ranks fourth with a stable fortune of around $224 billion.

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, rounds out the top five with $222 billion, as his wealth rose steadily alongside Meta’s earnings growth.

### AI-Driven Wealth

Notably, at least **86 billionaires** on this year’s list owe much of their fortune to AI, with a combined net worth of $2.9 trillion.

Among them are **45 new billionaires**, including Edwin Chen, founder of data labeling firm Surge AI, worth roughly $18 billion.

### Country Breakdown

- **United States**: No. 1 globally with 989 billionaires worth a combined $8.4 trillion — over 40% of total billionaire wealth. Fifteen of the world’s top 20 are American.

- **Mainland China**: Second with 539 billionaires, concentrated in tech, manufacturing and consumer sectors.

- **India**: Third with 229 billionaires.

### China’s Richest

- **Zhang Yiming** (ByteDance): $69.3 billion — China’s richest, No. 26 worldwide

- **Zhong Shanshan** (Nongfu Spring): $68.1 billion — No. 27

- **Ma Huateng** (Tencent): $53.8 billion — No. 33

### Newcomers & Drop-offs

The list welcomed **390 new billionaires**, including celebrities such as singer Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, tennis legend Roger Federer, and Greg Abel, who succeeded Warren Buffett as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.

Eighty-nine people fell off the list due to declining wealth, and 39 billionaires died in the past year.

Earlier, on March 5, Hurun Research Institute released its **2026 Hurun Global Rich List** (wealth as of January 15, 2026), ranking 4,020 billionaires from 73 countries and 2,914 companies — up 17% from last year. Total wealth rose 28%. On that list, Musk also ranked first with ¥5.5 trillion, and Zhang Yiming remained China’s richest with ¥550 billion.

Source: The Paper

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