The number of billionaires in Forbes magazine‘s annual list exceeded 3,000 for the first time this year, with their total wealth reaching $16.1 trillion.
The billionaires list, published by Forbes for the 39th time this year, showed that the number of billionaires worldwide rose by 247 people year-on-year in 2025, reaching 3,028.
The total wealth of billionaires also jumped by $2 trillion over the same period to $16.1 trillion.
US businessman Elon Musk, the owner of companies such as Tesla, SpaceX, and X, also known recently for his controversial roles in both US and European politics, topped the list as the richest person in the world with a fortune of $342 billion, up $147 billion.
After Musk was the top campaign donor to US presidential candidate Donald Trump, and Trump won the election last fall, the stock prices of his companies soared, though recently they have dropped, since Trump took office in January.
Mark Zuckerberg, head of Meta and its subsidiary Facebook, ranked second on the list with a fortune of $216 billion, while Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, ranked third with a fortune of $215 billion.
Musk, Zuckerberg, and Bezos made headlines by all attending President Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, returning to the US presidency after a four-year absence.