Elon Musk (54) has once again been named the world’s richest man in 2026 with an estimated fortune of $839 billion, according to Forbes’ 40th annual billionaires list, released Tuesday. Since last year, the South African-American businessman has added almost $500 billion to his wealth. Musk co-founded multiple companies, from the electric car manufacturer Tesla to the rocket maker SpaceX and also owns X (formerly Twitter). Last year, he also made headlines after serving as a Special Government Employee leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), carrying out controversial deep cuts to government spending and staff.
Next in line comes Larry Page (52) and Sergey Brin (52), co-founders of Google, who racked up $257 billion and $237 billion in wealth, respectively. They were followed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos (62), who stepped down from his role as CEO of the company in 2021 to become an executive chairman.
Bernard Arnault (77), chairman and CEO of luxury goods conglomerate LVMH, is the only non-American to make the top 8 of the list this year, with an estimated fortune of $171 billion. Arnault was also the only one of the eight richest people in the world not to have made his fortune in the technology sector. The chart is based on Forbes' calculations using net worths based on stock prices and exchange rates from March 1, 2026.
