As of 2025, Elon Musk has been ranked as the person with the highest networth by both Forbes and the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, with reported estimates running into the hundreds of billions of dollars. The question of who has the highest networth can change from week to week, though, because the biggest fortunes are tied to stock prices. Here is what is known, how the lists differ, and who tends to sit near the top.
Who has the highest networth right now: the short answer, with a caveat
Musk’s wealth is mostly his stakes in Tesla and SpaceX, along with other ventures such as xAI. Forbes reported in 2025 that his fortune had crossed the $400 billion mark and later reached about $500 billion at a peak, a first for any individual on its list. Those numbers moved sharply with Tesla’s share price and with private-company valuations. For a closer look at his holdings, see our piece on the networth of Elon Musk.
The live rankings are at Forbes Real-Time Billionaires, and anything printed in an article, including this one, is a snapshot.
Who usually sits near the top
The names that have appeared in the top tier in recent years include:
- Elon Musk (Tesla, SpaceX, xAI).
- Larry Ellison (Oracle co-founder). Bloomberg reported in September 2025 that a surge in Oracle shares briefly put him ahead of Musk, before the order shifted back.
- Jeff Bezos (Amazon founder).
- Mark Zuckerberg (Meta).
- Bernard Arnault and family (LVMH).
- Warren Buffett, Larry Page, Sergey Brin and Bill Gates, who have all been regulars in the top ten.
Positions below the first or second spot swap often, particularly when technology stocks rally or sell off.
Why Forbes and Bloomberg don’t always agree
Different methods
Forbes publishes a daily-updated real-time list and a once-a-year ranking snapshot taken in early spring. Bloomberg’s index is updated after each trading day in New York. Each uses its own research on private holdings, discounts, debts and taxes.
Private companies are guesses with structure
Publicly traded shares have a market price. A private firm doesn’t. Analysts estimate value from funding rounds, comparable companies and revenue, and reasonable analysts end up with different results.
Treatment of pledged shares and liabilities
Some people borrow against their stock. Journalists differ on how to treat that, which can shift a figure by billions.
Net worth, market cap and income: not the same thing
- Net worth is assets minus liabilities.
- Market capitalization is what a public company’s shares are worth in total. It’s a company metric, not a personal one.
- Income is what a person earns in a year, often much less than the paper gain on their shares.
A founder can be worth $200 billion on paper and earn a small salary. That’s why a rich-list “gain” in a day can look absurd; it’s just the stock moving. Our guide on understanding the world’s richest rankings goes deeper into this.
What about the richest ever, or the richest person who isn’t listed?
People sometimes ask about hidden wealth, like royal families or heads of state. Lists generally can’t verify those holdings, and some figures are simply unknowable from outside. Historical comparisons, such as John D. Rockefeller or ancient rulers, rely on inflation adjustments and share-of-economy estimates that are debated by economists. Treat them as storytelling, not measurement.
How to check the answer yourself
- Open the Forbes real-time list and the Bloomberg Billionaires Index side by side.
- Note the “last updated” time on each.
- Look at the sources of wealth listed to see how much is public stock versus private.
- If the top two are close, assume the order could swap within days.
The bottom line
Right now, the best-supported answer is Elon Musk, with Larry Ellison, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg among the closest challengers at different times. Net worth figures change daily, so use the live lists for the current picture and treat the numbers above as reported estimates from 2025.
What the lists leave out
Rankings only count wealth that outsiders can see or reasonably infer. Fortunes held through family trusts, state-linked holdings and private partnerships often stay under-reported, so the true order of the very richest is probably less tidy than any published list suggests. Currency matters too: a fortune counted in dollars can look larger or smaller if a local currency swings. And lists generally measure a person, not a family, which is why dynasties such as the Walton heirs appear as several separate entries. When someone says a person is the richest in the world, ask whose list, on which date, and with which assumptions about private companies. Those three questions explain most of the disagreement you will ever see.
This article is general information, not financial advice.
Photo: Dmitry Avdeev, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
