Elon Musk Leads Global Rich List Despite $100 Billion Drop in Net Worth

Elon Musk has once again secured his position as the wealthiest person in the world, marking the fourth time in five years that he has held this title, according to the Hurun Global Rich List 2025. Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has become the first individual to surpass the $400 billion threshold, with his wealth soaring by 82%, an increase of $189 billion. This surge followed the re-election of former U.S. President Donald Trump, which positively impacted investor sentiment.

However, the report notes that since the wealth cut-off date of January 15, 2025, Musk's fortune has declined by nearly $100 billion. This drop is attributed to several factors, including his political activism, involvement with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and increasing competition from Chinese automakers, all of which have negatively affected Tesla’s stock price. Despite this decline, Musk remains comfortably at the top of the wealth rankings.

In second place is Jeff Bezos, who has managed to fend off the rapid rise of Mark Zuckerberg. Bezos's wealth reached $266 billion, a 44% increase driven by Amazon's stock performance and optimism surrounding the company's cost-cutting measures and advancements in artificial intelligence and cloud services. Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, broke into the top three for the first time, with his net worth climbing by $84 billion to $242 billion, fueled by investor confidence in Meta's AI-driven strategies.

Other notable figures in the top ten include Larry Ellison of Oracle, who saw his wealth increase to $203 billion, and Warren Buffett, whose fortune rose to $167 billion. Google co-founder Larry Page, French billionaire Bernard Arnault, former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, Sergey Brin, and Bill Gates round out the list, each reflecting significant changes in their fortunes amid evolving market dynamics.