War, pandemic and sluggish markets hit the world’s billionaires this year. There are 2,668 of them on Forbes’ 36th-annual ranking of the planet’s richest people-87 fewer than a year ago.
They’re worth a collective $12.7 trillion-$400 billion less than in 2021. The most dramatic drops have occurred in Russia, where there are 34 fewer billionaires than last year following Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, and China, where a government crackdown on tech companies has led to 87 fewer Chinese billionaires on the list. Still, Forbes found more than 1,000 billionaires who are richer than they were a year ago. And 236 newcomers have become billionaires over the past year-including the first ever from Barbados, Bulgaria, Estonia and Uruguay. America still leads the world, with 735 billionaires worth a collective $4.7 trillion, including Elon Musk, who tops the World’s Billionaires list for the first time.
10. Mukesh Ambani
Net Worth: $90.7 billion, source of Wealth: Reliance Industries
Citizenship: India
9. Steve Ballmer
Net Worth: $91.4 billion, source of Wealth: Microsoft
Citizenship: United States
8. Larry Ellison
Net Worth: $106 billion, source of Wealth: Oracle
Citizenship: United States
7. Sergey Brin
Net Worth: $107 billion, source of Wealth: Google
Citizenship: United States
6. Larry Page
Net Worth: $111 billion, source of Wealth: Google
Citizenship: United States
5. Warren Buffett
Net Worth: $118 billion, source of Wealth: Berkshire Hathaway
Citizenship: United States
4. Bill Gates
Net Worth: $129 billion, source of Wealth: Microsoft
Citizenship: United States
3. Bernard Arnault
Net Worth: $158 billion, source of Wealth: LVMH
Citizenship: France
2. Jeff Bezos
Net Worth: $158 billion, source of Wealth: Amazon
Citizenship: United States
1. Elon Musk
Net Worth: $219 billion, source of Wealth: Tesla/SpaceX
Citizenship: United States