Number of Billionaires Surpass 3000 This Year
Despite continuing global turmoil due to geopolitical tensions and insecurity, the number of billionaires worldwide has crossed the 3,000-mark for the first time in 2025, with a combined wealth of approximately $16.1 trillion, according to the Forbes World Billionaires List.
The top five billionaires are; Tesla Owner and in-charge of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in the US government Elon Musk is the richest man in the worth with a net worth of $362.5 billion and he is followed by Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg ($216 billion), Amazon’s Jeff Bezos ($215 billion), Larry Ellison ($192 billion) and Bernard Arnault & Family ($178 billion).
While the number of billionaires has gradually surpassed the 3,000 mark, the combined wealth of billionaires has increased from its 2021 levels, Forbes List of Billionaires showed.
Forbes, which has been releasing the list by scanning the globe for billionaires since 1987, found 140 of them that in that year. It took two decades for their numbers to swell beyond 1,000 and their numbers swelled to 2,000 in 2017.
“Now, eight years later, 3,028 entrepreneurs, investors and heirs made up this year’s ranking, 247 more than a year ago. Not only are there more of them, but they are richer than ever, worth $16.1 trillion, or $5.3 billion each, in total—up nearly $2 trillion over 2024,” Forbes said.
The US has a record 902 billionaires, followed by China (516, including Hong Kong) and India (205). Forbes used stock prices and exchange rates from 7 March 2025, Forbes said.
The $100 Billion Club had a record 15 members as of 2025, while three people owned more than $200 billion at the time of the new list’s release in early April—Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg.
Albania’s First Billionaire
While 288 billionaires were added to the list this year, including Samir Mane, the first billionaire from Albania, with a net worth of $1.4 billion. He is the founder and president of the BALFIN Group, an investment conglomerate headquartered in Tirana, Albania.
Other newcomers to the list include celebrities Bruce Springsteen, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jerry Seinfeld, and Chipotle founder Steve Ellis.
This year’s 3,028 billionaires contrast with 2013, when the average billionaire was worth just $3.8 billion. While billionaires represent the pinnacle of global wealth inequality, they themselves exhibit a highly unequal distribution of wealth, with the top 15 billionaires worth a combined $2.4 trillion, more than the bottom 1,500 billionaires combined, Forbes said.
