WASHINGTON, USA – Innovative technology entrepreneur and a key ally of the Donald Trump administration, Elon Musk, has reclaimed the top spot on Forbes' list of the world's wealthiest individuals after three years. According to Forbes' "2025 World's Billionaires List" released today, Musk's total net worth is estimated to be a staggering $342 billion (approximately 458 trillion KRW).
This announcement has garnered significant attention from the global economic community. Musk has amassed immense wealth through the remarkable growth of his innovative companies, including Tesla and SpaceX, coupled with the recent surge in valuation of his artificial intelligence venture, xAI, and the successful operation of the social media platform X (formerly Twitter).
In particular, Forbes analyzed that "new high valuations for xAI and SpaceX, and a Tesla stock price that rose over the past 12 months despite recent large sell-offs, were critical in Musk's regaining the No. 1 position."
Following Musk, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg secured the second position with a net worth of $216 billion, while Amazon founder Jeff Bezos closely followed in third place with $215 billion. Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison ranked fourth with $192 billion, and Bernard Arnault, chairman of LVMH (Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton), who held the top spot in 2023 and 2024, fell to fifth place with $178 billion.
Along with the list's release, Forbes stated, "The increase in wealth this year is unparalleled," adding, "The 2025 list includes a total of 3,028 billionaires, the highest number since the list was first published in 1987."
Other notable figures within the top 10 include Warren Buffett ($154 billion), Google co-founders Larry Page ($144 billion) and Sergey Brin ($138 billion), Spanish fashion magnate Amancio Ortega ($124 billion), and former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer ($118 billion).
Another notable feature of this year's Forbes list is the significant increase in wealth of the individual who previously held the office of president. According to Forbes, the individual saw their net worth more than double to $5.1 billion, fueled by the rising stock value of Trump Media & Technology Group and successful ventures into the cryptocurrency market. Trump Media & Technology Group is the parent company of the social media platform Truth Social, which the individual founded.
In a related article, Forbes' editor-in-chief Chase Peterson-Withorn pointed out, "Donald Trump (re)joined the ranks of 'chief billionaire' in January. This time, he’s giving the billionaire class more control over government than ever before. His right-hand man is the richest person on earth, and his administration includes at least ten other billionaires or billionaire spouses," emphasizing the close relationship between the administration and the wealthiest individuals.
Meanwhile, 288 new faces appeared on this year's list, including Bruce Springsteen, Chipotle founder Steve Ells, Alphabet/Google CEO Sundar Pichai, actor and former Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Alexander Wang, co-founder of Scale AI, who became a billionaire at the young age of 28.
The United States leads in the number of billionaires with 902, holding a total wealth of $6.75 trillion. China ranks second with 450 billionaires, followed by India with 205. This year's Forbes list reaffirms the deepening global wealth concentration, the remarkable growth of innovative technology entrepreneurs, and the complex connections between political and economic power.
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