Forbes Billionaires 2023: The 25 Richest People in the World (2023)

That's $200 billion less than last year, but still worth $2.1 trillion.

It's been a tough year for many of the world's 2,640 billionaires, including those at the top. The 25 richest people in the world are worth an estimated $2.1 trillionForbesThe list of the world's billionaires released on Tuesday is $200 billion down from $2.3 trillion in 2022.

Two thirds of the top 25 were poorer than last year, compared to about half of the total list. no one lost more thanJef BezosAmazon shares fell 38%. Bezos' fortune has shrunk by $57 billion, dropping him from number 2 in the world in 2022 to number 3 this year. The second biggest loser this year,Elon Musk, the situation is even worse. He lost his title as the world's richest man after paying a hefty price for Twitter, funded in part by the sale of Tesla stock, terrifying investors. Musk is worth $39 billion less than a year ago and is now No. 2.

Two people lost their top 25 positions.Zhang YimingThe founder of Douyin's parent company ByteDance dropped one spot, from 25th to 26th, becausehis troubled businessI havegot a haircutfrom investors.Founder of BinanceChangpeng Zhao, known as CZ, dropped from number 19 last year to number 167 during Crypto Winter.

However, it's not all bad news in this elite group.Bernard ArnaultAs head of luxury goods giant LVMH, his fortune grew by $53 billion - more than any billionaire and enough to propel him to No. 1 for the first time. Another eight members of the top 25 have become richer since the 2022 ranking, including the Spanish retailerAmancio Ortega(+$17.7 billion), co-founder of Bloomberg LP and former mayor of New YorkMichael Bloomberg(+$12.5 billion) and Mexican telecommunications magnateCarlos Slim Hello(+ $ 11.8 billion).

With so much wealth around them, two billionaires made the top 25 this year: Canadian media magnateDavid Thompsonco-founder with nikeridder.

Americans top the list of billionaires with 17 of the 25 spots, followed by France and India with two each. The top 25 mainly made money from technology (8 list members) and fashion and retail (7).

These are the 25 richest people on the list of billionaires in the world in 2023

#1.Bernard Arnott a family

net value:$211 billion|Source of Wealth:LVMH|Age:74|Nationality:France

The French luxury goods magnate topped the list of billionaires for the first time after a boom year for LVMH-owned companies, including Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior and Tiffany. Record highs in sales, profits and LVMH stock helped Arnault add $53 billion to his fortune in the past 12 months, the largest increase of any billionaire. Richer than ever, Arnault is now plotting a successor: in July he proposed reorganizing Agache, the holding company that owns the majority of LVMH shares, to give his five children an equal share.

#2.Elon Musk

net value:$180 billion|Source of Wealth:Tesla, SpaceX|Age:51|Nationality:ons.

Since announcing his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter last April, Musk has spent much of his time tweeting out of the blue, with Tesla shares plummeting nearly 50%, far outpacing the high-tech stock market. The Nasdaq fell 18%. Investors mourned the $23 billion in Tesla stock he sold to fund the acquisition. Meanwhile, SpaceX shares are rising, valuing the company at nearly $140 billion in an auction ending early 2023, up from $127 billion investors valued last May. However, Musk is worth $39 billion less than a year ago.

#3.Jef Bezos

net value:$114 billion|Source of Wealth:amazon|Age:59|Nationality:ons.

Since stepping down as CEO of Amazon in 2021, Bezos has soared into space through his company Blue Origin, made waves with a nearly completed $500 million superyacht, made free early childhood education and his grant Bezos boosts his charity , the Earth Fund. His fortune isn't rising either: It's down $57 billion from a year ago — the biggest loss of any billionaire — thanks to a 38% drop in Amazon stock.

#4.Larry Ellison

net value:107 billion dollars|Source of Wealth:oracle|Age:78|Nationality:ons.

Oracle's chairman and former CEO climbed four places in a tough year for the technology industry, with Oracle shares up 10% on solid earnings and a focus on security. Last summer, Ellison bought one of Florida's most expensive homes for $173 million, adding to his glittering real estate portfolio, which includes the Hawaiian island of Lanai where he lives. Four years later, he resigned from Tesla's board in August.

#5.Warren Buffett

net value:$106 billion|Source of Wealth:Berkshire Hathaway|Age:92|Nationality:ons.

Buffett has spent a lot of money over the past three years, spending about $90 billion from Berkshire Hathaway's stock cash, stock repurchases and the $11.5 billion purchase of insurer Alleghany Corp. In late March, the Oracle of Omaha, experienced in market crises, reportedly advised the Biden administration on banking and discussed possible investments in regional banks.

#6.Bill Gates

net value:104 billion dollars|Source of Wealth:Microsoft|Age:67|Nationality:ons.

Gates stepped down from Microsoft's board of directors in 2020, but still spends 10 percent of his time working with teams at software companies, including those at Microsoft-backed OpenAI. "It's as important as the computer and the internet," Gates told Forbes in February, referring to AI production tools like OpenAI's ChatGPT. Meanwhile, he and his ex-wife, Melinda Frances Gates, are ramping up spending at the Gates Foundation, which they co-chair and want to end in 25 years.

#7.Michael Bloomberg

net value:$94.5 billion|Source of Wealth:Bloomberg information|Age:81|Nationality:ons.

Despite donating an additional $1.7 billion to charity in the past year, the Bloomberg LP co-founder's fortunes continue to soar, with his financial terminals and media businesses projected to generate $13.3 billion in revenue by 2022, to $12.5 billion by 2021. Bloomberg, a longtime supporter of Israel, weighed in on Israeli politics in a March op-ed in The New York Times criticizing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plans to overthrow Israel's judiciary weaken the country.

#8.Carlos Slim Hello& family

net value:$93 billion|Source of Wealth:telecommunications|Age:83|Nationality:Mexico

New York-listed shares of telecom mogul América Móvil's pan-Latin American mobile operator are up 14 percent over the past year, adding nearly $12 billion to Slim's fortune and placing him among the 10 richest people in the world. catapulted. the first time. year from 2019. In February, he placed his historic Manhattan mansion across the street from the Metropolitan Museum of Art for $80 million, nearly double its 2010 purchase price.

#9.Mukesh Ambani

net value:$83.4 billion|Source of Wealth:Diversification|Age:65|Nationality:In the

With Gautam Adani (No. 24) slipping, Ambani regains his crown as the richest man in Asia. Last year, Ambani's telecom oil giant Reliance Industries became the first Indian company to exceed $100 billion in revenue. Last year, he avoided succession speculation by giving his children major roles: Eldest son Akash is president of telecom unit Jio Infocomm; daughter Isha is head of retail; Labour.

#10.Steve Balmer

net value:$80.7 billion|Source of Wealth:Microsoft|Age:67|Nationality:ons.

Ballmer's Los Angeles Clippers - the sixth most valuable team in the NBA - are flying high. He is building a $2 billion privately funded arena for them, scheduled to be completed by 2024. The fortune of the former Microsoft CEO has fallen by $10 billion over the past year, largely due to the plunge in Microsoft's stock price.

#11.Françoise Bettencourt Meyers with family

net value:$80.5 billion|Source of Wealth:L'Oreal|Age:69|Nationality:France

The L'Oréal heiress is the world's richest woman for the third consecutive year, as the cosmetics giant's shares are up 12% over the past 12 months. In addition to pledging $230 million to rebuild Notre Dame, she has hired a general manager for her investment company, Téthys Invest, where she has supported projects including French private hospital operator Elsan.

#12.page

net value:$79.2 billion|Source of Wealth:Google|Age:50|Nationality:ons.

Three years after Google's co-founder stepped down from day-to-day operations, Page and co-founder Sergey Brin (No. 14) participated in a strategy meeting in late 2022 amid the generative AI arms race that ChatGPT launched. Page also stopped selling his shares: Having dumped more than $2.5 billion (pre-tax) between May 2021 and April 2022, he hasn't sold since.

#13.Amancio Ortega

net value:$77.3 billion|Source of Wealth:LVMH|Age:74|Nationality:Spain

Fashion retail empire Inditex - better known in the US as the Zara chain - is losing money. Shares of Ortega are up 39% over the past 12 months, boosted by rising sales, and sales rose 18% to nearly $35 billion in the year ended January 31, 2023. That has increased Ortega's fortunes since last year by raised nearly $18 billion. His daughter Marta Ortega was named president of Inditex in April 2022.

#14.Sergei Brin

net value:76 billion dollars|Source of Wealth:Google|Age:49|Nationality:ons.

Like co-founder Larry Page (#12), he retired what the pair called "daily chat" from Google in 2019. But will Bryn be back? The code request he made in January appears to be his first in years and would have made code changes to Google's AI chatbot. Brin sold more than $2.5 billion worth of Alphabet shares between May 2021 and April 2022, but has only given shares away since then. He has donated a total of $1.1 billion to Parkinson's disease research.

#15.Zhong Shanshan

net value:68 billion dollars|Source of Wealth:Drinks, Medicines|Age:68|Nationality:China

China's king of bottled water has become China's richest man for the third consecutive year. Gains at Zhong-led beverage maker Nongfu Spring offset losses in shares of Covid testing provider Beijing Wantai Biopharmaceuticals after the country eased pandemic restrictions late last year.

#16.Mark Zuckerberg

net value:$64.4 billion|Source of Wealth:Facebook|Age:38|Nationality:ons.

Unlike many founders of tech giants, Zuckerberg will remain CEO. It won't be easy, especially with AI competition and tech layoffs, including 21,000 from the meta platform since November. Meanwhile, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, a charity that aims to create tools to cure or control all diseases, announced a new biocenter in Chicago in March.

#17.Charles Kok

net value:59 billion dollars|Source of Wealth:Koch Industries|Age:87|Nationality:ons.

#17.Julia Koch and family

net value:59 billion dollars|Source of Wealth:Koch Industries|Age:60|Nationality:ons.

Changes are underway at Koch Industries, a $125 billion conglomerate (2022 revenue) in Wichita, Kansas, which announced a restructuring of some subsidiaries in March 2022. Charles Koch recently announced that his Chief Operating Officer will join him as co-CEO, following a 55-year tenure in this role. Julia Koch, widow of Charles' brother David (deceased in 2019), was elected a trustee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in January.

#19.Jim Walton

net value:$58.8 billion|Source of Wealth:Walmart|Age:74|Nationality:ons.

#20.Rob Walton

net value:$57.6 billion|Source of Wealth:Walmart|Age:78|Nationality:ons.

#21.Alice Walton

net value:$56.7 billion|Source of Wealth:Walmart|Age:73|Nationality:ons.

After decades of almost religiously holding stock in his family's store, the children of Walmart co-founder Sam Walton have become one of the biggest sellers, losing $1.8 billion in additional stock in the past 12 months. Rob Walton bought the Denver Broncos last August for a record $4.7 billion, and a large portion of the proceeds will likely fund the deal. The investment got off to a slow start, and the team unexpectedly missed the NFL playoffs.

#22.David Thomson and family

net value:$54.4 billion|Source of Wealth:media|Age:65|Nationality:Canada

Canada's richest man will add another $5.2 billion to his fortune in 2022 as his 68% stake in Thomson Reuters rises 17%. The Toronto-based company, of which Thomson is chairman, supplements its core news and information business with AI investments, such as SurePrep, which bought an automated tax software company for $500 million in January.

#23.Michael Dell

net value:$50.1 billion|Source of Wealth:Dell Technologies|Age:58|Nationality:ons.

Dell's chairman and CEO lost $5 billion this year after shares in Dell Technologies fell 27 percent. However, his family office has grown into a large investment and consultancy firm. MSD Partners, which manages more than $12 billion in assets, has merged with BDT & Co. from fellow billionaire Byron Trott in October.

#24.Gautama Adani

net value:$47.2 billion|Source of Wealth:infrastructure, goods|Age:60|Nationality:In the

Adani became the world's third-richest person on January 24, when his net worth reached nearly $126 billion. However, a report later in the day from short seller Hindenburg Research sent her company's stock tumbling. (Read the story.)

#25.Phil Knight and family

net value:$45.1 billion|Source of Wealth:to win|Age:85|Nationality:ons.

Knight, who founded Nike in 1964 with $500, continues to reap handsome dividends — worth $400 million (before taxes) last year — thanks to his 25 percent stake in the shoe and apparel company. Supply chain issues and Covid restrictions in China caused Nike shares to fall 3%. Ben Affleck stars as a young knight in the new movie AIR, which tells the story of the company's highly paid signing of a young Michael Jordan.

This article first appeared on forbes.com and all figures are in US dollars.