Forbes Billionaires List 2023 THE TOP TEN

Globally, Forbes counted 2,640 ten-figure fortunes, down from 2,668 last year.

Altogether, the planet’s billionaires are now worth $12.2 trillion, a drop of $500 billion from $12.7 trillion in March 2022.

Nearly half the list is ‘poorer’ than a year ago, including Elon Musk, who falls from No. 1 to No. 2 after his pricey acquisition of Twitter helped sink Tesla shares. Bernard Arnault, head of luxury goods giant LVMH, takes his place as the world’s richest person, marking the first time a citizen of France leads the ranking. The United States still boasts the most billionaires, with 735 list members worth a collective $4.5 trillion. China (including Hong Kong and Macau) remains second, with 562 billionaires worth $2 trillion, followed by India, with 169 billionaires worth $675 billion. To calculate net worths, Forbes used stock prices and exchange rates from March 10, 2023.

SEE BELOW FORBES’ LIST OF THE TOP 10 OF THE WORLD’S BILLIONAIRES IN 2023.

Tesla, rocket producer SpaceX and tunneling startup Boring Company. He owns about 23% of Tesla between stock and options but has pledged more than half his shares as collateral for loans. SpaceX, founded in 2002, is worth $127 billion after a funding round in May 2022; it quadrupled its value in three years. Boring Company, which aims to defeat traffic, raised $675 million in April 2022 at a $5.7 billion valuation.

Bernard Arnault & family. $211billion, 2023 Net Worth

Bernard Arnault oversees the LVMH empire of some 70 fashion and cosmetics brands, including Louis Vuitton and Sephora. In 2021, LVMH acquired American jeweller Tiffany & Co for $15.8 billion, believed to be the biggest luxury brand acquisition ever. LVMH spent $3.2 billion in 2019 for luxury hospitality group Belmond, which owns or manages 46 hotels, trains and river cruises. Arnault’s five children all work at LVMH; in July 2022, he proposed a reorganisation of his holding company Agache to give them equal stakes.

Elon Musk - $180billion, 2023 Net Worth

Elon Musk cofounded six companies, including electric car maker

* Twitter agreed to sell the company to Musk for $44 billion in April 2022, after he disclosed a 9.1% stake and threatened a hostile takeover - the deal closed in October 2022 after Musk tried to back out and Twitter sued. Musk now owns an estimated 74% of the company.

Jeff Bezos – $114billion, 2023 Net Worth

Jeff Bezos founded e-commerce giant Amazon in 1994 out of his garage in Seattle. He stepped down as CEO to become executive chairman in July 2021. Bezos sold $8.8 billion worth of his Amazon stock in 2021 and gave some shares away; he now owns a bit less than 10% of the company. Bezos owns The Washington Post and Blue Origin, an aerospace company developing rockets; he briefly flew to space in one in July 2021.

Larry Ellison - $107billion, 2023 Net Worth

Larry Ellison is chairman, chief technology officer and co-founder of software giant Oracle, of which he owns about 35%. In 2020, Ellison moved permanently to the Hawaiian island Lanai, which he bought nearly all of in 2012 for $300 million. Ellison sat on Tesla’s board from December 2018 to August 2022. He still owns about 15 million shares in the electric carmaker.

Warren Buffett - $106billion. 2023 Net Worth

Known as the “Oracle of Omaha,” Warren Buffett is one of the most successful investors of all time. Buffett runs Berkshire Hathaway, which owns dozens of companies, including insurer Geico, battery maker Duracell and restaurant chain Dairy Queen. In 2010, he and Bill Gates launched the Giving Pledge, asking billionaires to commit to donating at least half of their wealth to charitable causes. He has promised to donate over 99% of his wealth. So far, he has given more than $51 billion, mostly to the Gates Foundation and his kids’ foundations.

Bill Gates - $104billion 2023 Net Worth

Bill Gates turned his fortune from software firm Microsoft into a diversified fortune including investments zero-carbon energy. He has invested in dozens of companies including Republic Services and Deere & Co., and is one of the largest owners of farmland in the U.S. To date, Gates has donated for than $59 billion to the Gates Foundation.

Michael Bloomberg - $94.5billion 2023 Net Worth

Michael Bloomberg cofounded financial information and media company Bloomberg

LP in 1981, and now owns 88% of the business, which has estimated revenues north of $12 billion. A major philanthropist, he has donated more than $12.7 billion to gun control, climate change and other causes. He announced a run for president in November 2019 but dropped out in March 2020 and pumped hundreds of millions of dollars into defeating Donald Trump in 2020.

Carlos Slim Helu & family$93billion 2023 Net Worth

Mexico’s richest person, Carlos Slim Helú and his family control América Móvil, Latin America’s biggest mobile telecom firm. With foreign telecom partners, Slim bought a stake in Telmex, Mexico’s only phone company, in 1990. He also owns stakes in Mexican construction, consumer goods, mining and real estate companies. Slim and his family own 79% of Grupo Carso, one of Latin America’s largest conglomerates.

Mukesh Ambani - $83.4billion. 2023 Net Worth

Mukesh Ambani chairs and runs $104 billion (revenue) Reliance Industries, which has interests in petrochemicals, oil and gas, telecom and retail. Reliance sparked a telecom price war with the launch of 4G phone and broadband service Jio in 2016. Today, it has more than 430 million subscribers and is rapidly rolling out 5G services. Ambani is pivoting Reliance into green energy. The company will be investing $80 billion over the next 10-15 years on renewable energy and building a new complex next to its refinery.

Steve Ballmer - $80.7billion. 2023 Net Worth

Steve Ballmer is the high-wattage former CEO of Microsoft, who led the company from 2000 to 2014. The same year he bought the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers for $2 billion. He has ramped up his philanthropy since 2014, putting over $2 billion into a donor-advised fund, with a focus on lifting Americans out of poverty. In 2018, he invested $59 million in Social Solutions, which makes software for non-profits and government agencies. For the full list visit forbes.com/billionaires