The billionaires club has never been bigger—or richer. Here’s who’s up, who’s down and who’s off the list and why it matters more than ever.
The world’s billionaires have always been rich and powerful—but never more than now. That’s particularly true in the United States, where Donald Trump was sworn in (again) as America’s billionaire-in-chief in January. This time around, he’s giving the billionaire class more control over the government than ever before.
The billionaire bonanza extends beyond the U.S., however. A record 3,028 people around the globe make Forbes’ annual World’s Billionaires list this year, 247 more than last year. It’s the first time the billionaire population has crossed the 3,000 mark. They’re worth a record $16.1 trillion in all, $2 trillion more than a year ago, more than the GDP of any country in the world other than the U.S. and China. The average fortune now stands at a record $5.3 billion, up $200 million from 2024.
Senior Editor Chase Peterson-Withorn, who has been editing the list for over three years, joins Breaking News Reporter Brittany Lewis to share an inside look into this year's 2025 World's Billionaires List.
Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/chasewithorn/2025/04/01/forbes-39th-annual-worlds-billionaires-list-more-than-3000-worth-16-trillion/
Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1
0:00 Introduction
0:24 What Goes Into Researching The World's Richest Billionaires List
3:35 How Much Are This Year's Billionaires Worth
8:03 Self Made Billionaires vs. Heirs
10:03 Who Are Notable Repeat Billionaires On The List
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The world’s billionaires have always been rich and powerful—but never more than now. That’s particularly true in the United States, where Donald Trump was sworn in (again) as America’s billionaire-in-chief in January. This time around, he’s giving the billionaire class more control over the government than ever before.
The billionaire bonanza extends beyond the U.S., however. A record 3,028 people around the globe make Forbes’ annual World’s Billionaires list this year, 247 more than last year. It’s the first time the billionaire population has crossed the 3,000 mark. They’re worth a record $16.1 trillion in all, $2 trillion more than a year ago, more than the GDP of any country in the world other than the U.S. and China. The average fortune now stands at a record $5.3 billion, up $200 million from 2024.
Senior Editor Chase Peterson-Withorn, who has been editing the list for over three years, joins Breaking News Reporter Brittany Lewis to share an inside look into this year's 2025 World's Billionaires List.
Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/chasewithorn/2025/04/01/forbes-39th-annual-worlds-billionaires-list-more-than-3000-worth-16-trillion/
Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1
0:00 Introduction
0:24 What Goes Into Researching The World's Richest Billionaires List
3:35 How Much Are This Year's Billionaires Worth
8:03 Self Made Billionaires vs. Heirs
10:03 Who Are Notable Repeat Billionaires On The List
Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:
https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript
Stay Connected
Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com
Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes
More From Forbes: http://forbes.com
Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.
Category
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00Forbes has been scanning the globe for billionaires since 1987.
00:08Now in its 39th year, the world's billionaires list is longer than ever.
00:12Hi everybody.
00:13I'm Brittany Lewis, a breaking news reporter here at Forbes.
00:15Joining me now is my Forbes colleague, senior editor, Chase Peterson-Withorn.
00:19Chase, thanks so much for joining me.
00:21Yeah, thanks so much for having me.
00:24You have edited this list now for three years in a row.
00:27So a big congrats to you.
00:29I can only imagine the undertaking that this list takes.
00:33So before we get into the content, I do want to peel back the layer here.
00:37I want to get a behind-the-scenes look at exactly how this list is compiled.
00:42How many members of the Forbes staff exactly works on this list?
00:45I mean, how much manpower goes into it?
00:48Yeah, it's a huge undertaking, that's for sure.
00:52It's upwards of a hundred reporters digging into the wealth of all the billionaires around
00:58the world.
00:59So between the Forbes newsroom, licensed editions around the world, other wealth sleuths that
01:06help us out all around the planet, there's about a hundred of us, I would say.
01:10And yeah, I mean, it's just a big investigative project to sift through thousands and thousands
01:15of pages of documents, tons of legal filings, records, lawsuits, interviewing sources, interviewing
01:21the billionaires, all trying to figure out how rich are the richest people in the world?
01:25Who are they?
01:27And, you know, following the money and trying to figure out the answers to some questions
01:31that maybe they don't want us asking.
01:33Talk to us a little bit more about the process behind following the money.
01:37I mean, what is the criteria here when it comes to finding exactly who these billionaires
01:42around the globe are?
01:44Yeah, so, you know, in some ways, it's pretty simple.
01:50To make the billionaires list, you need $1 billion or more in net worth in U.S. dollars.
01:56So the hard part is figuring out who has that and what they own and what it's worth.
02:03So it's not just cash in the bank.
02:06You can be a billionaire and not have $1 billion or even $100 million or $10 million or something
02:12in cash.
02:13But you might be a billionaire because you own a business that you could sell for a lot
02:17of money.
02:18So there are a lot of cash poor billionaires out there that would say, I don't feel like
02:23I'm a billionaire because I own this business that's been in my family for generations.
02:27And sure, it's worth billions of dollars, but I would never sell it.
02:30And that's a fair point.
02:31But you're going on the list.
02:33So talk to us about exactly who was on the list at the inception of this project back
02:37in 1987 and how many billionaires Forbes has roaming the planet today.
02:43Yeah, so we found about 140 billionaires when we did the first billionaires list in 1987.
02:49You know, a lot in America, some around the world.
02:54There are a handful of people, you know, who were very wealthy back then, who are still
02:57wealthy now.
02:58People like Warren Buffett.
03:01But it took, oh, two decades for the number of billionaires around the world to pass 1,000.
03:08And then it took until 2017, so almost a decade later, to pass 2,000 billionaires in the world.
03:15This year is the first year that we found more than 3,000 billionaires all around the
03:20world.
03:21So, you know, you can follow that math there.
03:23The pace of billionaires, you know, the billionaire population is definitely quickening over time.
03:29There are more and more billionaires and, you know, we're adding people to the list
03:33faster and faster these days.
03:34Chase, you and I talked about the list actually a year ago, exactly today.
03:39And the big theme of last year's list was the rich were getting even richer.
03:44Last year, the billionaires netted $14.2 trillion.
03:48This year, collectively, how much are these billionaires worth?
03:51Yeah.
03:52So, you know, another year, another set of records, another conversation that's kind
03:58of similar to last year's, right, which is the rich keep getting richer.
04:02And, you know, it's in some ways people may not be surprised, they might just think the
04:07rich keep getting richer.
04:08But the numbers are just staggering and it is important to chronicle it.
04:11So, you know, last year it was, you know, over $14 trillion in wealth, billionaire wealth.
04:16This year, it's $16.1 trillion.
04:18So they've added nearly $2 trillion in wealth, you know, over the over the past year, which
04:23is a very, very substantial sum.
04:26So it's been a great year to be a billionaire yet again.
04:29So yeah, it's an even better year than the record breaking year of last year.
04:33So aside from the rich are getting richer at an even faster pace here, what are the
04:37What else does this list tell you about the richest people in the world?
04:41Yeah, I mean, you know, it tells you that they're very rich, of course, but it also
04:46tells you a little bit about who they are.
04:49Right.
04:50So they're financiers.
04:51Finance and investments is definitely the number one way to become a billionaire still.
04:56But they're also increasingly more involved in tech.
04:59These days, they're very involved in AI.
05:02You know, anybody who has anything to do with AI is still, you know, reaping a lot of a
05:06lot of rewards.
05:08And the other thing that's interesting these days is that they're very powerful, you know,
05:11maybe as powerful as ever, probably as powerful as certainly as they've been since, you know,
05:15we started tracking them, you know, four decades ago.
05:17And, you know, you can just look at we have a billionaire president in the United States
05:21and he's added several billionaires to his cabinet.
05:25You know, you've got people like Howard Lutnick.
05:27You've got Jared Isaacman, who's running NASA, set to run NASA.
05:31Of course, you've got several, you know, billionaire ambassadors like Tilman Fertitta.
05:35So, you know, it is the golden age of billionaires in America.
05:41And I want to talk about the number one billionaire, because as we know, Bernard Arnault, he was
05:45the richest billionaire in 2024.
05:48He was recently dethroned by someone who is very close to Donald Trump.
05:53Talk to us exactly about who's number one on this list and how did he make his money?
05:58Yeah, so number one on the list this year is Elon Musk.
06:02Of course, he made his money with Tesla, with SpaceX.
06:05Now he owns X, which used to be Twitter, XAI, which is an AI company.
06:11And then, of course, his maybe highest profile gig these days, somehow even more high profile
06:16than all of those things, is running but not officially running Doge, you know, the Department
06:22of Government Efficiency that's, you know, trying to take a chainsaw to, you know, the
06:25U.S. budget.
06:26So it has never been really a better time to be Elon Musk.
06:32You know, his net worth has slid a little bit, you know, recent couple of months, but
06:36he's still, you know, number one in the world.
06:39He's worth $342 billion, which is more money than, you know, pretty much anybody else in
06:46the world by a long shot.
06:48And he's added $147 billion, sorry, $147 billion to his net worth since last year.
06:55So it's a lot of zeros, that's for sure.
06:58We know that tech, as you said, is an industry outperforming the rest on this list.
07:03We know that the president and people, powerful people in his orbit are also on the list.
07:09What other trends did you see?
07:11Yeah, so, you know, one of the more interesting things, I think, is that there's a wealth
07:18gap in America and in the world.
07:20And it's not just, you know, the 99 percent versus the 1 percent.
07:23But even within the billionaire ranks, there's a wealth gap where, you know, if you took
07:28the 1,500 poorest billionaires, if there is such a thing, you know, the bottom 1,500 people
07:34on our list, and you added up their net worth, they would still be worth less than just the
07:42top 15 people on our list.
07:44So just those 15 people are worth more than, you know, 1,500.
07:48And so, you know, that's that's super interesting and something that has just continued to grow
07:53and grow.
07:54There's just really a handful of, like, hyper centi-billionaires at the top of the list
07:59who are just getting richer and richer and richer at crazy bases.
08:03I'm curious, when you're looking at this list, how would you describe exactly which billionaires
08:08are self-made?
08:09What's the criteria there to be a self-made billionaire, opposed to someone who just happened
08:13to be born into this wealth?
08:16Yeah, I mean, it's a great question.
08:18And honestly, that's a question that, you know, a lot of people have debated for years
08:22and years and years now.
08:23I mean, you could go back to you didn't build that, you know, and all of that, you know,
08:27the big political debate, right?
08:28Is anybody really self-made?
08:29And, you know, I think the vast majority of these billionaires, when you speak to them,
08:34tell you that they were lucky that they got a head start.
08:39You know, they didn't do it completely on their own.
08:41That being said, we would categorize somebody who did not inherit their fortune as being
08:46self-made.
08:47So the people who created the companies that made them rich, the people who invested wisely
08:50and made themselves rich, you know, you're considered self-made.
08:53Of course, they all got help along the way.
08:55But something like two thirds of the billionaires list did not inherit their fortune, which
09:00is really something.
09:01I mean, it really tells you something about, you know, entrepreneurialism around the world
09:04and the fact that, you know, there are people who could, you know, be born, you know, poor,
09:10could be born lower middle class, working class and work their way onto the billionaires
09:13list.
09:14You know, it certainly it certainly is a possibility and there's, you know, thousands of billionaires
09:19who can who can provide you an example of that.
09:21I mean, that's just an incredible number.
09:23I know earlier in this list, we talked about how the rich are getting richer collectively.
09:29The billionaires made almost two trillion more than they did last year and last year
09:33was record breaking.
09:35What other records were set with this year's billionaires list?
09:38There are very few drop offs this year, too.
09:40I mean, it's just such a crazy up year that something like four percent of the list may
09:45be dropped off, including, you know, three dozen who died.
09:48So basically, if you were on the billionaires list last year, you have a 95 percent of chance
09:53of being back on the billionaires list the next year, which is, you know, pretty crazy
09:57to think about.
09:58But on the other hand, you know, the amount of money these people have, it's pretty hard
10:02to lose.
10:04What about those?
10:05I know you're saying not that many dropped off, but has anyone has there been a billionaire
10:08comeback story where someone has dropped off in previous years and now they're back
10:12on the list this year?
10:14Yes, definitely.
10:15So ninety three billionaires, you know, who were on the list in the past and have since
10:19fallen off are back on this year.
10:22I think the most notable is probably Prince Alwaleed, who's a Saudi investor.
10:25He has a big stake in a lot of different companies, including X.
10:29Actually, he's an investor alongside Elon Musk.
10:32He's actually one of 15 Saudi billionaires that we've added to the list this year.
10:36Fourteen of them are new.
10:38And then Prince Alwaleed is back, you know, as we've sort of, you know, dug into what's
10:45happened in Saudi Arabia.
10:46We took all the Saudis off the list, you know, several years ago after there's a big crackdown
10:50on the wealth there.
10:51And, you know, we think Prince Alwaleed is back and we've seen a bunch of other Saudis
10:55go public recently.
10:57So so they're back on the list as well.
10:59But it really just highlights how difficult it can be sometimes to parse through what's
11:03really going on around the world and, you know, try to figure out who the rich people
11:08really are, because, you know, it can be very unclear.
11:11It's interesting this year because a lot is the same from last year.
11:15It's a good year to be a billionaire.
11:17The richest in the world are still profiting from that AI boom.
11:21Were there any surprises to you after seeing this list of thousands of world's billionaires?
11:26Yeah, I think the sheer numbers are really staggering to me.
11:31You know, I mean, 3,000 billionaires, 16 trillion in wealth is really incredible.
11:36I think that wealth gap is really incredible to see, you know, 15 billionaires and what
11:40we would call the $100 billion club, people who are worth 12, 12 digits, really just really
11:45just something.
11:47And the other thing is just that the United States just continues to dominate.
11:49You know, we have 902 billionaires here in the United States, by far the most.
11:54I mean, you know, nearly double that of, you know, the next closest country, which is China.
11:59There really aren't that many countries that even have 100 billionaires.
12:02So, you know, the American billionaire engine just keeps chugging along.
12:08The American dream is still alive and well.
12:10Chase, do you have anything else to add?
12:12Is there any other note, takeaway that you have about this year's billionaires list?
12:17No, I would just say, you know, if you want to be a billionaire one day, try to, I guess,
12:22start an AI company in America because it's a good way onto the list.
12:28Yeah. Read the list, everyone.
12:29See the thousands of stories there and see which one you can imitate.
12:33Chase Peterson with her and thank you so much for joining me.
12:36Yeah, thank you so much for having me.