The World's Billionaires is an annual ranking by the American business magazine Forbes of people who are billionaires, i.e., they are estimated to have a net worth of US$1 billion or more. The list was first published in March 1987. The net worth of each individual is cited in United States dollars, based on their documented assets, and accounting for debt and other factors. This ranking excludes royalty and dictators whose wealth comes from their positions, as well as people whose wealth is not able to be completely ascertained.
In 2018, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos was first ranked at the top and became the first centibillionaire included in the ranking, surpassing Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who had topped the list 18 of the previous 24 years. In 2022, Bezos was surpassed by Elon Musk. In 2023, Musk was surpassed by French businessman Bernard Arnault, the first French person to top the list. In 2025 and 2026, Musk once again topped the list.
Methodology
Each year, Forbes employs a team of over 50 reporters from a variety of countries to track the activity of the world's wealthiest individuals and sometimes groups or families – who share wealth. Preliminary surveys are sent to those who may qualify for the list. According to Forbes, they received three types of responses – some people try to inflate their wealth, others cooperate but leave out details, and some refuse to answer any questions. Business deals are then scrutinized and estimates of valuable assets – land, homes, vehicles, artwork, etc. – are made. Interviews are conducted to vet the figures and improve the estimate of an individual's holdings. Finally, positions in a publicly traded stock are priced to market on a date roughly a month before publication. Privately held companies are priced by the prevailing price-to-sales or price-to-earnings ratios. Known debt is subtracted from assets to get a final estimate of an individual's estimated worth in United States dollars. Since stock prices fluctuate rapidly, an individual's true wealth and ranking at the time of publication may vary from their situation when the list was compiled.
When a living individual has dispersed their wealth to immediate family members it is included under a single listing (as a single "family fortune") provided that individual (the grantor) is still living. However, if a deceased billionaire's fortune has been dispersed, it will not appear as a single listing, and each recipient will only appear if their own total net worth is over a $1 billion (their net worth will not be combined with family members'). Royal families and dictators that have their wealth contingent on a position are always excluded from these lists.Fortunes Of Kings, Queens And Dictators Forbes, 5 May 2006
Annual rankings
The rankings are published annually in March, so the net worths listed are snapshots taken at that time. There are thousands of billionaires on the Forbes list; the excerpts below show only the wealthiest 10 for each year.
Legend IconDescriptionHas not changed from the previous ranking.Has increased from the previous ranking.Has decreased from the previous ranking.
1987–1989 No. Name Net worth (USD) NationalitySource(s) of wealth$20 billionSeibu Corporation$15 billionMori Building Company Sam Walton $7.5 billionWalmart Shigeru Kobayashi$7.0 billionReal estate Haruiko Yoshimoto $6.2 billionReal estate Salim Ahmed Bin Mahfouz $6.0 billionNational Commercial Bank Hans Rausing$6.0 billionTetra Pak Paul Reichmann $5.6 billionReal estate Yohachiro Iwasaki$5.6 billion Logging and real estateKenji Osana$5.5 BillionTransportation and hotels
1990 No. Name Net worth (USD) NationalitySource(s) of wealth $16.0 billion Seibu Corporation $14.6 billion Mori Building Company Walton family$13.5 billion Wal-Mart du Pont family$10.0 billion DuPont Hans and Gad Rausing$9.6 billion Tetra Pak $9.2 billion Azabu Building & brothers$9.0 billion Olympia & York $8.4 billion Heiwa Corporation $7.5 billion Lotte Corporation $5.8 billion Shin Nihon Kanko
1991 No. Name Net worth (USD) NationalitySource(s) of wealth Walton family$18.5 billion Wal-Mart $15.0 billion Mori Building Company $14.0 billion Seibu Corporation du Pont family$10.0 billion DuPont Hans and Gad Rausing$9.0 billion Tetra Pak $7.7 billion Azabu Building & brothers$7.1 billion Olympia & York $6.8 billion Thomson Corporation $6.1 billion Heiwa Corporation $6.0 billion Lotte Corporation
1992 No. Name Net worth (USD) NationalitySource(s) of wealth Walton family$23.8 billion Wal-Mart $13.0 billion Mori Building Company $10.0 billion Seibu Corporation Hans and Gad Rausing$7.0 billion Tetra Pak $6.9 billion Tengelmann Group Haniel family$6.4 billion Franz Haniel & Cie. $6.4 billion Microsoft & family$6.2 billion Sainsbury's $6.2 billion Thomson Corporation $6.0 billion Lotte Corporation
1993 No. Name Net worth (USD) NationalitySource(s) of wealth Walton family$25.3 billion Wal-Mart Mars family$9.2 billion Mars, Inc. $9.0 billion Seibu Corporation du Pont family$8.6 billion DuPont Minoru and Akira Mori$7.5 billion Mori Building Company $7.4 billion Microsoft Samuel and Donald Newhouse$7.0 billion Advance Publications Sid and Lee Bass & brothers$6.8 billion Richardson Gasoline $6.6 billion Berkshire Hathaway $6.2 billion Tengelmann Group
1994 No. Name Net worth (USD) NationalitySource(s) of wealth Walton family$22.6 billion Wal-Mart du Pont family$9.0 billion DuPont Hans and $9.0 billion Tetra Pak $8.5 billion Seibu Corporation $8.2 billion Microsoft $7.9 billion Berkshire Hathaway & Hoffman family$7.8 billion Hoffmann-La Roche & family$7.5 billion Lin Yuan Group Karl and $7.3 billion Aldi $6.6 billion América Móvil, Grupo Carso
1995 No. Name Net worth (USD) NationalitySource(s) of wealth Walton family$23.5 billion Wal-Mart $12.9 billion Microsoft $10.7 billion Berkshire Hathaway Hans and $9.0 billion Tetra Pak $9.0 billion Seibu Corporation & Hoffman family$8.6 billion Hoffmann-La Roche & family$8.5 billion Lin Yuan Group $6.5 billion Thomson Corporation $6.5 billionHenderson Land Development $6.2 billionHyundai
1996 No. Name Net worth (USD) Age Nationality Source(s) of wealth Walton family$22.9 billion _Wal-Mart $18.0 billion 41Microsoft $15.3 billion 65Berkshire Hathaway Oeri, Hoffman & Sacher families$13.1 billion _Roche $12.7 billion 68Henderson Land Development & family$12.2 billion 72Cathay Life Insurance Kwok brothers$11.2 billion _Sun Hung Kai Properties & family$10.6 billion 68CK Asset Holdings $9.2 billion 62Seibu Railway Karl and $9.0 billion 76Aldi
1997 No. Name Net worth (USD) Age Nationality Source(s) of wealth $36.4 billion 42Microsoft Walton family$27.6 billion _Wal-Mart $23.2 billion 66Berkshire Hathaway $14.7 billion 69Henderson Land Development $14.1 billion 44Microsoft Kwok brothers$12.3 billion 48Sun Hung Kai Properties Haas family$12.3 billion _Levi Strauss & Co Forrest Mars Sr. & family$12.0 billion 93Mars, Inc. Karl and $11.5 billion 77Aldi & family$11.3 billion 73Cathay Life Insurance
1998 No. Name Net worth (USD) Age Nationality Source(s) of wealth $51.0 billion 43Microsoft Walton family$48.0 billion _Wal-Mart $33.0 billion 67Berkshire Hathaway $21.0 billion 45Microsoft $14.4 billion 74Woodbridge Co. Ltd.Thomson.com. Management . Accessed 23 March 2006. Jay and Robert Pritzker$13.5 billion _HyattNew York Times: "Jay Pritzker, Who Built Chain Of Hyatt Hotels, Is Dead at 76" By ANTHONY RAMIREZ 25 January 1999 Forrest Mars Sr. & family$13.5 billion 94Mars, Inc. $13.3 billion 41Kingdom Holding Company $12.7 billion 70Henderson Land Development Karl and $11.7 billion 78Aldi
1999 No. Name Net worth (USD) Age Nationality Source(s) of wealth $90.0 billion 43Microsoft $36.0 billion 68Berkshire Hathaway $30.0 billion 46Microsoft $19.5 billion 43Microsoft $16.5 billion 59The Anschutz Corporation $16.5 billion 34Dell $15.8 billion55Wal-Mart $15.0 billion 42Kingdom Holding Company Karl and Theo Albrecht$13.6 billion 79Aldi & family$12.6 billion 71CK Asset Holdings
2000 Gates became the first American to take the top spot of the world's billionaires in 1995 with a net worth of $12.5 billion, and he remained there during the dot-com bubble's height in 1999 when his fortune peaked at $90 billion. After the dot-com bubble started to collapse in 2000, his wealth dropped to $60 billion, although he remained at the top of the list.
No. Name Net worth (USD) Age Nationality Source(s) of wealth $60.0 billion 44Microsoft $47.0 billion 55Oracle Corporation $28.0 billion 47Microsoft $25.6 billion 69Berkshire Hathaway Karl and Theo Albrecht $20.0 billion 80Aldi $20.0 billion 43Kingdom Holding Company $20.0 billion 57Wal-Mart $19.4 billion 43Softbank Capital, SoftBank Mobile $19.1 billion 35Dell $16.1 billion 77The Thomson Corporation
2001 In 2001, BET founder Robert L. Johnson became the first ever African-American billionaire.
No. Name Net worth (USD) Age Nationality Source(s) of wealth $58.7 billion 45Microsoft $32.3 billion 70Berkshire Hathaway $30.4 billion 48Microsoft $26.0 billion 56Oracle Corporation Karl and Theo Albrecht$25.0 billion 81Aldi $20.0 billion 44Kingdom Holding Company *$18.8 billion 53Wal-Mart *$18.7 billion 55Wal-Mart *$18.6 billion 57Wal-Mart *$18.5 billion 52Wal-Mart *$18.5 billion 81Wal-Mart
* Each hold an essentially equal share in Wal-Mart. Had he been alive in 2001, Sam Walton would have been the world's wealthiest person.
2002 As a result of the market crash caused by the Dot-com bubble, 83 billionaires dropped off the list from the previous year.
No. Name Net worth (USD) Age Nationality Source(s) of wealth $52.8 billion 46Microsoft $35.0 billion 71Berkshire Hathaway Karl and Theo Albrecht $26.8 billion 82Aldi $25.2 billion 49Microsoft $23.5 billion 57Oracle Corporation *$20.8 billion 54Wal-Mart *$20.7 billion 56Wal-Mart *$20.5 billion 53Wal-Mart *$20.5 billion 58Wal-Mart *$20.5 billion 82Wal-Mart
* Each hold an essentially equal share in Walmart.
2003 Oprah Winfrey became the first female African-American billionaire.
No. Name Net worth (USD) Age Nationality Source(s) of wealth $40.7 billion 47Microsoft $30.5 billion 72Berkshire Hathaway Karl and Theo Albrecht $25.6 billion 83Aldi $20.1 billion 50Microsoft $17.7 billion 46Kingdom Holding Company $16.6 billion 58Oracle Corporation *$16.5 billion 54Wal-Mart *$16.5 billion 83Wal-Mart *$16.5 billion 55Wal-Mart *$16.5 billion 57Wal-Mart *$16.5 billion 59Wal-Mart
* Each hold an essentially equal share in Walmart.
2004 The founders of Google, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, became billionaires at age 30.
No. Name Net worth (USD) Age Nationality Source(s) of wealth $46.6 billion 48Microsoft $42.9 billion 73Berkshire Hathaway $23.0 billion 84Aldi Süd $21.5 billion 47Kingdom Holding Company $21.0 billion 51Microsoft *$20.0 billion 55Wal-Mart *$20.0 billion 84Wal-Mart *$20.0 billion 56Wal-Mart *$20.0 billion 58Wal-Mart *$20.0 billion 60Wal-Mart
* Each hold an essentially equal share in Walmart.
2005 The net worth of 2005's 691 billionaires was $2.2 trillion. More than half of them had self-made fortunes. No. Name Net worth (USD) Age Nationality Source(s) of wealth $46.5 billion 49Microsoft $44.0 billion 74Berkshire Hathaway $25.0 billion 54Mittal Steel Company $23.8 billion 65América Móvil, Grupo Carso $23.7 billion 49Kingdom Holding Company $23.0 billion 79IKEA $21.0 billion 52Microsoft $18.5 billion 85Aldi Süd $18.4 billion 60Oracle Corporation $18.3 billion 61Walmart
2006 Free cash used by consumers from home equity extraction, known as the real estate bubble created a total of nearly $5 trillion in 2005, contributing to economic growth worldwide.