How much would it take to be on the top of the world?
Forbes annually publishes the rankings of the wealthiest people in the world in March. This means that the net worths listed are snapshots taken at that time.
Billionaires are some of the most powerful people in the world, able to influence the economy, politics, media, and scientific innovation.
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As most billionaires’ net worth are held in stocks of their company, the list often changes as the stock market fluctuates.
Here is Forbes’ list of the top 10 wealthiest people in the world as of March 1, 2023.
1. Bernard Arnault
Net worth: $210.8 B
Bernard Arnault is CEO and chair of LVMH, the largest luxury goods company in the world. Some of its most notable brands include Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Moet & Chandon, and Tiffany & Co.
Four of Arnault’s five children are currently working in LVMH and in January of this year, he appointed his eldest child and only daughter, Delphine, to run Dior.
2. Elon Musk
Net worth: $196.5 B
Elon Musk was the world’s wealthiest person for most of 2022, but dropped down to number two in December.
He is currently CEO of electric car company Tesla, rocket firm SpaceX, and social media company Twitter.
In 2000, he and Peter Thiel cofounded PayPal, which eBay bought in 2002 for $1.4 billion. He then went on to SpaceX, which he founded in 2002 in El Segundo, near Los Angeles.
In 2004, he invested in Tesla a year after the company was founded. He was later given the cofounder title and became CEO in 2008. The car company accounts for about two-thirds of his fortune.
3. Jeff Bezos
Net worth: $117.4 B
Formerly Amazon’s CEO, Jeff Bezos remains as the e-commerce giant’s chairman. In 2021, he went to space with the help of his private rocket company Blue Origin.
Bezos founded Amazon in 1994, in his garage in Seattle. Beginning as an online bookseller, the company has since moved onto the wider retail business as well as movie and series production.
In 2017, he overtook Bill Gates to become the richest person in the world, though they often traded the first and second spots. Bezos topped Forbes’ list from 2018 through 2021.
4. Larry Ellison
Net worth: $112.3 B
The cofounder of software firm Oracle, Larry Ellison, is currently its chairman and Chief Technology Officer.
He has also invested in Tesla and was on the board from 2018 through August 2022.
In 2012, Ellison purchased the entire island of Lanai in Hawaii for around $500 to $600 million and has lived there since 2020.
5. Warren Buffett
Net worth: $106.4 B
Warren Buffett is known as one of the most successful investors in the world. He currently runs the investing conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway, which owns dozens of large companies.
In 2010, Buffett created the Giving Pledge with Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates. The campaign asks billionaires to donate at least half of their fortunes to charities throughout their lives.
Buffett himself has promised to donate 99% of his wealth. As of this year, he’s donated $51.5 billion in Berkshire Hathaway stock.
6. Bill Gates
Net worth: $104.9 B
The cofounder of software firm Microsoft has been passionate about computer programming since he was a teenager.
Bill Gates has been the CEO of the company for 25 years and remained chairman until 2014. These days, he is focused on investing in other companies.
Forbes first listed Gates as a billionaire in 1987. From 1995 through 2017, he was often at the top of the list. He’s been overtaken since then, largely due to the billions he has donated to the Gates Foundation.
7. Carlos Slim Helu
Net worth: $89.9 B
Carlos Slim Helu owns Latin America’s biggest mobile telecom firm, América Móvil. The firm operates in at least 15 countries.
He used to own 17% of the New York Times, but sold the stake in 2021. From 2010 to 2013, he was listed as the world’s wealthiest person.
8. Mukesh Ambani
Net worth: $83.3 B
Mukesh Ambani runs Reliance Industries which has interests in petrochemicals, oil and gas, telecom, and retail.
Ambani was the wealthiest person in India for 14 years and was only overtaken in 2022. This year, he has made his way back to the top.
He has been in Forbes’ top 10 global ranking between 2008 and 2011 and again starting in 2021.
9. Steve Ballmer
Net worth: $80.9 billion
Steve Ballmer, Bill Gates’ former classmate in Harvard, became Microsoft’s CEO from 2000 to 2014.
He was the company’s 30th employee in 1980. When he retired from Microsoft, he purchased the Los Angeles Clippers team for $2 billion, the highest amount for an NBA team at that time.
10. Francoise Bettencourt Meyers
Net worth: $80.7 billion
Francoise Bettencourt Meyers is the granddaughter of the founder of cosmetics giant L’Oreal. She is currently the richest woman in the world.
She inherited her fortune in 2017 after her mother’s passing but she has served on L’Oreal’s board since 1997.
Bettencourt Meyers is also the president of her family’s philanthropic foundation which is focused on promoting progress in science and the arts.
Banner image via LVMH website.
