10 richest persons in the world currently

According to Forbes, the combined net worth of the 10 richest people on the planet rose by $30 billion in a month, reaching nearly $1.47 trillion as of January 1. Mark Zuckerberg climbed up the rankings, moving from the 7th to the 5th richest person in the world as of December 1. He overtook Bill Gates, who was once the world’s wealthiest person for a long time. Elon Musk remains the richest person in the world, with a net worth of $251 billion. The Tesla CEO also owns stakes in SpaceX, a private rocket company, and X, a social media company that used to be called Twitter. In December, Larry Ellison, the software mogul behind Oracle, saw a huge drop in his fortune. His wealth fell by $11.2 billion as Oracle’s stock declined by 10%, making him the biggest loser among the top ten. Ellison still holds the fourth spot, with a net worth of $135.3 billion.

Here is the full list of the world’s richest people as of January at 12:00 am. based on a Forbes report on Thursday.

Elon Musk: Musk is the CEO of Tesla, an electric car company, SpaceX, a rocket company, and X, a social media company that was formerly known as Twitter. He has a large stake in Tesla, which he has used strategically to leverage his stock and options, even borrowing against some of them. His wealth is largely driven by the car company. In October 2022, he bought X, which was then called Twitter, for $44 billion. He is estimated to own about 74% of the popular social media company. However, Forbes notes that the company is now worth less than half of what he paid for it.

1. Bernard Arnault: Bernard Arnault is the CEO and chairman of LVMH, the biggest luxury goods company in the world, with a portfolio of around 70 fashion and cosmetics brands. Some of the most famous brands are Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Moet & Chandon, and Sephora. In January 2021, LVMH acquired jeweller Tiffany & Co. for $15.8 billion.

2. Jeff Bezos: Jeff Bezos founded Amazon in 1994 and was its CEO until July 2021, while staying as chairman. In July of that year, he went on a space trip on a rocket built by his private space exploration company, Blue Origin, which he has funded generously with large investments. In December 2023, his wealth grew by $5.8 billion due to an increase in the value of Amazon shares.

3. Larry Ellison: Larry Ellison co-founded software company Oracle in 1977 and was its CEO until 2014. He is now the chairman and Chief Technology Officer of the company. In recent years, Oracle has made several big acquisitions, one of them being the purchase of Sun Microsystems in 2010 for $7.4 billion.

4. Mark Zuckerberg: In 2004, Zuckerberg co-founded what is now known as Meta Platforms when he was a student at Harvard University. It has become the largest social network in the world, with 3.88 billion monthly users. The company also owns Instagram and WhatsApp, which it acquired and grew significantly. Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, took the company public in 2012 and currently owns about 13% of it.

5. Bill Gates: Gates was first listed as a billionaire by Forbes in 1987. He was the world’s richest person from 1995 to 2017, except for 2008 and the years 2010 to 2013. He gave up his title as the wealthiest person because of his huge donations to the Gates Foundation, which total $59 billion, including a generous $20 billion gift in July 2022.
 

7. Warren Buffett: Warren Buffett, often referred to as the “Oracle of Omaha,” has established himself as one of the most accomplished investors in history. He is the head of the investing conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway, which boasts a diverse portfolio of companies such as Geico, Duracell, and Dairy Queen. From a young age, he demonstrated a keen interest in financial matters. Being the son of a U.S. congressman, he had the opportunity to delve into the world of stocks at the tender age of 11. He even took the initiative to file his taxes at the remarkably young age of 13.

8. Larry Page: Page, along with Sergey Brin, co-founded the search engine Google in 1998. He held the position of CEO from 2001 to 2011 and again from 2015 to present. He currently holds a position as a board member of Google’s parent company, Alphabet, and maintains majority ownership.

9. Sergey Brin: Sergey Brin resigned from his position as president of Alphabet, the parent company of Google, in December 2019. However, he still holds significant control as a major shareholder and continues to serve as a member of the board. He and Larry Page became partners in 1998, when they crossed paths at Stanford University during their pursuit of advanced degrees in computer science.

10. Steve Ballmer: Ballmer, who was a classmate of Bill Gates at Harvard University, became the 30th employee to join Microsoft in 1980. He served as the CEO of Microsoft from 2000 to 2014.
After leaving Microsoft, Ballmer made headlines by acquiring the Los Angeles Clippers team for $2 billion, setting a new record for the highest purchase price of an NBA team. According to recent reports, the team’s value has been estimated at $4.65 billion by Forbes.