Who is the richest man in the world? While calculating the personal fortunes of the planet’s ultra-wealthy is no simple task, Forbes has been doing exactly that for decades with its constantly updated rankings. These estimates are based on stockholdings, exchange rates, and verified data from financial records, court documents, and declared assets — from real estate and art to yachts and private jets.
According to Forbes, Elon Musk remains at the top of the global wealth ranking for July 2026 — and has now crossed a threshold no individual has ever reached before. His net worth has hit $1.053 trillion, making him the world’s first trillionaire in history (the round number was crossed on June 12). Behind him, Larry Page holds second place at $291 billion, followed by Sergey Brin at $269 billion — still ahead of Jeff Bezos in a ranking that grows more volatile with every market swing.
Below is a detailed breakdown of the ten richest men in the world as of July 2026, per Forbes.
June 2026: a (small) setback for the mega-rich
June was a tough month for big tech fortunes. A nearly 1% drop in the S&P 500 and a roughly 3% fall in the Nasdaq translated into a combined loss of approximately $181 billion for nine of the ten wealthiest men on the planet. The top 10’s aggregate net worth now stands at around $2.951 trillion — only $37 billion higher than the previous month, and entirely thanks to Musk’s record leap.
Just two of the top ten actually grew their wealth in June: Musk, up $218 billion on the back of the SpaceX IPO, and Warren Buffett, whose Berkshire Hathaway stock rose 5%. The biggest loser of the month was Larry Ellison, who shed $84 billion in a single month and fell two spots.
Steve Ballmer dropped out of the top 10 after Microsoft shares fell 17%, costing him about $20 billion and sending him to fifteenth place. Buffett, on the other hand, returned to the ranking on the strength of Berkshire’s gains. Michael Dell and Mark Zuckerberg each moved up one position, while Ellison slid to seventh. Among women, Alice Walton remains the world’s richest, with an estimated fortune of $121 billion.
1) Elon Musk (South Africa/USA) — $1.053 trillion
The world’s richest man is Elon Musk — by a margin that is, at this point, almost incomprehensible. His net worth has reached the historic figure of $1.053 trillion, up roughly $218 billion from the previous month: he is officially the first trillionaire in human history.
The bulk of his wealth comes from SpaceX, which merged with xAI in a deal that valued the combined entity at $1.25 trillion. On June 12, 2026, SpaceX debuted on the Nasdaq with a market capitalization of approximately $2.2 trillion at the close of its first trading day. Forbes estimates Musk holds roughly 38% of the company post-dilution — a stake valued at approximately $871 billion, by far his most valuable asset. Add to that his roughly 11% stake in Tesla, worth around $166 billion.
Before the IPO, Forbes had pegged Musk’s SpaceX stake at about $500 billion, based on the $1.25 trillion valuation that came out of the February 2026 merger with xAI. The public debut sent his fortune into territory no individual has ever occupied, making June 2026 the month the first trillionaire was born.
In November, Tesla shareholders approved a record pay package tied to so-called «Mars shot» targets that could grant Musk stock options theoretically worth up to $1 trillion. On the legal front, his lawsuit against OpenAI — seeking damages for contributions made when the organization was still a nonprofit — was dismissed on procedural grounds in May, though Musk is expected to appeal.
2) Larry Page (USA) — $291 billion
Larry Page holds second place once again, with a net worth of $291 billion — down roughly $18 billion from the prior month as Alphabet stock slipped 6%.
Co-founder of Google alongside Sergey Brin in 1998, Page is today a controlling shareholder and board member of Alphabet. After serving as CEO in two stints (through 2001, then again from 2011 to 2015), he has taken a more behind-the-scenes role while remaining central to the group’s strategic direction.
Page is only the third individual in history to have crossed the $300 billion mark — alongside Musk and Ellison — a threshold he first hit in April before June’s market pullback brought him back below it. He is also developing Dynatomics, an AI-driven advanced manufacturing startup, cementing his continued relevance in global tech innovation.
3) Sergey Brin (USA) — $269 billion
Sergey Brin holds third place with a fortune of $269 billion, down roughly $16 billion from the previous month.
Co-founder of Google alongside Larry Page, Brin has in recent years taken a more active role in Alphabet’s strategy — particularly in artificial intelligence development. He has been identified as a «core contributor» to the Gemini model family, marking his operational return after a period of semi-retirement.
Brin remains a board member and controlling shareholder. At the end of 2025, he donated $1.1 billion in Alphabet shares to his foundation Catalyst4, focused on medical and climate research. He has reportedly acquired homes in Malibu and on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe, and is backing a California nonprofit focused on housing affordability — in a state that is considering introducing a wealth tax on the ultra-rich.
4) Jeff Bezos (USA) — $249 billion
Jeff Bezos holds fourth place with an estimated fortune of $249 billion, down roughly $28 billion from the previous month as Amazon shares fell 12%.
Founder of Amazon in 1994 and executive chairman since stepping down as CEO in 2021, Bezos has sold over $49 billion in Amazon shares over the years and currently holds about 8% of the company.
In a lengthy interview in May, Bezos revealed details of his latest venture: AI Project Prometheus, a startup focused on engineering and advanced manufacturing via artificial intelligence, which in June closed a funding round at a valuation of $41 billion. Bezos is co-CEO — his first operational role since 2021. He continues to invest in Blue Origin and in startups including Airbnb through Bezos Expeditions, while also drawing controversy over his management of The Washington Post.
5) Michael Dell (USA) — $235 billion
Michael Dell climbs to fifth place with a net worth of $235 billion, down $9 billion from the previous month (Dell Technologies stock rose just 3% in June, partly offset by a 15% decline in Broadcom).
Founder of Dell Technologies, Dell started selling computers from his University of Texas dorm room at age 19 — pulling in $80,000 by the end of his first year — and went on to build one of the world’s largest tech groups. A pivotal moment came with the $60 billion merger with EMC in 2016.
May was exceptional for Dell: the stock gained over 100% in the month alone, driven by earnings on May 28 that smashed expectations — including a 757% year-over-year jump in AI server revenues and a 33% single-session surge, the best trading day in the company’s history. Dell took his company public, then private, then public again in 2018, in one of the sector’s most complex financial maneuvers. The $69 billion sale of VMware to Broadcom further boosted his fortune.
6) Mark Zuckerberg (USA) — $194 billion
Mark Zuckerberg moves to sixth place despite losing roughly $24 billion in the past month, bringing his net worth to $194 billion. Meta shares fell 11% in June, but even steeper losses at Ellison allowed him to gain one ranking position.
Founder of Facebook in 2004, Meta today is the world’s largest social network and controls Instagram and WhatsApp. Zuckerberg remains CEO and holds approximately 13% of the group.
Heavy capital expenditure on AI and workforce reductions have weighed on Meta’s stock relative to the broader market. The company continues to invest in the metaverse, AI, and new technologies — including a collaboration with Prada on smart glasses. Together with his wife Priscilla Chan, Zuckerberg is a major philanthropist through the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, focused on health and scientific research.
7) Larry Ellison (USA) — $192 billion
The biggest loser of June is Larry Ellison, who falls to seventh place with a net worth of $192 billion — a loss of $84 billion in a single month, the largest absolute decline among the world’s super-rich. After briefly holding the second spot earlier in June, a 35% collapse in Oracle shares dragged him down two positions.
Founder of Oracle and holder of approximately 40% of the company, Ellison had ridden a 40% surge in Oracle stock in May, driven by demand for AI infrastructure and a May 1 contract with the U.S. Department of Defense to deploy AI tools across classified networks for defense, intelligence, and government operations. June reversed all of those gains — and then some.
Ellison is also at the center of what could be one of the most consequential media deals in history: a reported $111 billion offer by Paramount to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery — a transaction involving Ellison and his son David directly — that would put CBS and CNN, HBO Max and Paramount+, Warner Bros. and Paramount Pictures under a single roof, reshaping the global media landscape. He has recently relocated from California to Manalapan, Florida, roughly 20 minutes from Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago.
8) Jensen Huang (USA) — $173 billion
Founder and CEO of Nvidia, Jensen Huang has a net worth of $173 billion, down roughly $9 billion in the past month.
Since 1993, Huang has led Nvidia from a gaming-focused chipmaker into the global leader in AI semiconductors. Nvidia’s GPUs are now foundational to data centers and AI applications worldwide, making it one of the most influential companies on the planet.
Huang holds approximately 3% of Nvidia, which has been among the first companies to reach market capitalizations above $5 trillion. Born in Taiwan and raised partly in Thailand before moving to the United States, he has built one of the most consequential entrepreneurial careers of the past three decades.
9) Bernard Arnault (France) — $147.9 billion
Bernard Arnault, Europe’s richest man, holds ninth place with a fortune of $147.9 billion. He is the only member of the top 10 whose wealth remained essentially unchanged in June — a rare feat amid the tech selloff.
CEO and chairman of LVMH (Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton), Arnault has built the world’s largest luxury conglomerate, spanning more than 75 brands in fashion, beauty, and spirits — including Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Moët & Chandon, Sephora, and Tiffany & Co.
All five of Arnault’s children work within the LVMH empire: Delphine leads Dior, Antoine and Frédéric sit on the board (with Frédéric also heading the family holding company), Alexandre serves as deputy CEO of the wines and spirits division, and Jean directs Louis Vuitton watches.
10) Warren Buffett (USA) — $147.8 billion
Warren Buffett returns to the top 10 — after a three-month absence — with a net worth of $147.8 billion, up roughly $8 billion thanks to Berkshire Hathaway’s 5% gain in June.
Known as the «Oracle of Omaha», Buffett is one of the most successful investors in history. Son of a U.S. congressman, he bought his first shares at age 11 and filed his first tax return at 13. At the end of December 2025, he stepped down as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway — the holding company that controls dozens of businesses including insurer Geico, battery maker Duracell, and restaurant chain Dairy Queen — while retaining the chairmanship.
Together with Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates, Buffett co-founded the Giving Pledge in 2010, committing billionaires to donate at least half their wealth to philanthropy. Buffett himself has pledged 99% of his fortune and has already given away roughly $68 billion — primarily to the Gates Foundation, his children’s foundations, and the foundation started by his late first wife. However, according to The Wall Street Journal, Buffett will not make his customary semi-annual donation of Berkshire shares to the Gates Foundation until the completion of a review into the foundation’s historical ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
What the Forbes data tells us
As of July 2026, Forbes counts 3,428 billionaires worldwide — a record level. The United States dominates: nine of the ten richest people on earth are American citizens, with Bernard Arnault of France as the sole exception.
The minimum fortune to break into the top 10 now stands at roughly $148 billion. Steve Ballmer, former Microsoft CEO, has fallen to fifteenth place after losing about $20 billion in June as Microsoft shares dropped 17%. Bill Gates, who exited the top 10 in 2024 following a downward revision of his estimated net worth, remains outside the group.
Women now make up over 400 of the Forbes billionaire list (13% of the total), the majority of them heirs. Alice Walton leads the female ranking ahead of Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, with an estimated fortune of $121 billion.
Why there are more billionaires than ever
2025 and early 2026 confirm a structural trend: the number of billionaires has never been higher, and their combined wealth has never been larger.
The total fortune of the world’s billionaires now stands at $16.1 trillion — up $2 trillion in a single year, a figure that exceeds the GDP of every nation on earth except the United States and China.
The growth is driven by a handful of forces: the expansion of artificial intelligence; the rise of deep-tech startups; consolidation in technology markets; large-scale mergers; and elevated valuations across giants like Nvidia, Meta, Amazon, and Alphabet.
Wealth, however, remains highly concentrated. The vast majority of billionaires come from the tech world, and the number of so-called «centibillionaires» — those with fortunes above $100 billion — continues to grow, reinforcing the economic weight of an ever-narrower elite.
Editor’s note
This article was originally published in Italian on money.it by Money.it Guide on July 03, 2026 as «I 10 uomini più ricchi del mondo, la classifica aggiornata (luglio 2026)». It has been translated and adapted for an international audience by the Money.it International desk.
