The rich just keep getting richer.
The world’s 500 wealthiest individuals added a record $2.2 trillion to their collective fortunes this year, as reported by Bloomberg. America’s tech moguls were the biggest winners, with a stock market boom in artificial intelligence companies resulting in massive gains.
Of the top 10 richest individuals, the eight in the tech industry added more than half a trillion dollars to their collective wealth in 2025. Tesla founder Elon Musk, currently the world’s richest man, raked in $190 billion in the past 12 months, taking his total net worth to $623 billion, as per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He is on track to become the world’s first trillionaire, if Tesla hits the ambitious targets it has set.
Google cofounder Larry Page also had a prosperous year, with a $101 billion gain pushing his personal fortune to $270 billion. Rounding out the top five, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos made $16 billion (net worth: $255 billion), Google cofounder Sergey Brin pulled in $92.5 billion (net worth: $251 billion), and Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison earned $57.7 billion (net worth: $250 billion). Ellison briefly overtook Musk as the world’s richest man in September, after his business software company reported unexpectedly strong financial results. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg also saw his wealth rise $28 billion in 2025, taking his net worth to $235 billion, according to the index.
Amidst all those tech tycoons, luxury’s biggest name sits at seventh in the billionaire rankings. LVMH chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault, who has spent his fair share of time at the top of the list, enjoyed a $30 billion gain this year, taking his total fortune to $206 billion. LVMH, which helms the likes of Louis Vuitton, Tiffany & Co., TAG Heuer, and Dom Pérignon, returned to growth in the third quarter of 2025, buoyed by the strong spending of wealthy North Americans.
Arnault sits ahead of former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who made $30 billion and $23 billion in 2025, respectively. Huang sold nearly $1 billion worth of shares this year, cashing in on the soaring stock price of the computer chip maker. (Nvidia became the world’s first $5 trillion company in October.) Last but not least, billionaire investor Warren Buffett pulled in $9.54 billion, resulting in a total fortune of $152 billion.
It’s been a very good year for some.
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