2026 is a record year for global wealth: according to the updated Forbes ranking, this year there are many in the world 3,428 billionaires – 400 more than in 2025 – for a heritage overall well 20,100 billion dollars.For the second consecutive year, Elon Musk he is the richest person in the world with a record wealth of 839 billion dollars, which even made him therichest man in history and the first to pass the threshold of 800 billion.
In fact, in the last 12 months, the “king of the Scrooge McDucks” has increased his wealth by a lot 500 billion dollarsthanks above all to the rising valuations of its main companies, Tesla And SpaceXand standing out well 582 billion of $ from second man richest on Earth, Larry Page (former CEO of Alphabet, the parent company of Google) who boasts assets of 257 billion dollars and third on the podium, Sergey Brin ($237 billion).
The United Stateshowever, are still the masters, with well 989 billionairesincluding the US President Donald Trumpnow ranked in 645th place: the richest Italian, however, is Giancarlo Devasini, in 22nd place with assets of 89 billion dollars. In the meantime, the female presence is also growing, with 481 female billionaires all over the worldof which 2 in the top 20 of the richest in the world.
A record wealth for Elon Musk: 839 billion dollars
Elon Musk is therefore confirmed the richest man in the worlddespite the brief interlude in September 2025, when he was temporarily overtaken by Larry Ellison, owner of Oracle. In 2026, Musk became the richest person in history and the first ever to overcome the threshold of 800 billion of dollars of assets: today his wealth amounts to $839 billion.
From 2025 to 2026, among other things, Elon Musk’s assets increased by approximately 500 billion dollarsthanks to the surge in valuations for his companies Tesla and SpaceX: to get an idea, it is as if in the last 365 days Musk had earned approximately $15,855 per second.
At this rate, it is possible that within the next few years Musk will become the first man in the world to reach the milestone of 1,000 billion dollars, thus becoming a “trillionaire”.
The ranking of the 20 richest people in the world: three are Europeans
As anticipated, the ranking released by Forbes reports a total of 3,428 billionaireswith total assets of 20,100 billion dollars (in 2025 it was $16 trillion). This is a surprising figure, especially if you consider that 80% of the billionaires in the 2025 ranking have increased, or at least maintained, their wealth.
It must be said, then, the 20 richest people of the world have a heritage greater than 100 billion dollars: the overall list, however, is still dominated by United States with a total of 989 billionaires (of which 15 are included in the top 20). In second place is China, with 610 billionaires, and third place goes to India, far behind with “only” 229 super rich.
As the table below also shows, Europe still occupies 3 positions in the global top 20, thanks to Bernard Arnault (which owns LVMH, the parent company of luxury brands like Louis Vuitton), Amancio Ortega (owner of Inditex, which controls brands such as Zara) e Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, second richest woman of the world (after Alice Walton, heiress to the Walmart empire) which controls L’Oréal.
| Position | Name | Assets (in billions of $) | Company and Sector |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Elon Musk | 839 | Tesla, Space X (Technology) |
| 2 | Larry Page | 257 | Google (Technology) |
| 3 | Sergey Brin | 237 | Google (Technology) |
| 4 | Jeff Bezos | 224 | Amazon (Technology) |
| 5 | Mark Zuckerberg | 222 | Facebook (Technology) |
| 6 | Larry Ellison | 190 | Oracle (Technology) |
| 7 | Bernard Arnault (and family) | 171 | LVMH (Fashion and Retail) |
| 8 | Jensen Huang | 154 | Nvidia (Semiconductors and Technology) |
| 9 | Warren Buffett | 149 | Berkshire Hathaway (Finance) |
| 10 | Amancio Ortega | 148 | Inditex (Fashion and Retail) |
| 11 | Rob Walton (and family) | 146 | Walmart (Food and Retail) |
| 12 | Jim Walton (and family) | 143 | Walmart (Food and Retail) |
| 13 | Michael Dell | 141 | Dell Technologies (Technology) |
| 14 | Alice Walton | 134 | Walmart (Food and Retail) |
| 15 | Steve Ballmer | 126 | Microsoft (Technology) |
| 16 | Carlos Slim Helú (and family) | 125 | America Movil (Telecommunications) |
| 17 | Changpeng Zhao | 110 | Binance (Cryptocurrencies and Finance) |
| 18 | Michael Bloomberg | 109 | Bloomberg (Media and Finance) |
| 19 | Bill Gates | 108 | Microsoft (Technology) |
| 20 | Françoise Bettencourt Meyers (and family) | 100 | L’Oréal (Beauty and Retail) |
From the point of view of the most profitable sectors, however, it is the technology to dominate: among the top 20 positions, well 10 I am busy by billionaires who lead or founded companies active in the sector technological.
But 2026 was also a year of the new super rich, with 390 people entering the billionaires ranking: among them the singer also stood out Beyoncéthe former tennis player Roger Federer And Kimbal MuskElon Musk’s brother.
