World's richest people in 2024

Billionaires from the US took up six positions in the list while the only outsider, France, took the top position.

Nigeria’s Aliko Dangote failed to make the first 100 names as he ranked in 144th Position with an estimated net worth of $13.4 billion.

According to the 38th edition of Forbes billionaires list, the billionaires have a combined worth of $14.2 trillion and their number has increased by 141 from last year's figures to hit an all-round high of 2,781.

Richest people in the world in 2024 and their net worth

Here are seven of the world's richest people and their net worth;

1. Bernard Arnault

Bernard Arnault came in first place with an estimated fortune of $226.2 billion. Arnault currently oversees the LVMH empire of 75 fashion and cosmetics brands, including Louis Vuitton and Sephora and has become the first Frenchman to top the world ranking after having moved up from third place in 2022.

Bernard Arnault [Getty Images] Business Insider USA

2. Elon Musk

Elon Musk comes in second place with an estimated net worth of $195 Billion.

Musk co-founded six companies, including electric car maker Tesla, rocket producer SpaceX and tunneling startup Boring Company. He also took over Twitter (now called X) in a $44 billion deal in 2022, making him own about 74% of the company.

Elon Musk took aim at Soros in May 2023, writing on X that the Jewish billionaire reminded him of the X-Men villain Magneto, and that "Soros hates humanity." Source: X Business Insider USA

3. Jeff Bezos

The owner and co-founder of Amazon, Jeff Bezos comes in third position with a net worth of $194 billion.

Bezos founded Amazon in 1994 out of his Seattle garage. He also owns The Washington Post and Blue Origin, an aerospace company developing rockets.

The positions of Musk and Bezos in the Forbes billionaire list have been fluctuating since March 2024, due to changing stock prices for Amazon and Tesla.

4. Mark Zuckerberg

Meta owner, Mark Zuckerberg’s net worth has been estimated to be $177 Billion.

Zuckerberg started the social media platform in 2004 for students to match names with photos of classmates.

In 2012, Facebook, with over 2.9 billion monthly active users went public making Zuckerberg own 13% of the company's stock.

Facebook in 2021, changed its name to Meta as the company shifted focus to the metaverse.

Mark Zuckerberg [Getty Images] Business Insider USA

5. Larry Ellison

Ellison is placed fifth with an estimated net worth of $141billion.

He currently owns about 40% of software giant, Oracle and is the chairman, chief technology officer and cofounder of the company.

Ellison was on the Tesla board from December 2018 to August 2022 and owns about 15 million shares in the company.

6. Warren Buffett

Known as the "Oracle of Omaha," Warren Buffett is one of the most successful investors of all time with a total net worth of $133 billion.

He runs Berkshire Hathaway, which owns dozens of companies, including insurer Geico, battery maker Duracell and restaurant chain Dairy Queen. Buffet has so far donated more than $56 billion to charity and has also promised to donate over 99% of his wealth.

Warren Buffett [BI] Business Insider USA

7. Bill Gates.

Bill Gates’ $121 billion net worth places him in seventh position in the World's billionaires list.

He dropped out of Harvard to co-found Microsoft with Paul Allen in 1975, He has since diversified his fortune from software firm Microsoft into dozens of holdings, including waste disposal firm Republic Services and tractor maker Deere & Co.

He stepped down from the Microsoft board in March 2020 and still owns about 1.3% of the software and computing company's shares.