Elon Musk has retained the title of world’s richest person for the fourth time in five years, according to the Hurun Global Rich List 2025. Musk recorded a surge of 82 per cent in his wealth that comes to around $189 billion, driven by rise in Tesla shares price post US President Donald Trump’s re-election.
Rupert Hoogewerf, Chairman and Chief Researcher, Hurun Report, said, “Donald Trump’s election win gave US-based billionaires a significant post-election bonus. Close allies Elon Musk and tech investor Peter Thiel saw their wealth surge 82 per cent to $420 billion and 67 per cent to $14 billion. The US President’s following has contributed to Trump’s wealth almost tripling to $7.2 billion.” Interestingly, Musk has become the first individual to surpass the $400 billion threshold.
However, he maintained that since Hurun’s cut-off of 15 January 2025, Musk has lost $100 billion after Tesla saw its market cap plunge by $700 billion. This is attributed to his political activism, involvement with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and rising competition from Chinese automakers, all of which have affected Tesla’s stock price. “Despite the drop, Musk is still the richest person in the world,” he added.
The Top 10 richest
Hurun released its Global Rich List 2025 on Thursday and the top 10 added $512 billion, 30 per cent of total new wealth, and are worth $2.1trillion or 12 per cent of the total list. The cut-off to make the Hurun Global Rich List Top 10 has almost doubled every five years, from $36 billion ten years ago to $67 billion five years ago and $143 billion this year.
Jeff Bezos, 61, bagged the second position in the list with $266 billion, recording a surge of 44 per cent, driven primarily by a surge in Amazon’s stock price, fuelled by investor optimism over the impact of its cost cutting as well as its AI and cloud services.
Mark Zuckerberg broke into the Top 3 for the first time with a growth of 53 per cent in his wealth at $242 billion. This was driven by investor optimism regarding Meta’s AI and tech infrastructure. Zuckerberg made the headlines in the past year with his extreme fitness regimes, the Hurun report said.
Larry Ellison, Chief technology officer of Oracle, rose one spot with a wealth of $203 billion, up 14 per cent ($59 billion), as Oracle expanded its AI-empowered cloud services and strategic partnerships.
Warren Buffett was at the fifth position with $167 billion, up $23 billion, showing no signs of slowing down. “Committing to donate over 99 per cent of his wealth, he has already contributed more than $60 billion, primarily through the Gates Foundation and foundations established by his children,” the Hurun report said.
Next in line is Larry Page who rose three spots in the rankings and was up 33 per cent with $164 billion, primarily driven by a 33 per cent surge in Alphabet’s stock price.
Bernard Arnault, CEO of LVMH, lost $18 billion, taking him down to seventh place with $157 billion, as LVMH share price continued to be battered by China’s slow economy, France’s political uncertainties and a push back against luxury.
Steve Ballmer, 68, was up 10 per cent to $156 billion and 8th place, with the bulk of his wealth still in Microsoft shares.
Sergey Brin, Former President, Alphabet, climbed two spots into the Top 10, with his wealth rising by 30 per cent to $148 billion. This was largely driven by a significant surge in Alphabet’s stock price.
Bill Gates held on to a Top 10 place, with his wealth up only by 4 per cent to $143 billion. Bill Gates’ primary focus has shifted to investments, having reduced his ownership in Microsoft to just 1 per cent, down from his 45 per cent stake at the time of IPO.
India’s contribution to adding billionaires
Ranked third, India is home to 284 billionaires, having added 13 new ones. While 27 dropped off, the country’s billionaire count continued to grow. Indian billionaires, per the Hurun report, contributed 7 per cent of the total wealth on the list, with seven in the Hurun Top 100.
Reliance Industries Chairman and Managing Director, Mukesh D. Ambani remained India’s richest person even as he saw a decline of $15 billion, as rising debt levels, reduced demand in key sectors, and increased competition for Reliance have further pressured its stock performance.
Gautam Adani saw a 13 per cent surge in wealth, securing 18th place globally, with $97 billion wealth.