Americans dominate the top 10 of Bloomberg’s billionaire ranking

10:44

By: Azzat Manal

Americans dominate the top 10 of Bloomberg’s billionaire ranking

The global billionaire rankings have undergone a striking shift, with Americans occupying all 10 positions at the top of Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index for the first time since the agency began publishing the ranking in 2012.

The change highlights the growing dominance of U.S. technology companies, financial investments and entrepreneurial fortunes at the highest levels of global wealth. French luxury magnate Bernard Arnault, chairman of LVMH, dropped to 11th place after his fortune declined to around $143 billion, allowing U.S. investor Warren Buffett to enter the top 10 with an estimated wealth of $144 billion.

Tesla and SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk remained firmly at the top of the ranking, with a fortune estimated at approximately $919 billion. His wealth was far ahead of that of Larry Page, Google’s co-founder, who ranked second with around $286 billion.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos occupied third place with an estimated fortune of $274 billion, reinforcing the dominance of technology and digital commerce among the world’s richest individuals.

Google co-founder Sergey Brin ranked fourth with approximately $266 billion, followed by Dell founder Michael Dell, whose wealth was estimated at $245 billion.

Mark Zuckerberg, the head of Meta, ranked sixth with around $229 billion, while Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison held seventh place with an estimated $208 billion.

Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang followed with approximately $181 billion, reflecting the extraordinary rise in the value of companies linked to artificial intelligence and advanced computing. Former Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer ranked ninth with a fortune estimated at $172 billion.

Buffett completed the top 10, becoming the only member of the group whose fortune is primarily associated with long-term investment rather than the creation or leadership of one of the major technology companies dominating the ranking.

The reshuffling illustrates how strongly the fortunes of the world’s wealthiest people are tied to the performance of U.S. markets and technology companies. The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence, cloud computing, digital platforms and semiconductor manufacturing has created enormous increases in the market value of several American corporations, directly benefiting their founders, executives and major shareholders.

The concentration of wealth at the top of the ranking also reflects the increasing role of stock ownership in determining billionaire fortunes. Because many of the individuals on the list hold substantial stakes in publicly traded companies, their net worth can change significantly as share prices fluctuate.

Musk’s extraordinary lead demonstrates the scale of this phenomenon. His fortune, largely linked to his stakes in major technology and industrial ventures, remains dramatically larger than that of the other individuals in the ranking.

The disappearance of non-American billionaires from the top 10 is particularly notable given the historically international nature of the global wealth rankings. Arnault’s move outside the top 10 means that the highest positions are now entirely occupied by U.S. citizens, underlining the financial weight of American corporations and capital markets.

The development also points to the changing structure of global wealth. While luxury goods, manufacturing and traditional investment remain important sources of enormous fortunes, technology and innovation have become increasingly central to the creation of extreme wealth.

The latest ranking therefore offers a snapshot of the continuing influence of the U.S. economy on global private wealth, particularly as artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies reshape financial markets and corporate valuations.