In a culture and period when ambition and entrepreneurialism are highly valued, there is a select group of people who have become very wealthy. These outstanding leaders are at the top of their fields because of their vision and creativity; they are now among the world’s richest people.
Because, after all, the wealth of the world’s top 10 individuals is more than the GDP of several countries. Their current sources of wealth come mostly from the IT, financial, and retail sectors. And the widening gap in wealth between them and the rest of us is a major cause to worry.
This article names the top 10 wealthiest persons in the world, illuminating their extraordinary achievements, business acumen, and widespread impact on the global economy.
Top 10 Richest People in the World 2023
| Rank | Name | Country | Net Worth (in Billions) | Net Worth (in Rs crore) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Elon Musk | USA | $239.5 | 19,64,911 |
| 2 | Bernard Arnault & family | France | $224.6 | 18,42,668 |
| 3 | Jeff Bezos | USA | $152.8 | 12,53,605 |
| 4 | Larry Ellison | USA | $151.1 | 12,39,658 |
| 5 | Bill Gates | USA | $118.2 | 9,69,739 |
| 6 | Warren Buffett | USA | $117.3 | 9,62,355 |
| 7 | Larry Page | USA | $104.6 | 8,58,161 |
| 8 | Steve Ballmer | USA | $103.8 | 8,51,598 |
| 9 | Mark Zuckerberg | USA | $101.1 | 8,29,447 |
| 10 | Carlos Slim Helu | Mexico | $100.0 | 8,204,22 |
Elon Musk – World’s Richest Person
Elon Musk has more wealth than anybody else in this world. He now serves as CEO of numerous major organisations, including Tesla, an electric vehicle manufacturer, and SpaceX, an aerospace and exploration firm. He has a 23% interest in Tesla right now. About two-thirds of his fortune is dependent on Tesla’s performance. In October 2022, Musk made waves when he paid $44 billion to acquire Twitter.
In 2010, under Musk’s leadership, Tesla went public. Musk became one of the world’s top 10 wealthiest persons in September 2021, because of the company’s meteoric rise in market capitalization over 2020 and 2021. In November 2021, Musk’s wealth peaked at an incredible $320 billion.
Bernard Arnault & Family World’s 2nd Richest Person
LVMH, which includes Moet Hennessy and Louis Vuitton, is the greatest luxury goods firm in the world. It is headed by Bernard Arnault, the second wealthiest person on the planet. Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Moet & Chandon, and Sephora are just some of the luxury brands it represents. LVMH completed its $15.8 billion purchase of Tiffany & Co. in January 2021.
Arnault’s all five kids have their hands in different parts of the family business. He handed up leadership of Dior, the group’s second biggest brand, to his daughter Delphine in January 2023.
World’s 3rd Richest Person – Jeff Bezos
In July 2021, Jeff Bezos resigned as CEO but remained chairman of the board of the massive online retailer Amazon. This was the same month that he launched into space on a rocket built by his own private space exploration business, Blue Origin, which he had founded and lavishly supported with billions of dollars.
Larry Ellison #4
Oracle was a software company that Larry Ellison co-founded in 1977 and led as CEO until 2014. He now serves as both chairman and CTO of the firm. Ellison paid $300 million to purchase the Hawaiian island of Lanai in 2012. The purchase made headlines throughout the world. In addition to his work at Oracle, Ellison is interested in investing, most notably a sizable holding in Tesla, where he was a director from 2018 to 2022.
Bill Gates #5
Forbes originally labelled Gates a billionaire in 1987. He was consistently the wealthiest person in the world from 1995 to 2017, with the exceptions of 2008 and 2010–2013. Following their divorce in 2021, Melinda French Gates received at least $6 billion in shares as part of the settlement. Forbes reports that between May 1 and June 1 of 2023, Gates’ wealth increased by a modest $500 million, moving him up one notch to fifth on their list of the world’s richest people.
Warren Buffett #6
Warren Buffett, sometimes known as the “Oracle of Omaha,” is regarded as one of the best investors in history. He presides over Berkshire Hathaway, an investing giant that includes Geico Insurance, Duracell Batteries, and the Dairy Queen food chain among its many subsidiaries.
To encourage billionaires to devote at least half of their fortunes goes to charity, Buffett, Bill Gates, and Melinda French Gates created the pledge of giving in 2010. Buffett has pledged to give away 99% of his money to charity, demonstrating his everlasting devotion to philanthropy.
Larry Page #7
Google was started in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, two PhD students at Stanford. Page served as CEO from its inception in 1998 until 2001, and again from 2011 to 2015. He continues to have considerable influence as a key stakeholder and board member of Alphabet (Google’s parent company). In addition, Page was an integral part of Planetary Resources, a firm dedicated to space exploration, as a founding investor.
Steve Ballmer #8
From 2000 to 2014, Microsoft was led by Steve Ballmer, a Harvard University classmate of Bill Gates. After abandoning his MBA studies at Stanford, he joined Microsoft in 1980 as the company’s 30th employee.
In the same year that Ballmer announced his retirement from Microsoft, he made news by paying a then-record $2 billion to purchase the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association.
Mark Zuckerberg #9
American computer programmer, business mogul, internet entrepreneur, and philanthropist Mark Elliot Zuckerberg. He is the executive chairman, chief executive officer, and controlling shareholder of Meta Platforms, the holding company for Facebook.
Carlos Slim Helu #10
América Móvil, the biggest mobile telecommunications business in Latin America, is controlled by Carlos Slim Helu and his family and operates in more than 15 countries. América Móvil was formed after Slim and other international telecom partners purchased Telmex from the government in 1990. Slim is not just involved in the telecommunications sector in Mexico, but also in the building, consumer goods, mining, and real estate sectors.