With every passing year, more opportunities arise for the rich and elite in the world to claim a spot as one of the richest people in the world. It’s the ultimate achievement in the world of the rich. While some have held on to their positions, others have been succeeded by new leaders and innovators. Including the top 10 on this list, there are 1,810 billionaires recorded in the world today, their combined net worths totaling over 6.5 trillion dollars.
Top 10 Richest People In The World In 2024
Without further ado, let’s take a look at who these people are.
10. Mukesh Ambani – $90.7 Billion
Mukesh Ambani is the managing director and chairman of Reliance Industries Ltd., a Fortune 500 company that’s also the most valuable company in India by market value. The second richest person in Asia, he has a current net worth of $90.7 billion.
Raised in Mumbai, he attended the Institute of Chemical Technology, from which he received a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering. He later attended Stanford University for a short period before returning to India to help his father’s business. By then, the company, Reliance Industries Limited, had already expanded so that it dealt with petrochemicals and refining.
Fast forward to 2024 and the business has become one of the most profitable companies in India. Not only that but they’re also the largest employer in India with more than 360,000 employees worldwide. In 2022 alone, their net income was over $8.5 billion USD.
Aside from managing the company, he’s also the President of Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University and a Member of the Board of Governors at the Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai, among other things. In 2016, he was also given an Other Gold Medal by the Chemical Heritage Foundation.
9. Steve Ballmer – $91.4 Billion
Steve Ballmer was the CEO of Microsoft from 2000 to 2004. He was hired by Bill Gates in 1980 and eventually became president of the company in 1998; he later replaced Gates as CEO in 2000. During his tenure, he doubled Microsoft’s profits and tripled sales.
Currently, he’s the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers and has a net worth of around $91.4 billion, making him one of the richest people in the world. He had purchased the NBA team for an alleged $2 billion back in 2014. And more recently in 2020, he agreed to purchase The Kia Forum in Inglewood California.
A philanthropist, he and his wife have donated tens of millions of dollars to numerous causes over the years. In 2014, they donated $50 million to the University of Oregon, where he had previously served on the board of trustees. That same year, they also donated $60 million to the computer science department at Harvard University.
In 2017, he also launched a non-profit called USAFacts.org, whose goal is to allow individuals to understand US government spending and revenue. Since then, he is reported to have contributed over $10 million to the organization.
8. Larry Ellison – $106 Billion
Larry Ellison is the co-founder and executive chairman of Oracle Corporation, a multinational computer technology corporation that sells cloud-engineered systems, database software, and enterprise resource planning software, among other things. In 2022, the company had a total net income of $6.7 billion USD.
In addition to Oracle, he also owns 98% of Lanai, one of the many islands in the Hawaiian Archipelago; the remaining two percent is owned by the state of Hawaii. He had left California and moved to Lanai for a brief period in 2020.
Not only is he a licensed pilot who owns several aircraft, but he also founded an international racing series called SailGP in 2019. The first season, which began that same year, was ultimately a success with global audiences of more than 1.8 billion. In 2022, he also purchased a 22-acre property in Florida from entrepreneur Jim Clark for $173 million. To date, it’s the most expensive residential property to have ever been purchased in Florida.
Like many billionaires, he has also given back to numerous causes. In 2016, he and his family donated $200 million to the University of Southern California, which would allow them to establish a cancer research center.
7. Sergey Brin – $107 Billion
Sergey Brin co-founded Google with Larry Page in 1996. Up until 2019, he was the president of their parent company, Alphabet Inc. While he has since stepped down from the role, he is still a board member and one of the controlling shareholders. As of 2024, he has an estimated net worth of $107 billion, making him the seventh richest person in the world.
Born in Moscow, he and his family immigrated to the United States when he was six years old. After earning a bachelor’s degree at the University of Maryland, he received an M.S. in computer science from Stanford University in 1995. Ultimately, it was there that he met Page during an orientation for new students, with whom he eventually founded Google. As it is, the web search engine became so popular at Stanford that they halted their PhD studies to start it up.
Not only are they business partners, but they’re also lifelong friends who jointly own a customized Dornier/Dassault Alpha Jet/Boeing 767. Allegedly, it costs them $1.3 million a year in housing fees. In 2008, Brin also invested $4.5 million in the Virginia-based space tourism company Space Adventures.
6. Larry Page – $111 Billion
Larry Page is a computer scientist who co-founded Google with Sergey Brin. From 1997 to 2001, he was the chief executive officer of Google; he later became the CEO of Alphabet Inc., Google’s parent company, in 2011, a position that he held until December 2019. Like Brin, he remains an Alphabet employee, board member, and controlling shareholder.
He’s also the co-creator of PageRank, the algorithm that Google uses for its search engine. In addition to that, he has invested in a number of companies including the flying car startup Kitty Hawk as well as Tesla Motors.
In 2008, he also helped launch Singularity University, a Santa Clara-based company that offers business consultancy services and executive educational programs, as a corporate founder. To this day, he still funds scholarships at the university.
He and his family have also established the Carl Victor Page Memorial Fund, which holds billions of dollars in assets. Over the years, they have donated tens of millions of dollars to a variety of different causes. For instance, they gave $15 million to aid the Ebola virus epidemic efforts in West Africa in 2013.
5. Warren Buffett – $118 Billion
Warren Buffett is the CEO and chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, a multinational conglomerate holding company that operates in numerous sectors including retail, confectionary, railroads, natural gas distribution, and electrical power. However, their main source of capital is insurance (they own the auto insurance brand GEICO).
Born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska, Buffett developed an interest in business in his youth. After graduating from Columbia Business School, he studied at the New York Institute of Finance, after which he began a business relationship with Benjamin Graham. He also created Buffett Partnership, Ltd in 1956. Shortly afterward, the firm acquired Berkshire Hathaway, which was a textile manufacturing company at the time.
Often referred to as the “Oracle of Omaha”, he has been the chairman of Berkshire Hathaway since 1970. Despite his immense wealth, he is known for his frugality. He’s also a philanthropist and has pledged to donate 99% of his fortune to different causes via the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In 2010, he also founded The Giving Pledge, a campaign that encourages billionaires to give away the majority of their wealth to philanthropic causes, with Bill Gates. To date, the pledges are estimated to be over $600 billion.
4. Bill Gates – $129 Billion
Bill Gates co-founded Microsoft with his late childhood friend Paul Allen. Throughout the years, he has held several positions including president, chairman, chief software architect, and chief executive officer. Up until May 2014, he was also the largest individual shareholder.
Born and raised in Seattle, he and Allen founded Microsoft in 1975. While he initially led the company as CEO and chairman, he stepped down in 2000, though he remained chairman of the board of directors. Later in 2008, he transitioned to a part-time role, which allows him to work full-time at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the world’s largest private charity that he established with his then-wife in 2000.
More recently in 2020, he left his board position at Microsoft to focus on his philanthropic work on global health, climate change, and education.
Since 1987, Gates has been included in Forbes’ list of wealthiest people in the world. For many years from 1995 to 2017, he also held the title of the richest person in the world. He was later surpassed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
As of 2024, he has an estimated net worth of $129 billion, making him the fourth wealthiest person in the world.
3. Bernard Arnault – $158 Billion
Bernard Arnault is the co-founder, chief executive, and chairman of Louis Vuitton, the largest luxury goods company in the world. As of 2024, he and his family have an estimated net worth of $158 billion, making him the fourth richest person in the world.
Born and raised in Roubaix, France, he began working for his father’s company after graduating from Cole Polytechnique. Several years later, he acquired Financiere Agache, a luxury goods company, with the help of Antoine Bernheim.
It wasn’t until the late 80s that he decided to create a group of luxury brands. Working with the president of Louis Vuitton, Henry Racamier, and the CEO of Moet Hennessy Alain Chevalier, he formed LVMH Moet Hennessy – Louis Vuitton SE in 1987. By 1999, he had become the richest person in the fashion industry.
He’s also known for having an exquisite art collection, which includes works by Andy Warhol, Yves Klein, Picasso, and Henry Moore. From 1999 to 2003, he also owned the British art auction house Phillips de Pury & Company.
2. Jeff Bezos – $158 Billion
Jeff Bezos is the founder, CEO, and executive chairman of Amazon. As of 2024, he has an estimated net worth of $158 billion, making him the second wealthiest person in the world. During the COVID-19 pandemic alone, his wealth increased by nearly $24 billion.
Originally from Albuquerque, he attended Princeton University, from which he obtained a bachelor in computer science and electrical engineering in 1986. After working on Wall Street for a few years, he founded Amazon in late 1994. Initially an online book store, it quickly expanded to include other eco-commerce products and services including cloud computing, and video and audio streaming. Today, it’s the largest online sales company in the world and the largest internet company by revenue. In 2021, they had a total net income of $33.3 billion.
Aside from Amazon, he also founded the aerospace manufacturer Blue Origin in 2000. Since then, their New Shepard vehicle has successfully reached space and returned to Earth. In 2013, he also purchased The Washington Post for $250 million. That’s not all, he also has many other investments including the biotech company Alto Labs, which he co-founded with Yuri Milner in 2021.
That same year, he and his half-brother flew to space in a suborbital flight that lasted more than 10 minutes.
1. Elon Musk – $219 Billion
Elon Musk is the founder and CEO of Tesla, Inc, an automotive company that’s known for their electric vehicles. In 2021, they sold more than 936,000 vehicles worldwide, which is an 87 percent increase from 2020. That same year, the company’s market capitalization reached $1 trillion; they are the sixth company to have achieved such a feat in the United States.
Aside from Tesla, he is also the founder of SpaceX, a space transport services company and aerospace manufacturer that’s based in California. They currently manufacture several vehicles including the Falcon Heavy, Dragon spacecraft, Starship, and Falcon 9.
In 2006, he also helped create the solar energy company SolarCity, which has since been acquired and renamed Tesla Energy. That’s not all, he also co-founded the non-profit AI research company OpenAI in 2015 and the neurotechnology startup Neuralink in 2016, the latter of which costed him $100 million in investments.In 2017, he also founded the Boring Company to construct underground tunnels for high-occupancy vehicles. While two subsequent projects have been canceled in LA and Chicago, construction has been approved for a tunnel in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
And more recently in 2022, he purchased Twitter for $44 billion, a decision that has sparked much controversy.
