Author: Sofia Chierchio
Translation: Lemin
Source: Forbes
Elon Musk's impact on the trillion-dollar fortune is no longer just theoretical.
At the beginning of the year, his net worth was $421 billion, and by October, he became the first person in history to surpass a net worth of $500 billion. Subsequently, the rocket manufacturer SpaceX launched a share sale plan, reaching a valuation of approximately $800 billion, making Musk the first person ever to have a net worth of $600 billion. Shortly after, a court in Delaware ruled that Musk could retain his previously voided Tesla stock option rewards, which led him to become the first person in the world with a net worth exceeding $700 billion last Friday. As the year draws to a close, as of December 22, Musk's net worth has reached $754 billion.
Musk is undoubtedly the biggest winner this year, with his net worth increasing by over $333 billion throughout the year, equivalent to a daily increase of $935 million. This growth not only ranks first among global billionaires but also surpasses the net worth increase of any other billionaire. Currently, the second richest person in the world is Google co-founder Larry Page, with a net worth of $255 billion.
However, Musk is not the only billionaire whose wealth has surged significantly over the past year. Throughout the year, the combined net worth of over 3,100 billionaires worldwide increased by $3.6 trillion, totaling $18.7 trillion.
Most global stock markets are expected to perform well in 2025, driving the wealth of billionaires to new heights. The S&P 500 index had an annual return of 17%, while major stock indices in Germany, Japan, and Canada performed even better, with increases of 22%, 26%, and 30%, respectively. Of course, compared to others, some billionaires have experienced even more prosperous fortunes: the ten biggest winners already had astonishing wealth, and their net worth increased by over $729 billion in the past year.
Among the top ten winners, six are American billionaires, accounting for over 85% of the total wealth increase among these six individuals. This data clearly indicates that the new wave of wealth creation is highly concentrated in this country, governed by billionaire presidents and cabinet members with substantial wealth. With a surge in investments in the field of artificial intelligence and the U.S. striving to take the lead in the AI race, the top five wealth gainers this year are all giants in the American tech industry.
Here are the ten billionaires with the most wealth growth in 2025.
1. Elon Musk
Net Worth: $754 billion
2025 Wealth Growth: $333 billion
Industry: Technology
Nationality: United States
Image Source: Getty Images
At the beginning of December, Musk's SpaceX saw its valuation nearly double to $800 billion. Investors revealed to Forbes that the company plans to launch its initial public offering (IPO) in 2026, with a projected valuation of $1.5 trillion, which would help Musk become the world's first trillionaire. In November, Tesla shareholders voted to approve a compensation plan that would grant Musk stock rewards worth $1 trillion (before taxes and related costs) if performance targets are met. Tesla's stock price has increased by 22% over the past year. Additionally, Musk's xAI Holdings (formed by the merger of the AI startup xAI and the social media platform X) is negotiating a new round of financing, with a valuation potentially reaching $230 billion, nearly doubling from its valuation in March this year. It seems that the world's richest person will have an even more brilliant 2026 than 2025.
2. Larry Page
Net Worth: $254.7 billion
2025 Wealth Growth: $98.7 billion
Industry: Technology
Nationality: United States
Last month, Google's quarterly revenue surpassed $100 billion for the first time. At the same time, the company launched its latest AI model, Gemini 3, which outperforms similar products from competitors like OpenAI, further solidifying Google's leadership in the AI field. Notably, the training process for this model did not use Nvidia's graphics processing unit chips. In early December, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced that the Department of Defense is adopting Gemini 3 to develop an internal AI platform for the military. Page and Sergey Brin co-founded Google in 1998, and although they stepped down from day-to-day management in 2019, they still hold board seats and collectively own over 6% of the tech giant's shares. Google's stock price has increased by 61% in 2025, making Page and Brin the biggest beneficiaries.
3. Sergey Brin
Net Worth: $235.1 billion
2025 Wealth Growth: $86.1 billion
Industry: Technology
Nationality: United States
Image Source: Corbis via Getty Images
4. Jensen Huang
Net Worth: $159.5 billion
2025 Wealth Growth: $42.3 billion
Industry: Technology
Nationality: United States
Image Source: Ethan Pines for Forbes
In 1993, Jensen Huang co-founded Nvidia and still serves as the company's CEO and president. Driven by the explosive growth in demand for AI chips, in October, this graphics chip manufacturer became the first publicly traded company in history to surpass a market capitalization of $5 trillion. Although the company's stock price later corrected by 11%, it still rose by 37% compared to the beginning of the year. Huang holds about 3% of the company's shares, and his net worth has increased by nearly $36 billion due to the rise in stock prices. He even tattooed Nvidia's logo on his deltoid.
5. Larry Ellison
Net Worth: $250.3 billion
2025 Wealth Growth: $40.6 billion
Industry: Technology
Nationality: United States
Image Source: Jamel Toppin for Forbes
On September 10, driven by the AI boom, Oracle's stock price surged 36% in a single day, causing co-founder and CTO Larry Ellison's net worth to increase by nearly $100 billion, setting a record for the highest single-day wealth increase in history. Although the company's stock price later fell by 40%, Ellison's wealth still remains substantial. Additionally, he gained partial control of the short video social platform TikTok and facilitated an $8 billion deal this summer—his son David's Skydance Media merged with entertainment giant Paramount.
Undoubtedly, the success of this deal is partly due to Ellison's long-standing close relationship with Trump. At a rally in July, Trump remarked about Ellison, "I think he would run CBS very well; this acquisition is a great deal. He is a terrific guy." However, due to related reports from CBS's "60 Minutes," Trump has recently begun to criticize Ellison and his son.
6. Amancio Ortega
Net Worth: $145.2 billion
2025 Wealth Growth: $28.7 billion
Industry: Fashion and Retail
Nationality: Spain
Image Source: Getty Images
Despite a general reduction in clothing spending among global consumers, the retail giant Inditex, founded by Ortega (which owns the affordable fashion brand Zara), has seen sales grow against the trend. The company's net profit for the first three quarters of 2025 reached a historic high of $5.4 billion, a year-on-year increase of 3.9%, driven by the improving domestic economy in Spain and the company's expansion and renovation plans in the U.S. This plan involves 30 stores, including a new 33,000-square-foot Zara flagship store on the Las Vegas Strip and a 26,300-square-foot store in Los Angeles. Ortega holds about 60% of the company and received over $3 billion in pre-tax dividend payouts this year, which he has invested in the real estate market in Europe and the U.S.
7. Germán Larrea Mota-Velasco and Family
Net Worth: $51.4 billion
2025 Wealth Growth: $25.6 billion
Industry: Metals and Mining
Nationality: Mexico
Driven by strong demand, supply shortages, and tariff concerns, copper prices have continued to rise this year, benefiting Larrea, who heads Mexico's largest copper mining company, Grupo México. The company's diversification strategy has also proven effective, with its stock price increasing nearly 100% this year. Thanks to the increased production and sales of molybdenum (a metal used to enhance steel performance and accelerate refining processes), zinc, silver, and other products, the company's net profit in the third quarter increased by 50% year-on-year.
8. Masayoshi Son
Net Worth: $56.1 billion
2025 Wealth Growth: $25.4 billion
Industry: Finance and Investment
Nationality: Japan
Image Source: Getty Images
The founder of SoftBank has seen a significant increase in his net worth this year. The conglomerate has intensified its investments in AI infrastructure this year, including the $6.5 billion acquisition of the American chip design company Ampere Computing Holdings in November. Son stated that this acquisition is crucial for driving innovation in AI computing technology. To fund his ambitious plans, SoftBank sold $5.8 billion worth of Nvidia stock to raise capital for large projects, such as the $500 billion "Interstellar Gateway" project, which aims to build data centers in the U.S., with other participants including OpenAI and Oracle.
9. (Tied) Mark Zuckerberg
Net Worth: $226.8 billion
2025 Wealth Growth: $24.3 billion
Industry: Technology
Nationality: United States
Image Source: Getty Images
Facebook's parent company Meta has shown steady performance this year. The company continues to increase its investment in the field of artificial intelligence, with revenue reaching $141 billion in the first nine months of 2025, a year-on-year increase of 21%. In 2004, a 19-year-old Mark Zuckerberg was still a student at Harvard University when he founded Facebook. Today, he holds about 13% of the company's shares and still serves as CEO. So far this year, the company's stock price has increased by 13%.
9. (Tied) Carlos Slim Helú
Net Worth: $101.6 billion
2025 Wealth Growth: $24.3 billion
Industry: Telecommunications
Nationality: Mexico
Image Source: Getty Images
As Mexico's richest person, Carlos Slim Helú and his family control América Móvil, the largest mobile telecommunications operator in Latin America. This year, the group added over 3 million mobile users, with total revenue in the first nine months increasing by 10.5% year-on-year. Slim's diversified group, Grupo Carso, is involved in construction, energy, and retail, and this year has made several moves in the energy sector, including a $2 billion cooperation agreement with Pemex, Mexico's state-owned oil company, to develop up to 32 oil and gas wells. Despite the global market turbulence caused by tariffs imposed by the Trump administration, various goods from Mexico enjoy tariff exemptions, and the exchange rate of the Mexican peso against the dollar has also risen by nearly 15% this year.
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