Bernard Arnault, LVMH tycoon

French luxury goods titan Bernard Arnault tops the World’s Billionaires ranking for the first time, with an estimated net worth of $211 billion, on the back of a banner year at LVMH. He unseats Elon Musk, who drops to the second spot with an estimated net worth ($180 billion) that is $39 billion less than a
year ago, following his highly publicized takeover of Twitter and plummeting shares in Tesla.

“It’s been another rare down year for the planet’s richest people,” says Chase Peterson-Withorn, Forbes Senior Editor, Wealth. “Nearly half the list is poorer than they were 12 months ago, but a lucky few are billions — or even tens of billions — of dollars richer.”

Altogether, the planet’s billionaires are now worth $12.2 trillion, down from $12.7 trillion in March 2022.

Key Highlights:

• Newcomers: This year’s ranking features 150 newcomers, including basketball legend LeBron James, fashion designer Tom Ford and golf great Tiger Woods – a significantly fewer than last year’s 236 newcomers.

• Women: Women comprise of 13% of the list, up from 12% a year ago. There are 337 women billionaires, up from 327 in 2022.

• Globally: The United States still has more billionaires than any other country, with 736, followed by China (including Hong Kong and Macau), with 562.

• Young billionaires: There are 15 billionaires who are 30 or younger, including 30-year-old Red Bull heir Mark Mateschitz ($34.7 billion), who is this year’s richest newcomer.

• Drop-offs: In all, 254 people fell off the list in 2023; another 33 died. Notable drop-offs include FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard and musician Kanye West.

To view the full list, visit www.forbes.com/billionaires.

The 2023 Billionaires issue features multiple covers, including: Jimmy Buffett, Dominika Kulczyk, Jimmy Rane and Cliff Asness.

Feature stories:

• Jimmy Buffett: Jimmy Buffett spun tranquil vibes and sun-kissed tropical rock anthems into a ten-figure financial and lifestyle empire.

• Cliff Asness: The shares of sleepy companies have recently bested those of exciting companies.

This is just the beginning of a big trend, says the billionaire money man running AQR.

Methodology

The Forbes World’s Billionaires list is a snapshot of wealth using stock prices and currency exchange rates from March 10, 2023.

For the 2023 list, methodology and features, visit: www.forbes.com/billionaires.

To follow the conversation on social, use: #ForbesBillionaires

About Forbes

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