Written by: Sofia Chierchio
Compiled by: Lemin
Source: Forbes
Elon Musk's push toward a trillion-dollar net worth is no longer just on paper.
At the beginning of the year, his net worth was $421 billion. By October, he became the first person in history to surpass $500 billion. Subsequently, the rocket manufacturer SpaceX initiated a share sale plan, valuing the company at approximately $800 billion, making Musk the first person to reach $600 billion. Then, a court in Delaware ruled that Musk could retain the previously voided massive Tesla stock option award, which pushed his net worth past $700 billion last Friday, making him the world's first person to exceed that amount. As the year-end approaches, 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, equivalent to a daily increase of $935 million. This growth is not only the highest among global billionaires but also exceeds the total net worth 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 grown significantly over the past year. Throughout the year, the net worth of over 3,100 billionaires worldwide increased by a combined $3.6 trillion, reaching a total of $18.7 trillion.
Most global stock markets performed well in 2025, driving the rise in billionaires' wealth. The S&P 500 index achieved a total return of 17% for the year, while major indices in Germany, Japan, and Canada performed even better, with gains of 22%, 26%, and 30%, respectively. Of course, some billionaires had even better fortunes than others: the ten biggest winners, who were already incredibly wealthy, saw their net worth surge 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 growth. This data clearly indicates that the new wave of wealth creation is highly concentrated in a country led by a billionaire president and with a cabinet of wealthy members. With the surge in investments in the artificial intelligence sector and the U.S. striving to lead the AI race, the top five wealth gainers this year are all tech titans from the United States.
Here are the ten billionaires with the largest wealth increases in 2025.
1. Elon Musk
Net worth: $754.4 billion
Wealth growth in 2025: $333.2 billion
Industry: Technology
Nationality: United States
Image source: Getty Images
In early December, Musk's SpaceX nearly doubled its valuation to $800 billion. Investors told Forbes that the company plans to launch an initial public offering (IPO) in 2026, with an expected valuation of $1.5 trillion, which would help Musk become the world's first trillionaire. In November, Tesla shareholders approved a compensation package that, if performance targets are met, would grant Musk stock awards worth $1 trillion (before taxes and related costs). Tesla's stock price has risen 22% over the past year. Additionally, Musk's xAI Holdings (formed by the merger of AI startup xAI and social media platform X) is in talks for a new round of financing, with a potential worth of $230 billion, nearly double its valuation in March. It seems that the world's richest person's 2026 could be even brighter than 2025.
2. Larry Page
Net worth: $254.7 billion
Wealth growth in 2025: $98.7 billion
Industry: Technology
Nationality: United States
Last month, Google's quarterly revenue exceeded $100 billion for the first time. At the same time, the company launched its latest AI model, Gemini 3, which outperforms competitors like OpenAI, further solidifying Google's leadership in the AI field. Notably, the model was trained without using Nvidia's GPU chips. In early December, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced that the Department of Defense is using Gemini 3 to develop an internal AI platform for the military. Page and Brin co-founded Google in 1998. Although they stepped down from day-to-day management in 2019, they retained board seats and, as controlling shareholders, collectively hold over 6% of the tech giant's shares. Google's stock price rose 61% in 2025, making Page and Brin among the biggest beneficiaries.
3. Sergey Brin
Net worth: $235.1 billion
Wealth growth in 2025: $86.1 billion
Industry: Technology
Nationality: United States
Image source: Corbis via Getty Images
4. Jensen Huang
Net worth: $159.5 billion
Wealth growth in 2025: $42.3 billion
Industry: Technology
Nationality: United States
Image source: Ethan Pines for Forbes
Jensen Huang co-founded Nvidia in 1993 and still serves as its CEO and president. Driven by explosive demand for AI chips, the graphics chip maker became the first publicly traded company to reach a market capitalization of $5 trillion in October. Although the stock price has since corrected by 11%, it is still up 37% year-to-date. Huang owns about 3% of the company, and his net worth has increased by nearly $36 billion due to the stock's rise. He also has the Nvidia company logo tattooed on his shoulder.
5. Larry Ellison
Net worth: $250.3 billion
Wealth growth in 2025: $40.6 billion
Industry: Technology
Nationality: United States
Image source: Jamel Toppin for Forbes
On September 10, fueled by the AI boom, Oracle's stock price surged 36% in a single day, and its co-founder and CTO Larry Ellison saw his net worth increase by nearly $100 billion, setting a record for the largest single-day wealth increase in history. Although the stock price has since fallen 40%, and Ellison's net worth has retreated somewhat, his gains for the year remain substantial. Additionally, he gained partial control of the short-video social platform TikTok and facilitated an $8 billion deal this summer—the merger of his son David's Skydance Media with entertainment giant Paramount.
Undoubtedly, this deal was partly made possible by Ellison's long-standing close relationship with Trump. Trump said of Ellison at a rally in July: "I think he will run CBS very well; this acquisition is a great deal. He's a great guy." However, Trump has recently begun criticizing the Ellisons due to coverage by CBS's "60 Minutes" program.
6. Amancio Ortega
Net worth: $145.2 billion
Wealth growth in 2025: $28.7 billion
Industry: Fashion & Retail
Nationality: Spain
Image source: Getty Images
Despite global consumers generally cutting back on clothing spending, sales at Ortega's retail giant Inditex (which owns the affordable fashion brand Zara) have bucked the trend. The company's net profit for the first three quarters of 2025 reached a record high of $5.4 billion, a year-on-year increase of 3.9%, driven by a strong domestic economy in Spain and the company's store expansion and renovation plan in the U.S. The plan involves 30 stores, such as a new 33,000-square-foot Zara flagship on the Las Vegas Strip and a 26,300-square-foot store in Los Angeles. Ortega owns about 60% of the company and received over $3 billion in pre-tax dividend payments this year, which he has invested in real estate in Europe and the U.S.
7. Germán Larrea Mota Velasco & family
Net worth: $51.4 billion
Wealth growth in 2025: $25.6 billion
Industry: Metals & Mining
Nationality: Mexico
Driven by strong demand, supply shortages, and tariff concerns, copper prices have risen steadily this year, greatly benefiting Larrea—who heads Mexico's largest copper mining company, Grupo México. The company's diversification strategy has also been highly effective, with its stock price nearly doubling this year. Thanks to increased production and sales of molybdenum (a metal used to strengthen steel and speed up oil refining), zinc, and silver, the company's third-quarter net profit increased by 50% year-on-year.
8. Masayoshi Son
Net worth: $56.1 billion
Wealth growth in 2025: $25.4 billion
Industry: Finance & Investments
Nationality: Japan
Image source: Getty Images
The founder of SoftBank saw his net worth rise significantly this year. The conglomerate increased its investments in AI infrastructure, including the acquisition of U.S. chip design company Ampere Computing Holdings for $6.5 billion 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, using the proceeds to advance large-scale projects such as the $500 billion "Stargate" plan—a project aimed at building data centers in the U.S., with other participants including OpenAI and Oracle.
9. (Tie) Mark Zuckerberg
Net worth: $226.8 billion
Wealth growth in 2025: $24.3 billion
Industry: Technology
Nationality: United States
Image source: Getty Images
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, had a solid year. The company continued to increase its investments in AI, with revenue reaching $141 billion in the first nine months of 2025, a 21% year-on-year increase. In 2004, 19-year-old Zuckerberg, then a Harvard student, founded Facebook. Today, he owns about 13% of the company and still serves as CEO. So far this year, the company's stock price has risen 13%.
9. (Tie) Carlos Slim Helú
Net worth: $101.6 billion
Wealth growth in 2025: $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 subscribers, and total revenue for the first nine months increased by 10.5% year-on-year. Slim's conglomerate, Grupo Carso, which is involved in construction, energy, and retail, made frequent moves in the energy sector this year, such as a $2 billion cooperation agreement with Mexico's state-owned oil company Pemex to develop up to 32 oil and gas wells. Despite market volatility caused by tariff increases from the Trump administration, many Mexican goods were exempt from tariffs, and the Mexican peso appreciated nearly 15% against the U.S. dollar this year.
