There are more than 2600 billionaires globally. Over a quarter of the world’s billionaires live in the United States. While the number of billionaires fell amid the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the figure rebounded and grew again in 2021, falling somewhat by 2023. Together, the ten countries with the most billionaires have 1927 billionaires, about 73% of the global total. Of these countries, Hong Kong has the most billionaires per million people, with 8.698.
Top 10 Countries with the Highest Number of Billionaires:
Country | # of Billionaires |
|---|---|
| United States | 735 |
| China | 495 |
| India | 169 |
| Germany | 126 |
| Russia | 105 |
| Hong Kong | 66 |
| Italy | 64 |
| Canada | 63 |
| United Kingdom | 52 |
| Taiwan | 52 |
How many billionaires are there in the world?
According to Forbes’s 2023 list of billionaires, there were 2,640 billionaires worldwide in 2023, for an average of .34 billionaires per million people. This is 28 fewer than 2022's number. Nearly 50% of the list of the existing billionaires are poorer than they were the year before. The United States has the most billionaires, with 735, followed by China (including Hong Kong and Macau) with 562. These two countries account for almost half of the world’s billionaires. The top billionaire and world’s richest individual is Bernard Arnault, overseeing the LVMH empire (including Louis Vuitton), worth $211 billion. Tesla CEO Elon Musk follows, worth $180 billion. Together, the world’s billionaires are worth $12.2 trillion, down from $12.7 trillion in 2022.
Who Are the Richest People in the World?
The list of the richest people in the world has changed significantly during the past few years. As company values rise and fall, and as people continue to give away their money, the identity of the richest person in the world can change. For example, many people believe Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, is the richest person in the world. However, in 2023 he only came in at number 3, at $114 billion.
Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, was the richest person in the world for a long time. He placed 6th in 2023, with $104 billion. Places #4 and #5 were occupied in 2023 by Larry Ellison ($107B) and Warren Buffett ($106B), respectively.
Is There a Trillionaire?
Right now, there is probably not a trillionaire, but there is someone who is gaining on. The French business tycoon, Bernard Arnault, is the chairman and CEO of the French luxury goods conglomerate called LVMH. This is a company that is responsible for producing a wide variety of luxury goods that are sold all over the world, and its value has gone up quickly, meaning that Bernard Arnault’s net worth has gone up as well. Therefore, some people believe that he will become a trillionaire soon.
Why Does Net Worth Change So Fast?
Some people are wondering how someone's net worth can change so quickly. This has to do with the rise and fall of stock prices. The market cap of a publicly-traded company is closely related to how much its founder, chairman, and CEO are worth. For example, if Amazon's stock price goes down, its overall market cap goes down as well. Because the net worth of Jeff Bezos is closely tied to the value of Amazon stock, his value will drop when the share price of Amazon drops as well. Conversely, when Amazon stock rises in value, his net worth will go up as well.
