Forbes World Billionaire list; Rihanna, Jay-Z and Kim Kardashian included in 2023 list, Kanye drops out

With April now in full swing, it marks the start of a new financial year for business-people and entrepreneurs alike. Which means that Forbes have released their latest list of the world’s billionaires from April 2022 to March 2023, with a few surprise omissions now officially recognized from the financial publication giant. 

Topping the list for 2023 is Bernard Arnault and family; the French business magnate, investor, and art collector is the founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton and perhaps more interestingly from the list is that he is the only billionaire this financial year to have eclipsed the $200 billion USD mark - surpassing Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos in the process.

But in the world of entertainment, though they are still billionaires, a number of celebrities have found themselves dropping down the list. Or in the case of Kanye West, not appearing at all, with the fallout from his comments in 2022 and subsequent endorsement deals withdrawn seeing him drop completely out of the 2640 person strong list.

It is Jay-Z though who can celebrate today, with the Roc Nation founder and husband to Beyoncé being the highest-earning personality in the billionaires list with a net worth of $2.5 billion USD, and even more impressive was that the businessman (or in his words he’s a “business, man”) was one of a rare few figures in the list that actually increased their net worth by $1.1 billion USD. Part of that increased amount comes from the sale of his D’USSÉ cognac back to its parent company Bacardi in February 2023, he reportedly took home a cool $750 million.

Rihanna has also made back-to-back appearances on the list since her debut in 2022. Through her FENTY Beauty line of cosmetics, renewed interest in her back catalogue since her Super Bowl half-time show appearance and impending collaborative efforts with sportswear brands and fashion houses saw the Barbadian singer reel in $1.4 billion USD in 2023. But that isn’t quite the heights that she reached this time last year, when she crashed into the Forbes list with a net worth of $1.7 billion.

Kim Kardashian also makes her third appearance on the list, having debuted in the Forbes Billionaires list in 2021 when she made her first billion dollars, then improving on that mark in 2022 reaching a net worth of $1.8 billion USD. But for 2023, she is another celebrity that has fallen down the pecking order, with Forbes citing that the Keeping Up With the Kardashian star is worth $1.2 billion USD this year - a drop of $600 million from her last appearance. Interestingly, none of her other family members have made the list.

The full list of billionaires, including a timeline of their presence on the Forbes list over time, is available to peruse on the magazine’s official website. But for those who don’t have the time to pour through the facts and figures, PeopleWorld brings to you the top ten billionaires in the world, according to the 2023 list. 

Forbes Billionaires List - Top 10 

1. Bernard Arnault ($211 billion)
2. Elon Musk ($180 billion)
3. Jeff Bezos ($114 billion)
4. Larry Ellison ($107 billion)
5. Warren Buffet ($106 billion)
6. Bill Gates ($104 billion)
7. Michael Bloomberg ($94.5 billion)
8. Carlos Slim Helu ($93 billion)
9. Mukesh Ambani ($83.4 billion)
10. Steve Ballmer ($80.7 billion)