The 20 richest people in the world saw their wealth surge by billions in 2023, who are they?

In the year 2023 the rich got richer. According to CEOWORLD magazine, the combined net worth of the top 20 wealthiest people increased by $620 billion last year. Out of these 20 individuals, nine billionaires from the tech industry saw their fortunes grow by $466 billion due to the hype surrounding artificial intelligence. 

Elon Musk made the most amount of money last year, regaining his title as the world’s richest person from Bernard Arnault, a French luxury tycoon. Musk is the CEO of electric car firm Tesla, rocket firm Space X and social media platform X, which was Twitter. He added an incredible $92 billion to his net worth.

Amazon’s Jeff Bezos also saw a significant increase in his wealth with his fortune growing by over $69.9 billion last year. As a result, he is now tied for second place with Bernard Arnault. Additionally, the CEO of Meta Platforms Inc., Mark Zuckerberg, saw his net worth rise by more than $82.5 billion.

Not all billionaires had a successful year however, with Gautam Adani, an Indian billionaire, losing a staggering $36.2 billion in 2023 due to the Adani Group’s declining value which was brought on by short-seller Hindenburg Research. Despite this shortfall, Adani still earned a fortune in the 11-figure range.

Who are the top 20 richest people in the world?

According to CEOWORLD magazine, these are the world’s top 20 wealthiest individuals and how much their wealth surged last year.

1. Elon Musk Net worth: $229 billion Wealth surged by: $92 billion

2. Bernard Arnault Net worth: $179 billion Wealth surged by: $17 billion

3. Jeff Bezos Net worth: $177 billion Wealth surged by: $69.9 billion

4. Bill Gates Net worth: $141 billion Wealth surged by: $31.5 billion

5. Steve Ballmer Net worth: $131 billion Wealth surged by: $45 billion

6. Mark Zuckerberg Net worth: $128 billion Wealth surged by: $82.5 billion

7. Larry Page Net worth: $126 billion Wealth surged by: $43.5 billion

8. Larry Ellison Net worth: $123 billion Wealth surged by: $31.1 billion

9. Sergey Brin Net worth: $120 billion Wealth surged by: $40.6 billion

10. Warren Buffett Net worth: $120 billion Wealth surged by: $12.3 billion

11. Carlos Slim Net worth: $105 billion Wealth surged by: $31 billion

12. Francoise Bettencourt Meyers Net worth: $99.7 billion Wealth surged by: $28.2 billion

13. Mukesh Ambani Net worth: $96.3 billion Wealth surged by: $9.23 billion

14. Amancio Ortega Net worth: $87.5 billion Wealth surged by: $32.9 billion

15. Gautam Adani Net worth: $84.3 billion Wealth lost by: $36.2 billion

16. Michael Dell Net worth: $78.4 billion Wealth surged by: $30.0 billion

17. Jim Walton Net worth: $72.6 billion Wealth surged by: $8.72 billion

18. Rob Walton Net worth: $71.2 billion Wealth surged by: $8.02 billion

19. Alice Walton Net worth: $70.1 billion Wealth surged by: $8.43 billion

20. Zhong Shanshan Net worth: $67.7B Wealth surged by: $155 million