American magazine Forbes calculates the wealth of the richest billionaires on the planet by analysing fluctuations in the markets, and the rankings on January 1, 2025, make it clear that tech is still king.
Elon Musk retains the top spot - and with Donald Trump’s return to The White House will only grow in influence, too. And as we look down the list, we see the familiar names - Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Google inventors Sergey Brin and Larry Page, and Oracle creator Larry Ellison all dominant.
In the top 10, only luxury goods magnate Bernard Arnault and investor Warren Buffett are not in the tech field - and after the 2024 that chip manufacturer Nvidia had, few would bet against Jensen Huang leapfrogging those two in the next 12 months.
For those interested, the places from 11 to 20 do see a more varied roster. There are tech barons such as Michael Dell, but also - individually - the Rob, Jim and Alice Walton, scions of the Walmart dynasty. And you’ll also see a familiar face placed 16th - Bill Gates, Microsoft founder and erstwhile world’s richest man. He has donated about $60bn to the charitable Gates Foundation so far.

1. Elon Musk
Elon Musk's net worth is estimated at $421.2bn. He cofounded seven companies, including electric car maker Tesla, rocket producer SpaceX and artificial intelligence startup xAI and has risen to greater prominence recently firstly through buying Twitter - renamed X - and entwining himself with Donald Trump's successful re-election bid. Now leading a 'waste-cutting' department in the US government, his influence - and wealth - is only likely to grow in 2025. He was the richest person in the world at the beginning of 2024 too. Photo: Andrew Harnik

2. Jeff Bezos
Amazon chairman and founder Jeff Bezos is worth $233.5bn, about $60bn more than this time last year, when he was placed third. He founded Amazon in his garage in 1994 and, as everyone knows by no, it has grown from a book specialist to sell everything under the sun, with astonishing logistical power. Bezos also owns the Washington Post and space firm Blue Origin, and has promised to give away the bulk of his wealth in his lifetime. He has already pledged £2bn to a climate change campaign he set up. | Getty Images

3. Larry Ellison
The founder, chairman and chief technology officer of software megalith Oracle, Larry Ellison is worth $209.7bn. He owns about 40% of Oracle, and lives on the Hawaiian island of Lanai, which he bought almost all of in 2012. Last year Ellison was ranked fourth with a net worth of $135.3bn. | Getty Images

4. Mark Zuckerberg
Zuckerberg, who is worth $202bn, founded Facebook when he was a 19-year-old in 2004. Having exploded from a way of staying in touch with classmates to become a net ecosystem in its own right, Facebook is only one of it's parent company Meta's products. Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan, like Jeff Bezos, have pledged to give away 99 per cent of their wealth - as Zuckerberg's worth has increased by more than $75bn in the last 12 months, there's even more to be altruistic with | Getty Images