PHOTO: Forbes’ 2025 World’s Billionaires List
Meet the Newest Members of the Billionaire Club – Forbes 2025
🌍 Despite economic turbulence, Forbes’ 2025 World’s Billionaires List hit a record high with 3,028 entrepreneurs, investors, and heirs, including 288 newcomers (up from 265 in 2024).
💸 These fresh billionaires—ranging from entertainment legends to tech innovators—are worth a combined $680 billion, or an average of $2.4 billion each. They represent 33 countries and territories across the globe.
🇺🇸 America Leads the Pack
📍 The United States added 103 new billionaires, more than any other country.
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👩🔬 Marilyn Simons ($31B): Widow of hedge fund icon Jim Simons, now the richest new billionaire in the world.
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👩💼 Lyndal Stephens Greth ($25.8B): Daughter of late oil magnate Autry Stephens.
🌍 Global Hotspots for New Billionaires
🇩🇪 Germany ranked second with 37 new billionaires, including:
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👶 Johannes von Baumbach, age 19 – the youngest newcomer at $5.4B.
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🧬 14 heirs from pharmaceutical giant Boehringer Ingelheim.
🇨🇳 China & Hong Kong added 32 new billionaires, such as:
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💎 Xu Gaoming ($8.2B), a top luxury jeweller.
🇮🇳 India followed with 17 new entrants
🇷🇺 Russia rounded out the top five with 15.
🧠 Self-Made Success Stories
🔧 196 of the 288 newcomers—nearly 70%—are self-made billionaires.
💎 Richest self-made:
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🇸🇦 Sulaiman Al Habib ($10.9B), healthcare mogul from Saudi Arabia—the country’s first return to the list since 2017.
👨💻 Youngest self-made:
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🇺🇸 Alexandr Wang, 28, cofounder of Scale AI ($2B).
🎤🎬 Big Names, Bigger Fortunes
🎸 Bruce Springsteen ($1.2B):
Rock legend whose catalog sale to Sony in 2021 brought in $500 million.
🎥 Arnold Schwarzenegger ($1.1B):
Action icon and real estate investor with profits from 50+ films and diverse investments.
🎭 Jerry Seinfeld ($1.1B):
Comedy titan earning big from a $500M Netflix deal and ongoing live shows.
👩💼 Female Billionaires: Still a Minority
🚺 Only 15% of new billionaires are women, and two-thirds of them inherited their fortunes.
🌟 Exception:
Barbara Banke, 71, who cofounded Jackson Family Wines, makers of Kendall-Jackson, now the richest self-made female newcomer.
🖥️ Tech Dominates the List
💻 46 newcomers built their fortunes in technology, making it the top sector.
🚀 Notables include:
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🇨🇳 Hao Tang ($4.3B): Early backer of AppLovin, which soared 300% in share value.
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🧬 Ben Lamm ($3.7B): Founder of Colossal Biosciences, known for its plans to resurrect the woolly mammoth.
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🤖 Dario Amodei & 6 cofounders of Anthropic ($1.2B each): Raised $3.5B for their AI firm, valued at $61.5B.
💼 Other Leading Sectors
📊 Finance:
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41 newcomers, including:
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🇨🇭 Justin Sun, crypto mogul
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🇦🇺 Michael Dorrell, private equity powerhouse
Both worth $8.5B each.
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🧬 Healthcare:
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40 newcomers, including the German Boehringer and von Baumbach heirs.
As of April 2025, Forbes’ 39th Annual World’s Billionaires List features a record 3,028 billionaires with a combined net worth of $16.1 trillion. Here are the top 10 individuals:Forbes+3Wikipedia+3Axios+3
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Elon Musk
Net Worth: $342 billion
Age: 53
Nationality: United States
Source of Wealth: Tesla, SpaceX -
Mark Zuckerberg
Net Worth: $216 billion
Age: 40
Nationality: United States
Source of Wealth: Meta Platforms -
Jeff Bezos
Net Worth: $215 billion
Age: 61
Nationality: United States
Source of Wealth: Amazon -
Larry Ellison
Net Worth: $192 billion
Age: 80
Nationality: United States
Source of Wealth: Oracle Corporation -
Bernard Arnault & Family
Net Worth: $178 billion
Age: 76
Nationality: France
Source of Wealth: LVMH -
Warren Buffett
Net Worth: $154 billion
Age: 94
Nationality: United States
Source of Wealth: Berkshire Hathaway -
Larry Page
Net Worth: $144 billion
Age: 52
Nationality: United States
Source of Wealth: Google -
Sergey Brin
Net Worth: $138 billion
Age: 51
Nationality: United States
Source of Wealth: Google -
Amancio Ortega
Net Worth: $124 billion
Age: 89
Nationality: Spain
Source of Wealth: Inditex, Zara -
Bill Gates
Net Worth: $118 billion
Age: 69
Nationality: United States
Source of Wealth: Microsoft
SOURCE: FORBES