Who Is the Richest Person in the World?

In 2020, Jeff Bezos was the world's richest person. In 2021, Elon Musk surpassed Bezos. But in 2023, a new name rose to the top. As of April 2023, French businessman Bernard Arnault and his family have an estimated net worth of $211 billion, according to Forbes, making him the richest person in the world.

In this article, we'll look at the top 10 richest people in the world and explore how they made their fortunes. But we'll also look at the surprising reason that Arnault surged ahead of the pack. And the takeaway is very valuable for ordinary people like you and me.

The top 10 richest people

The top 10 richest people

Identifying the world's richest people isn't an exact science. After all, people don't publish daily updates regarding their net worth. Rather, their net worths are estimated based on publicly available information. Moreover, the net worth of each individual on this list is constantly changing. Therefore, the numbers on the list by Forbes aren't necessarily exact. But they're likely pretty close.

Because these are estimates, there are discrepancies between Forbes World's Billionaire List and the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Three of the top 10 richest from Forbes' list -- Michael Bloomberg, Carlos Slim Helu, and Mukesh Ambani -- fall outside of the top 10 according to Bloomberg.

Here's where Forbes' list stood as of April 2023.

Here's a brief rundown of each billionaire.

1. Bernard Arnault

Early in life, Bernard Arnault worked in his father's construction and real estate business, taking the first big steps on his financial journey. Then in 1984, Arnault and a group of investors spent $15 million acquiring what is now a 98% ownership stake in fashion company Christian Dior.

Over the years and under Arnault's guidance, Christian Dior built a 41% ownership stake in luxury goods conglomerate LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMUY 0.94%), or simply LVMH. During this time, the Arnault family has also amassed a direct 7% ownership stake in LVMH. In other words, Arnault now owns almost half of LVMH, both directly and indirectly.

LVMH has a nearly $500 billion market capitalization as of this writing. Therefore, Arnault's position in LVMH stock accounts for almost all of his wealth.

2. Elon Musk

Contrary to common assumptions, Elon Musk is not technically the founder of Tesla (TSLA -1.1%). Rather, he successfully exited some startups and used this cash to invest in Tesla very early on. Later, he took the CEO position. And the CEO compensation package he received allowed him to amass a beneficial ownership stake that sits at 20.6% as of March 2023.

However, Musk is the founder of SpaceX, and this is also a large percentage of his net worth. In December 2022, regulatory filings showed that Musk owned 42% of the space company. And considering SpaceX is seeking a $137 billion valuation in the private market, his ownership stake could be worth over $50 billion.

3. Jeff Bezos

In 1994, Jeff Bezos started Amazon.com (AMZN 3.43%), working out of a garage at the time. From those humble beginnings, Amazon has grown into one of the largest companies in the world. And even though the stock is down from its high right now, it still has a market cap of over $1 trillion.

Bezos is working on diversifying his investment portfolio. However, Amazon stock still accounts for the majority of his net worth.

4. Larry Ellison

Information technology company Oracle (ORCL 2.04%) was founded in 1977, and Larry Ellison was one of three co-founders. But since 1996, Ellison has been the only one of the three that remains involved in the business.

Since Oracle's IPO in 1986, its stock is up almost 1,500 times in value. And Ellison's ongoing involvement has made him the biggest beneficiary of Oracle's success.

5. Warren Buffett

Like Arnault with LVMH and Musk with Tesla, Warren Buffett is not the founder of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A -0.69%)(BRK.B -0.68%). Rather, Buffett was a successful investor before he took a liking to the struggling New England textile company, believing its stock was undervalued -- he's always been a value investor at heart.

However, value investor Buffett modified his investment strategy after taking control of Berkshire Hathaway in 1965. He realized that some stocks are cheap because those companies have bad future prospects. Therefore, Buffett directed resources away from Berkshire Hathaway, choosing to allocate textile profits towards investments in higher-quality businesses rather than reinvesting in the languishing textile industry.

This strategy has allowed Berkshire Hathaway stock to compound at a nearly 20% annual rate from 1965 through 2022, making Buffett and the rest of Berkshire's shareholders very rich in the process.

6. Bill Gates

Bill Gates is a co-founder of computing giant Microsoft (MSFT 1.95%). Microsoft's operating software, Windows, was first released in 1985, and it catalyzed the mass adoption of computers for everyday tasks. Today, Microsoft is one of only a few companies that are valued at over $2 trillion. And Microsoft stock is the source of most of Gates' wealth.

7. Michael Bloomberg

Michael Bloomberg of New York City has a different story than most on this list. After working for about 15 years as an employee for investment company Salomon Brothers, he was let go. Undeterred, Bloomberg founded financial company and media empire Bloomberg LP. Therefore, Bloomberg quickly went from unemployed to successful entrepreneur, fueling his rise to riches.

8. Carlos Slim Helu and family

After enjoying success in finance, real estate, and construction, Carlos Slim Helu experienced superb profits from investing in telecom companies in the 1990s. Just over a decade ago, Slim enjoyed the title of the world's richest person -- a first for a citizen of Mexico. And although he no longer holds the top spot today, his net worth has continued to increase thanks to ongoing gains from his investments.

9. Mukesh Ambani

Turning away from Mexico, we now travel a world away to India and Mukesh Ambani. Ambani got his start working for his father's company -- a company now known as Reliance Industries. Under his father, the company enjoyed moderate success in the textile industry. But under Ambani's leadership, it's turned into a huge conglomerate with business ventures in oil refining, retail, and broadband internet.

10. Steve Ballmer

Rounding out the top 10 is Steve Ballmer of Microsoft. Ballmer wasn't with Bill Gates in the beginning. But he was brought in very early on as the company's 24th employee. Twenty years later, he became Microsoft's CEO, a title he held for 14 years. Over the course of his career at the company, he acquired a large amount of stock. And thanks to Microsoft's incredible gains, Ballmer joins the ranks of the richest people in the world.

How Arnault surpassed everybody else this year

Bernard Arnault climbed the list of the world's richest people for one simple reason: LVMH stock is up 45% over the past year as of this writing. Therefore, out of all the stocks in this article, LVMH is the best performer, enriching Arnault by tens of billions of dollars over the past year.

By comparison, Amazon stock is down 28% over this time period, dragging down Bezos' net worth. And Tesla stock has dropped by 54%, dethroning Musk as the world's richest.

Therefore, Arnault, Musk, Bezos, and others haven't necessarily seen large changes to their bank accounts. Rather, the value of the assets they hold has changed. This is why Arnault is now the world's richest person. And this is also why the list of the world's richest people is subject to large and frequent changes -- stocks can be volatile.

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The quintessential takeaway

The quintessential takeaway

To get rich, you don't need to be born into a wealthy family or start a successful company. After all, Larry Ellison grew up in a middle-class neighborhood. And Warren Buffett didn't start his company.

Rather, all 10 of the world's richest people own appreciating assets -- that's the one common thread. And the value of these assets has increased far more than what these individuals have earned from their jobs. Consider that, by some estimates, Bernard Arnault's wealth has increased by about $50 billion in the past year, which is far more than his annual salary.

Investing in stocks won't necessarily make you a billionaire -- odds are, it won't. After all, Americans have an average net worth of $122,000, which is a long way from $1 billion.

However, ordinary people can likewise greatly increase their wealth by investing in appreciating assets, just like the world's richest. There are many things one could potentially invest in, including real estate. But for many people, the stock market is a very accessible vehicle for building long-term wealth.

Unfortunately, many people don't take advantage of the stock market. In 2019, The Federal Reserve found that only 15% of American families directly owned stocks. On the one hand, it's understandable. After all, it takes a lot of time to learn about the stock market and evaluate individual companies. On the other hand, investors can avail themselves of helpful resources, including a stock-picking subscription service like Motley Fool Stock Advisor. With monthly stock picks, advice for portfolio allocation, and guidance for how to think as an investor, services like these can really help people begin prioritizing their financial futures.

Whether you choose to subscribe to a service like Stock Advisor or not, I hope that Bernard Arnault's success as the world's richest person clearly demonstrates the need to invest. Investing can grow a person's net worth far more than what's possible by working hard and saving alone.