Elon Musk has once again been crowned the world's richest person, securing the top position on the Hurun Global Rich List 2025 for the fourth time in five years. At 53, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO became the first person to surpass $400 billion in net worth.
Elon Musk saw an 82% surge in his wealth, largely driven by Tesla's stock price rally after Donald Trump's re-election as US President.
The Hurun Research Institute released the latest edition of its billionaire ranking on March 27 based on financial data up to January 15, 2025. Now in its 14th year, the report tracks the fortunes of the world's wealthiest individuals.
Commenting on Musk's wealth, Rupert Hoogewerf, Chairman and Chief Researcher of Hurun Report, said, "Donald Trump's election win gave US-based billionaires a significant post-election bonus. Close allies Elon Musk and tech investor Peter Thiel saw their wealth surge 82% to US$420bn and 67% to US$14bn."
Musk's fortune has, however, dropped by $100 billion, as factors such as his political activism, involvement with Dogecoin and growing competition from Chinese electric vehicle (EV) makers have impacted Tesla's market performance.
Hoogewerf added, "Since our cut-off of January 15, 2025, Musk has lost US$100bn after Tesla saw its market cap plunge by US$700bn, as investors took fright from increased competition from Chinese EV makers and a consumer backlash over Musk's politics. Despite the drop, Musk is still the richest person in the world."
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, 61, secured second place with a net worth of $266 billion, marking a 44% increase. His wealth boost was driven by Amazon's rising stock prices.
The 2025 Hurun Global Rich List assessed 3,442 billionaires from 2,524 companies across 71 countries. This year's list reflected a 5% increase in the number of billionaires compared to last year. The collective wealth of these people grew by 13%, with 1,958 billionaires seeing an increase in their fortunes, including 387 newcomers. Similarly, 1,260 billionaires saw a decline in wealth, resulting in 177 individuals dropping off the list. Another 399 billionaires maintained the same net worth as last year.
India maintained a strong presence on the leaderboard, with 284 billionaires. The country added 45 new billionaires this year while 27 people dropped off the list. According to the Hurun report, Indian billionaires contributed 7% of the total wealth on the list.
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