Bernard retains top spot, Mukesh Ambani 9th richest person on Forbes billionaires list

Forbes released its 2024 list of the world's richest people which revealed that the number of billionaires has reached an all-time high, and their wealth has increased significantly over the past year.

This year, 141 more people joined the ranks of billionaires and the combined net worth of the 2,781 individuals on the list is roughly 14.2 trillion dollars. This represents a staggering increase of 2 trillion dollars compared to 2023.

“As a group, the World’s Billionaires are 120% richer than they were a decade ago,” Forbes’ wealth editor Chase Peterson-Withorn, Forbes wrote in his article, “$100 Billion Club: These 14 People Have 12-Figure Fortunes.”

French luxury tycoon Bernard Arnault retained his title as the world's richest person on the 2024 Forbes list. His wealth has climbed to a staggering $233 billion, a $22 billion increase from last year's top spot of $211 billion.

Tech giants Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos followed closely with net worths around $195 billion. Meta's Mark Zuckerberg joined the top ranks with a net worth of $177 billion.

Reliance Industries' Mukesh Ambani emerged as the 9th richest person globally and the richest in Asia, with a net worth of $116 billion.

L’Oréal heiress Francoise Bettencourt Meyers of France, with a net worth of $99.5 billion, claimed the title of the world's richest woman. She ranked 15th on the global list.

With a net worth of $72.3 billion, Walmart scion Alice Walton secured the spot of second-richest woman globally. American philanthropist Julia Koch joined the ranks of the top three richest women in the world with $64.3 billion net worth. 

Two-thirds of these ultra-rich individuals actually saw their wealth increase over the past year. The wealth of the top 20 richest people on the list increased by a combined $700 billion.

The United States remained the global leader in terms of the sheer number of billionaires, with a staggering 813 billionaires residing within its borders. China followed closely behind with 473 billionaires, and India's wealthy class has been rapidly growing, now boasting 200 billionaires.