Top 5 Richest Men And Women In The World 2025

🧑‍💼 Top 5 Richest Men (2025)

1. Elon Musk – $434 billion

Sources of wealth:

SpaceX – private valuation at ~$350 billion.

Tesla – continues to hold large equity; stock reached record highs through 2024

xAI – valued around $50 billion, acquisition of X adds further value

Notes:

Musk became the first person to exceed $400 billion in net worth in 2024.

2. Jeff Bezos – $239 billion

Sources of wealth:

Amazon – enormous stake despite selling parts.

Blue Origin – private space venture.

The Washington Post, IMDB, Audible, and other investments

Context:

Once the world’s richest, Bezos now ranks second with a ~4–5% Amazon ownership

3. Mark Zuckerberg – $218 billion

Sources of wealth:

Meta Platforms – includes Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp; owns ~13%

Insight:

Surpassed Larry Ellison; wealth increased as Meta stock rose.

4.Larry Ellison – $209 billion

Sources of wealth:

Oracle Corporation – co-founder and long-time leader.

5. Bernard Arnault & family – $181 billion

Sources of wealth:

LVMH – world's largest luxury conglomerate, including brands like Louis Vuitton and Dior .

👩‍💼 Top 5 Richest Women (2025)

1. Alice Walton – $104–117 billion

Sources of wealth:

Walmart stock – inherited stake; gain of ~$28.7 billion in 2024 from Walmart’s ~40–53% stock run

Highlights:

Major art patron and founder of Crystal Bridges Museum.

Announced funding for a free-medical-school project at Alice L. Walton School of Medicine.

2. Françoise Bettencourt Meyers – ~$90 billion

Sources of wealth:

L’Oréal – ~35% stake via inheritance and Téthys Invest

Profile:

Active vice-chair of L’Oréal.

Author and philanthropic leader via the Bettencourt Schueller Foundation.

3. Julia Koch & family – ~$74 billion

Sources of wealth:

Koch Industries – inherited 42% stake after husband’s passing in 2019

Philanthropy:

Notable gifts include $75 million to NYU Langone and support for cultural projects.

4. Jacqueline Mars – ~$74 billion

Sources of wealth:

Mars, Inc. – candy and pet-care empire

5. Roshni Nadar Malhotra – ~$40 billion

Sources of wealth:

HCL Technologies – inherited stake; current chairperson.

Ranking:

Identified as the fifth-richest woman globally on the Indian Express rich list.

Honorable Mentions:

MacKenzie Scott (~$36 billion) – Amazon co-founder; notable philanthropist.

Miriam Adelson (~$32 billion) – inherited Las Vegas Sands fortune.

🔍 Background & Wealth Drivers

Men

Tech dominance continues: 4 of the top 5 men built wealth via technology. Elon Musk’s exponential gains are tied to his leadership across aerospace, AI, electric vehicles, and social media.

Legacy business magnates like Bezos, Ellison, and Arnault leveraged long-term private/public company control to rival newer tech fortunes.

Women

Inherited fortunes dominate: particularly in retail (Walmart), luxury (L’Oréal), and industry (Koch, Mars). These family-owned or legacy companies underpin the wealth of the top female billionaires.

HCL example: Roshni Nadar’s leadership marks a blend of inheritance and active control.

Philanthropy is also a key theme—Alice Walton, Bettencourt Meyers, and Koch have directed billions toward arts, education, science, and healthcare.

📌 Final Thoughts

Elite wealth continues to concentrate in technology and inherited legacy brands: nearly every top figure draws major value from firms with global reach and scalable business models.

Women’s rankings are less concentrated in tech, with fewer self-made female technologists at the top. However, rising entrepreneurs like AI’s Lucy Guo (~$1.3 B) and entertainment moguls (e.g. Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Kim Kardashian) are climbing financial charts.

Generational continuity is key: Wealth often passes through family lines—the richest men and women typically maintain or grow inherited fortunes across decades.

🌍 Gender Gap in Global Billionaire Wealth

As of April 2025, women make up about 13–15% of all billionaires (roughly 390 individuals) while men dominate at ~85–87%.

The 85 richest men in the top 100 hold approximately $4.4 trillion, compared to the 15 richest women who collectively hold $587 billion.

On average, male billionaires hold about $52.2 billion, while female billionaires average $39.1 billion.

Inheritance vs. Self‑Made Fortunes

Men: About 66% of male billionaires are self-made.

Women: Only 25% are self-made billionaires; the majority inherited wealth.

Among women billionaires:

Inheritors include Alice Walton (Walmart), Françoise Bettencourt Meyers (L’Oréal), Julia Koch (Koch Industries), Jacqueline Mars (Mars Inc.).

Self-made trailblazers are Lucy Guo, Diane Hendricks, Rafaela Aponte-Diamant, Zhou Qunfei, Melanie Perkins, and others.

Rise of Self‑Made Female Billionaires

The number of women on Forbes’ “America’s Richest Self-Made Women” list has grown by ~20% this year.

Among the most noteworthy new entries in 2025:

Lucy Guo (30)

Co-founder of Scale AI, with a 5% stake in the company now valued near $1.2 billion, making her the youngest self-made female billionaire.

Launched Passes, a family-content platform valued at ~$40 million, though embroiled in legal controversy.

Diane Hendricks

Co-founder & chair of ABC Supply, amassed about $22 billion—the richest self‑made woman in the U.S.

Also credited with revitalizing her hometown through development and featured in the A&E show Betting on Beloit.

Rafaela Aponte-Diamant

Co‑founder of MSC (world’s largest shipping company), with ~$38 billion net worth.

Zhou Qunfei

Founder of Lens Technology, supplying screens to Apple/Samsung—net worth near ~$9.9 billion.

Melanie Perkins

Co‑founder & CEO of Canva, 18% stake; net worth ~$6–6.5 billion .