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Top 10 Richest People In The World

Published

1 year ago

June 4, 2024

The combined net worth of the world’s top 10 richest individuals in June 2024 has reached nearly $1.59 trillion, an increase of about $50 billion from the previous month.

Forbes, which has tracked global billionaires since 1987, continues to monitor these dynamic changes through their real-time billionaire tracker.

French business mogul, Bernard Arnault, was the world’s wealthiest person from February until late May 2024.

However, in the latest June 1 release, Tesla and X, CEO, Elon Musk reclaimed the title of the world’s richest person, thanks to his new AI company, xAI, which raised $6 billion, boosting his fortune to over $210 billion.

Bernard Arnault, who held the top spot from February to May, saw his wealth drop to $201.6 billion due to a decline in LVMH shares.

Mark Zuckerberg gained $12.6 billion, reaching $163.8 billion.

Bill Gates remains the ninth richest at $129.4 billion.

Here is a list of the top 10 richest in the world in June 2024:

1. Elon Musk

Elon Musk

Net worth: $210.3 billion
Source: Tesla, SpaceX, X (Twitter)
Age: 52
Residence: Austin, Texas
Citizenship: U.S.
Elon Musk is the CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, and social media company X (formerly Twitter), and founder of xAI. He owns 13 per cent of Tesla and 74 per cent of X, which he bought for $44 billion in October 2022.

Born in South Africa, Musk moved to Canada at 17, and attended Queen’s University and then the University of Pennsylvania.

In 2000, he co-founded PayPal, which was sold to eBay for $1.4 billion in 2002. Musk founded SpaceX in 2002 and joined Tesla in 2004, becoming CEO in 2008.

He became the world’s richest person in 2021, with a peak fortune of $320 billion.

Musk regained the top spot in June 2023, briefly lost it in January 2024, but reclaimed it in May 2024 after xAI raised $6 billion.

2. Arnault-Bernard

Arnault-Bernard

Net worth: $201.6 billion
Source: LVMH/ luxury goods
Age: 75
Residence: Paris
Citizenship: France
Bernard Arnault, CEO and chairman of LVMH fell to the second richest spot in late May 2024, overtaken by Elon Musk.

Arnault built LVMH into the largest luxury goods company, with brands like Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, and Tiffany & Co.

He used $15 million from his father’s construction fortune to buy Christian Dior. All five of his children work within LVMH, with Alexandre, Frédéric, Delphine, Antoine, and Jean holding significant positions.

Arnault was the world’s richest person for most of the first half of 2023 and again from February to late May 2024.

As of June 1, 2024, his fortune is $7.8 billion less than a month ago due to a dip in LVMH stock.

3. Jeff Bezos

Jeff Bezos

http://www.wealthx.com
Net worth: $194.7 billion
Source: Amazon
Age: 60
Residence: Miami, Florida
Citizenship: U.S.
Jeff Bezos founded Amazon in 1994 and served as CEO until July 2021; he remains chairman. In the same month, he went to space on a Blue Origin rocket, a company he founded and heavily funds. His fortune increased by $1.4 billion in May 2024 due to a rise in Amazon stock.

Before Amazon, Bezos worked at hedge fund D.E. Shaw in New York. Amazon started as an online bookseller and expanded into cloud storage and media production. Bezos was the world’s richest person from 2018 to 2021 but dropped to second in 2022.

In 2019, Bezos divorced MacKenzie Scott, who received 4 per cent of Amazon shares while he kept 12 per cent.

He now owns just under 10% of the company, having sold over $27 billion in stock since Amazon went public in 1997. Through Bezos Expeditions, he has invested in companies like Airbnb and Workday.

4. Mark Zuckerberg

Mark Zuckerberg

Meta CEO, Mark Zuckerberg
Zuckerberg
Net worth: $163.8 billion
Source: Meta (Facebook)
Age: 40
Residence: Palo Alto, California
Citizenship: U.S.
Mark Zuckerberg co-founded Facebook, now Meta Platforms, at Harvard in 2004.

Meta, the world’s largest social network, has over 3 billion monthly users and owns Instagram and WhatsApp.

Zuckerberg, Meta’s CEO, took the company public in 2012 and owns about 13 per cent of it. He and his wife, Priscilla Chan, pledged 99 per cent of their Meta stock to philanthropic efforts, aiming to develop tools to cure, manage, or prevent all diseases by the century’s end.

Zuckerberg reentered the top 10 richest in the summer of 2023 due to a rise in Meta’s stock. In May 2024, his fortune increased by $12.6 billion as Meta’s stock climbed 8.5 per cent.

5. Larry Ellison

Larry Ellison

Net worth: $146.2 billion
Source: Oracle
Age: 79
Residence: Woodside, California
Citizenship: U.S.
Larry Ellison co-founded Oracle in 1977 and served as CEO until 2014; he is now chairman and chief technology officer. Oracle has made significant acquisitions, including Sun Microsystems for $7.4 billion in 2010.

In 2012, Ellison bought 98% of the Hawaiian island of Lanai for $300 million. He also owns homes in California and Nevada and invested in Tesla, serving on its board from 2018 to August 2022.

In February 2024, Ellison was overtaken by Mark Zuckerberg and fell to the fifth richest. In May, his net worth increased by $3.4 billion.

6. Larry Page

Larry Ellison

Net worth: $142.9 billion
Larry Page
Google co-founder Larry Page
Source: Google
Age: 51
Residence: Palo Alto, California
Citizenship: U.S.
Page co-founded Google with Sergey Brin in 1998, serving as CEO from 1998 to 2001 and from 2011 to 2015.

He currently sits on Alphabet’s board and remains a major shareholder.

Additionally, he was an early investor in Planetary Resources, later acquired by ConsenSys.

Page’s wealth surged due to increased Alphabet shares, rising $7.5 billion in May 2024 following a $9 billion jump in April.

7. Warren Buffett

Warren Buffett

Net worth: $137 billion
Source: Berkshire Hathaway
Age: 93
Residence: Omaha, Nebraska
Citizenship: U.S.
Warren Buffett, known as the “Oracle of Omaha,” heads Berkshire Hathaway, which owns companies like Geico, Duracell, and Dairy Queen.

He began investing at 11, co-founded the Giving Pledge in 2010, and has pledged to donate 99% of his wealth.

His donations, primarily in Berkshire Hathaway stock, total over $51.5 billion, making him the most generous billionaire globally.

In May 2024, his wealth rose by $6 billion, driven by Berkshire Hathaway’s share price increase.

8. Sergey Brin

Sergey Brin

Net worth: $136.9 billion
Source: Google
Age: 50
Residence: Los Altos, California
Citizenship: U.S.
Brin, alongside Larry Page, co-founded Google while pursuing their Stanford computer science PhDs.

He currently sits on Alphabet’s board and holds a significant share. Brin’s wealth surged by $7 billion in May 2024.

Despite semi-retirement, he contributed to Google’s Gemini AI chatbot and was a key contributor to its release.

Brin is the leading individual donor for Parkinson’s disease research, contributing $1.25 billion to various initiatives, including Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s, a collaborative effort led by his team.

9. Bill Gates

Bill Gates

Net worth: $129.4 billion
Source: Microsoft, investments
Age: 68
Residence: Medina, Washington
Citizenship: U.S.
Gates, fascinated by computer programming in his teens, co-founded Microsoft with Paul Allen in 1975, pioneering software for personal computers. He served as CEO for 25 years and remained chairman until 2014.

Despite stepping off the board in 2020, he still advises Microsoft teams part-time. Gates has diverse investments in numerous companies, including Republic Services and Deere & Co., and owns significant farmland in the U.S.

Forbes first recognized Gates as a billionaire in 1987, and he held the title of the world’s richest person from 1995 to 2017, except for brief periods. He has donated over $59 billion to the Gates Foundation, losing the top spot to Jeff Bezos in 2018. Following his divorce from Melinda French Gates in 2021, she received an estimated $10 billion in assets.

In May 2024, Gates’ fortune increased by around $2.4 billion, maintaining his No. 9 rank, though it’s the lowest he’s ranked in decades as others surpass him.

10. Steve Ballmer

Steve Ballmer

Net worth: $123.2 billion
Source: Microsoft, Clippers, investments
Age: 68
Residence: Hunts Point, Washington
Citizenship: U.S.
Ballmer, a Harvard classmate of Bill Gates, joined Microsoft as its 30th employee in 1980 after leaving Stanford’s MBA program. He served as CEO from 2000 to 2014.

After leaving Microsoft, Ballmer bought the Los Angeles Clippers for $2 billion, setting an NBA record. Forbes now estimates the team’s value at $4.65 billion.

Ballmer’s wealth surged by approximately $6 billion last month due to a rise in Microsoft stock. He and his wife, Connie, rank among America’s top 25 philanthropists.

Who is the richest woman in the world?
The richest woman globally is Francoise Bettencourt Meyers from France.

With an estimated net worth of $99 billion as of June 1, 2024, she ranks as the 15th richest person worldwide.

Meyers inherited her wealth from her late mother, primarily through her ownership stake in cosmetics giant L’Oreal, founded by her grandfather.

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US Lifts Restrictions On Visa Validity For Ghanaians, Leaves Nigeria’s Unchanged

Published

7 hours ago

September 27, 2025

Editor

The United States has restored the maximum validity periods for all categories of nonimmigrant visas for Ghanaian nationals following Ghana’s agreement to accept West African deportees, but similar restrictions for Nigerians remain in place.

The B1/B2 visitor visa is now valid for up to five years, with multiple entries allowed, while the F1 student visa’s maximum validity has been restored to four years, with multiple entries permitted.

“The U.S. Embassy is pleased to announce that the maximum validity periods for all categories of nonimmigrant visas for Ghanaians have been restored to their previous lengths. The maximum validity allowed for the B1/B2 visitor visa is again five years, multiple entry. The maximum validity for the F1 student visa is again four years, multiple entry,” the U.S. Embassy announced in a tweet on Saturday.”

Ghana’s Foreign Minister, Samuel Ablakwa, also announced in a tweet that the new policy now allows citizens to apply for five-year multiple-entry visas.

Ablakwa also stated that the reversal of the restriction comes with other enhanced consular privileges, adding that the development was the result of months of diplomatic engagement.

“The U.S. visa restriction imposed on Ghana has been reversed. Ghanaians can now be eligible for five-year multiple-entry visas and other enhanced consular privileges,” Ablakwa stated.

“This good news was directly communicated to me by U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Allison Hooker, at a bilateral meeting earlier today, in the margins of the UN General Assembly. I am really pleased that months of high-level diplomatic negotiations have led to a successful outcome.”

These changes reverse earlier restrictions imposed under the Trump administration, which had limited most visas to single-entry and a three-month validity period.

The restrictions affected several African countries, including Ghana and Nigeria, and were based on concerns over visa reciprocity and the acceptance of deported migrants.

In July, the U.S. Consulate in Nigeria announced updates to its reciprocal nonimmigrant visa policy, stating: “The United States Department of State has announced updates to its reciprocal non-immigrant visa policy, impacting several countries, including Nigeria. Effective immediately, most non-immigrant and non-diplomatic visas issued to citizens of Nigeria will be single-entry visas with a three-month validity period.

“Those U.S. non-immigrant visas issued prior to July 8, 2025, will retain their status and validity. We wish to underscore that, as is standard globally, visa reciprocity is a continuous process and is subject to review and change at any time, such as increasing or decreasing permitted entries and duration of validity. You can view the latest information on visa reciprocity schedules for all countries at travel.state.gov.”

Reports indicate that the U.S. pressured some African nations to accept deported migrants, including Venezuelan detainees from U.S. prisons.

Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar rejected these pressures, stating that Nigeria would not serve as a “dumping ground” for deportees.

“It would be difficult for countries like Nigeria to accept Venezuelan prisoners into Nigeria,” Tuggar said during a televised interview.

“We have enough problems of our own; we cannot accept Venezuelan deportees to Nigeria. We already have 230 million people.”

Meanwhile, Ghanaian President John Mahama confirmed that Ghana had begun accepting deported West African nationals after U.S. requests.

“We were approached by the U.S. to accept third-party nationals who were being removed from the U.S., and we agreed with them that West African nationals were acceptable,” Mahama said.

“All our fellow West African nationals don’t need visas to come to our country.”

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UK Nursery Worker Jailed For Abusing 21 Babies

Published

1 day ago

September 26, 2025

Editor

A judge on Friday jailed a nursery worker for eight years for a string of “gratuitous” and “sadistic” attacks on babies.

In one incident, Londoner Roksana Lecka, 22, kicked a little boy in the face several times.

Lecka, who blamed cannabis for her crimes, admitted seven counts of cruelty to a person under the age of 16 and was convicted after a trial of another 14 counts.

Sentencing her for attacks on 21 babies, Judge Sarah Plaschkes said she had committed “multiple acts of gratuitous violence” at two London nurseries where she worked.

“You pinched, slapped, punched, smacked and kicked them. You pulled their ears, hair and their toes. You toppled children headfirst into cots,” she said.

“Often the child would be quietly and happily minding its own business before you deliberately inflicted pain… Your criminal conduct can properly be characterised as sadistic,” she added.

Lecka’s cruelty was revealed in June 2024 after she was seen pinching a number of children.
Police were called in and found multiple incidents recorded on the nursery CCTV.

Victim impact statements submitted to London’s Kingston Crown Court from parents of Lecka’s victims told how they were left heartbroken and guilt-stricken by the attacks.

“These children were so innocent and vulnerable,” one mother told the court.

“They couldn’t speak, they couldn’t defend themselves and they couldn’t tell us as parents that something had happened to them,” she added.

“They were totally helpless and Roksana preyed upon them.”

The hearing was told that she had apologised to the parents in a letter to the court in which she said cannabis had turned her into a different person.

She had been addicted to the drug around the time of the offences, but had not told the nursery.
She was found not guilty of three further counts of child cruelty.

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Italy Fines Six Oil Firms $1bn Fine For Restricting Competition

Published

1 day ago

September 26, 2025

Editor

Italy’s antitrust regulator said Friday it has slapped Italian energy giant Eni and five other companies with fines totalling more than 936 million euros ($1.1 billion) for “restricting competition” in the sale of fuel.

The authority said in a statement that Eni, Esso, Ip, Q8, Saras and Tamoil “coordinated to set the value of the bio component factored into fuel prices”, which tripled between 2019 and 2023.

A probe following a whistleblower’s complaint revealed that “the companies implemented parallel price increases — largely coinciding — which were driven by direct or indirect information exchanges among them”, the authority said.

“The cartel began on 1 January 2020 and continued until 30 June 2023,” it added.

AFP