The 500 richest people on Earth increased their net worth by a record $2.2 trillion this year. This brings their total wealth to $11.9 trillion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
The explosion in wealth occurred as stocks, cryptocurrencies, and commodities all soared. This happened during President Donald Trump’s second term, which began with a presidential election victory in late 2024.
The only real lull came in April when tariff concerns rattled the market. This resulted in the biggest single-day asset loss since the coronavirus crash. However, the decline did not last. Big tech stocks, fueled by AI hype, have regained momentum, and the wealth of the ultra-rich continues to rise.
AI stocks and Trump-related profits dominate top growth among billionaires
The bulk of the profits came from eight individuals, including Larry Ellison, Elon Musk, Larry Page, and Jeff Bezos. Both companies accounted for nearly 25% of the index’s rise, but were down from 43% last year.
Elon started the year as the clear favorite. After spending $300 million on the Trump campaign, he took a leading role in Washington as head of the Department of Government Efficiency.
That initially backfired, with Tesla shares falling while he was cutting government budgets, but has since recovered.
Elon left the nation’s capital after falling out with Trump, and his net worth reached $622.7 billion after SpaceX’s valuation soared and Tesla shareholders agreed to a new pay package. His 2025 profits totaled $190.3 billion.
Larry, on the other hand, had a great year. He briefly became the world’s richest person in September after Oracle’s AI business caused its stock price to plummet. His net worth increased by $57.7 billion to $249.8 billion.
He also supported his son David Ellison’s $108 billion bid to buy Warner Bros., and is currently pushing ahead with Oracle’s $500 billion Stargate AI infrastructure plan and a deal to buy a stake in TikTok’s U.S. operations.
Top 17 richest people in the world. Source: Bloomberg Billionaires Index
Outside the United States, Australia’s richest person, Gina Rinehart, made $12.6 billion this year. Her company, Hancock Prospecting, has built the largest rare earth portfolio outside of China. She also supported Trump Media and appeared at an event at Mar-a-Lago.
Gina’s stock in Trump-linked Truth Social skyrocketed, increasing her position by two-thirds in just three months.
Crypto billionaires ride high, crash in brutal second half
Of course, Bitcoin skyrocketed after Trump’s victory, helped by the White House’s new pro-crypto policies. But it didn’t last long. In October, cryptocurrencies crashed, and with them the net worths of major names.
Michael Saylor’s company, Strategy, essentially invented the “crypto-asset” model, but his net worth has plummeted by $2.6 billion. Bitcoin’s slump has halved Strategy’s stock price, erasing most of its gains since the beginning of the year.
Donald Trump and his family increased their wealth by $282 million, bringing their total to $6.8 billion. Trump promoted two meme coins with Melania before taking office. They skyrocketed and then crashed, but still left a $200 million boost on the books.
The family also started World Liberty Financial, and Trump’s sons entered crypto mining through American Bitcoin. Another blow was Trump Media, which soared in value after its fusion merger with TAE Technologies.
Despite falling more than 70% from its January high, assets have increased by billions of dollars. The court also threw out a $464 million civil penalty against Trump, but the fraud verdict stood.
Billionaire losers suffer from real estate, IPO and crypto crashes
Not everyone won. Manuel Villar lost $12.6 billion, reducing his net worth to $10 billion. His company, Golden MV Holdings, collapsed after a six-month trading suspension in connection with shady land deals. Once trading resumed, the stock price fell more than 80%. Bilal also relinquished his stake in Prime Water, which had been under government investigation.
Venture Global founders Bob Pender and Mike Sabel each suffered losses of $17.7 billion. The company was preparing for its long-awaited IPO in January, but was forced to reduce its stake due to sluggish demand. After that, business performance deteriorated and the company lost a legal battle with BP. The stock price is currently down over 70%.
China’s Wang Xing saw his net worth decrease by $3.5 billion, ending up at $7.9 billion. Even though Chinese stocks as a whole were doing well, his company Meituan took a hit. The company reported its first net loss in years in November.
Domestic demand has slumped, and rivals JD.com and Alibaba haven’t helped either. Meituan sought to grow overseas by expanding into Brazil and the Middle East, but it was not enough to stop the bleeding.
