For the first time in four years, Amazon boss Jeff Bezos has been dethroned from Forbes magazine’s list of the wealthiest men on the planet. Who is the richest man in the world?
Four years without being defeated. In 2022, Jeff Bezos ceded his place as the richest man in the world, according to the ranking established by Forbes magazine. With an estimated fortune of $219 billion, Tesla boss Elon Musk takes first place on the podium this year. Jeff Bezos comes in second, at $171 billion, followed by Frenchman Bernard Arnault (LVMH), Bill Gates and Warren Buffet. Among the French fortunes present in the top 20 billionaires 2022, Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, daughter of Liliane Bettencourt (L’Oréal), and her family, come in 14th place, with a fortune estimated at 74.8 billion euros. Find the full ranking in our dedicated article.
Elon Musk gets his revenge. After several years of having hounded the boss of Amazon, he obtains the first place, with a fortune estimated at 219 billion dollars in 2022, against 151 billion dollars last year.
| Rank 2022 | Last name | Wealth ($ billions) | Origin of wealth | Country |
| 1 | Elon Musk | 219 | You’re here | UNITED STATES |
| 2 | Jeff Bezos | 171 | Amazon | UNITED STATES |
| 3 | Bernard Arnault | 158 | LVMH | France |
| 4 | Bill Gates | 129 | Microsoft | UNITED STATES |
| 5 | warren buffet | 118 | Berkshire Hathaway | UNITED STATES |
| 6 | Larry Page | 111 | UNITED STATES | |
| 7 | Sergey Brin | 107 | UNITED STATES | |
| 8 | larry ellison | 106 | software | UNITED STATES |
| 9 | Steve Ballmer | 91.4 | Microsoft | UNITED STATES |
| 10 | Mukesh Ambani | 90.7 | Reliance Industries | India |
| 11 | Gautam Adani | 90 | / | India |
| 12 | Michael Bloomberg | 82 | Bloomberg LP | UNITED STATES |
| 13 | Carlos Slim Helu | 81.2 | Telecom | Mexico |
| 14 | Francoise Bettancourt-Meyers | 74.8 | L’Oreal | France |
| 15 | mark zuckerberg | 67.3 | United States | |
| 16 | Jim Walton | 66.2 | walmart | UNITED STATES |
| 17 | zhong shanshan | 65.7 | / | China |
| 18 | Alice Walton | 65.3 | walmart | UNITED STATES |
| 19 | S. Robson Walton | 65 | Walmart | UNITED STATES |
| 20 | Changpeng Zhao | 65 | / | Canada |
Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, daughter of Liliane Bettencourt (L’Oréal), who died in September 2017, retains her place as the richest woman in the world in 2022. Her personal fortune is estimated at 74.8 billion dollars by the American magazine Forbes. An amount on the rise which makes the French woman and her family the 14th richest person in the world, men and women alike.
| Rank | Last name | Wealth ($ billions) | Origin of wealth | Country | Overall rank (male/female) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Francoise Bettencourt Meyers | 74.8 | L’Oreal | France | 14 |
| 2 | Alice Walton | 65.3 | Walmart | UNITED STATES | 18 |
| 3 | Julia Koch | 60 | Koch Industries | UNITED STATES | 21 |
| 4 | MacKenzie Scott | 43.6 | Various | UNITED STATES | 30 |
| 5 | Jacqueline March | 31.7 | Various | UNITED STATES | 41 |
Third richest man in the world, Bernard Arnault (LVMH) once again stands out as the richest Frenchman in the world, with a fortune of 158 billion dollars. It is a woman, Françoise Bettencourt Meyers (L’Oréal), who comes in 2nd position in the ranking of the richest French people on the planet. Rodolphe Saadé ranks 3rd, with 41.4 billion dollars, ahead of François Pinault.
| Rank | Last name | Wealth ($ billions) | Origin of wealth | World rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bernard Arnault | 158 | LVMH | 3 |
| 2 | Francoise Bettencourt Meyers | 74.8 | L’Oreal | 14 |
| 3 | Rodolphe Saade | 41.4 | Luxury | 31 |
| 4 | Francois Pinault | 40.4 | Kering | 32 |
| 5 | Alain Wertheimer | 31.2 | Chanel | 43 |
Citizen of Nigeria, Aliko Dangote remains the richest African, according to Forbes, with assets estimated at 14 billion dollars which have earned him the 130th largest fortune in the world. Where does his fortune come from? Cement, sugar and flour. Divorced, father of three children, Aliko Dangote lives in Lagos, Nigeria. He is the richest African for the tenth consecutive year.
Frenchman Bernard Arnault (LVMH) remains the richest European in the world. The tricolor billionaire indeed displays a personal fortune of more than 158 billion dollars.
The richest man in the world, Elon Musk is considered the richest American, with an estimated fortune of $ 219 billion in 2022. Aged 50, the billionaire is CEO of Tesla and the founder of SpaceX. He recently announced his intention to buy the social network Twitter.
The Mexican Carlos Slim Helu, who made his fortune in particular in telecoms, remains the richest man in South America. His fortune now stands at $81.2 billion.
Mukesh Anbani, of Indian nationality, is considered the richest man in Asia, with an estimated fortune of 90.7 billion dollars. The origin of his fortune? He is the boss of Reliance Industries, inherited from his father. He is now considered one of the most powerful men in India.
With an estimated fortune of $15.4 billion, Israeli Eyal Ofer is the richest man in the Middle East. He is the head of the Ofer Global group, based in Monaco, active in maritime transport, real estate, technology and finance. He comes in 117th position in the overall ranking of the richest men in the world.
Contrary to what some people assume, Vladimir Putin is not the richest man in Russia. At least not according to Forbes, which does not even show him in its ranking of the planet’s billionaires. No, according to the magazine, the first Russian fortune in 2022 is that of Vladimir Lisin, estimated at 18.4 billion dollars. He is the chairman of Novolipetsk (NLMK), a steel company.
According to Money, which claims to have spent “hours” interviewing economists and historians to compare fortunes at different times, richest man of all time is an African: Mansa Mousa (also called Kankou Moussa), ruler of the Mali Empire from 1312 to 1332. How wealthy was he? He was “richer than anyone could describe,” Money replies.
