Forbes 2026 Billionaires List Unveiled: Crypto Moguls Make Their Mark, Musk Tops the List Again

Forbes magazine has officially released its 2026 list of global billionaires, with a record high of 3,428 individuals worldwide surpassing the $1 billion mark in assets, an increase of approximately 400 from last year. Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk topped the list for the second consecutive year with a net worth of $839 billion, becoming the first entrepreneur to break the $800 billion threshold in personal wealth.

Following closely behind are Google co-founders Larry Page ($257 billion) and Sergey Brin ($237 billion), with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in fourth place at $224 billion, and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg in fifth with $222 billion.

In the cryptocurrency sector, Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) boasts a net worth of approximately $110 billion, an increase of nearly $47 billion from last year, successfully surpassing Microsoft founder Bill Gates ($108 billion) to rank 17th globally. This significant growth is primarily attributed to Binance's institutional valuation rebounding to approximately $100 billion, with Zhao believed to hold around 90% of the company's equity, making him one of the most influential wealth representatives in the crypto industry. Forbes Senior Editor Chase Peterson-Withorn noted that the strong performance of artificial intelligence-related stocks is the main driver of wealth growth this year, with an average of more than one new billionaire being created every day in the past year. The recovery of crypto assets and the return of institutional capital have also brought unprecedented wealth accumulation opportunities for leaders in the digital asset space.