About a quarter of the total increase in wealth recorded by the Bloomberg index came from eight people. Reference image.
Photo: Getty Images/iStockphoto – Aslan Alfan
Brief summary and information
The largest fortunes in the world closed 2025 with a historic balance. The The 500 richest people on the planet were worth $2.2 billion to their combined assets over the year, driven by strong financial markets, the rise of artificial intelligence and an increase in assets such as stocks, cryptocurrencies and precious metals, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Thanks to these profits, the total capital of the billionaires included in the rating reached 11.9 trillion.
This was helped by Donald Trump’s election victory in late 2024, which increased risk appetite in markets and had only one relevant break in April, when fears over new tariffs led to the biggest one-day wealth destruction since the pandemic.
Technology and artificial intelligence at the forefront
Large technology companies led the growth of wealth in 2025. The euphoria surrounding artificial intelligence continued to fuel large-cap stocks in the United States, accounting for much of the year’s gains.
About a quarter of the total increase in wealth recorded by the Bloomberg index came from just eight people, including Larry Ellison, president of Oracle; Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla; Larry Page, co-founder of Alphabet; and Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon. Despite this, its weight was less than in 2024, when the same group explained 43% of the total profit.
Alison moves Musk to center stage
At the beginning of the year, Elon Musk was without a doubt the most visible name among the world’s richest people. Having donated nearly $300 million to Trump’s re-election campaign, Musk has spent much of the first few months of 2025 in Washington, leading the government’s cost-cutting efforts.
However, it was Larry Ellison who made the headlines. Ellison briefly overtook Musk as the world’s richest man in September, thanks to a strong rally in Oracle shares fueled by his investment in artificial intelligence. Although Oracle shares are down about 40% from their peak, Ellison has regained attention for his role in Paramount Skydance Corp.’s bid, led by his son David, to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery Inc.
A global phenomenon, not just American
The profits of billionaires were not limited to the USA. While the S&P 500 rose 17% in 2025 to December 30, Britain’s FTSE 100 gained 22% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng soared 29%.
Other asset classes performed even better. Precious metals had one of their best years in decades, amid strong haven-seeking, while copper and rare earths gained prominence due to their geopolitical weight. Among the main beneficiaries were Australian mining magnate Gina Rinehart and the Luksic family of Chile, who added billions to their fortunes.
Cryptocurrencies: Rise and Fall
Cryptocurrencies also played a key role for most of the year. Until the recent selloff, the sector was on track to outperform stocks. Bitcoin has hit all-time highs since Trump’s election victory and surged after the government approved policies favorable to the sector.
However, the sharp decline that began in October erased those gains and then some, affecting the fortunes of billionaires such as the Winklevoss twins, Changpeng Zhao and Michael Saylor.
Rich people who earned the most in 2025
Among the main winners of the year:
- Larry Ellison
- Legacy: 249.8 billion US dollars
- Annual income: 57.7 billion US dollars
- The Oracle co-founder led the company’s bet on artificial intelligence infrastructure and posted the biggest one-day rise in wealth in the history of the Bloomberg index.
- Elon Musk
- Legacy: 622.7 billion US dollars
- Annual income: 190.3 billion US dollars
- Although his political effort initially affected Tesla, his fortunes recovered after an internal sale of Tesla stock. SpaceX and the approval of a new compensation package at Tesla.
- Gina Rinehart
- Legacy: 37.7 billion US dollars
- Annual income: 12.6 billion US dollars
- An Australian businesswoman has benefited from the boom in rare earth elements and strengthened her position in the geopolitical dispute over these resources.
- Donald Trump and his family
- Legacy: 6.8 billion US dollars
- Annual income: 282 million US dollars
- The wealth of the clan grew by approx 70% over the past 15 months, driven by media and cryptocurrency businesses.
Big losers
Not all billionaires celebrated 2025. Among the biggest drops:
- Manuel Villarwho lost 12.6 billion US dollars following the collapse of its property developer’s shares in the Philippines.
- Bob Pender and Mike Sabelco-founders of Venture Global who saw their fortunes collapse 17.7 billion US dollars each after a disappointing IPO.
- Michael Saylorwhich suffered from Bitcoin’s fall after its October peak.
- Wang SinPresident A Meituanimpacted by weak domestic demand in China and strong competition in the delivery sector.
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