TOP 10 RICHEST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD (MAY 2026): ELON MUSK SEES $35-BILLION FORTUNE DROP DESPITE MARKET SURGE; LARRY PAGE JOINS $300-BILLION CLUB
Top 10 richest people in the world (May 2026): April turned out to be a strong month for the world’s richest people, thanks to a sharp rally in the stock market. The S&P 500 rose by 9 per cent and the Nasdaq jumped 15 per cent, pushing the combined wealth of the top 10 billionaires, all Americans, to $2.7 trillion by May 1. Together, they added $260 billion in just one month.
The biggest winner was Google cofounder Larry Page. His wealth surged by $76 billion, taking his total net worth to about $313 billion. This made him only the third person ever to cross the $300-billion mark. The jump came as shares of Alphabet, Google’s parent company, climbed more than 33 per cent during the month. Page remains the second richest person in the world for the sixth month in a row. He is still far behind Elon Musk, but the gap has narrowed—from $580 billion at the start of April to $469 billion now.
Elon Musk, meanwhile, was the only one among the top 10 to lose wealth. His fortune dropped by $35 billion, or 4 per cent, bringing it down to $782 billion. The decline was largely due to a revised estimate of his stake in SpaceX, which was reduced from 43 per cent to 40 per cent after a new corporate filing in Alaska.
Sergey Brin, Page’s fellow Google cofounder, was the second biggest gainer. His wealth increased by $70 billion to $289 billion, helping him move up from fourth to third place. Jeff Bezos also had a strong month, adding $49 billion as Amazon shares rose 27 per cent. However, he slipped one spot to fourth place, overtaken by Brin.
Michael Dell saw the fourth-largest gain, with his net worth rising by $34 billion to $177 billion. This was driven by a 27 per cent rise in Dell Technologies’ stock and a 35 per cent jump in the shares of Broadcom, which had earlier acquired VMware, a Dell spinoff. Dell moved up from eighth to seventh place, swapping positions with Nvidia’s Jensen Huang. Huang added $22 billion to his wealth, thanks to a 14 per cent increase in Nvidia’s stock.
Jim Walton entered the top 10 for the first time in at least three years. His wealth rose by $7 billion to $147 billion, putting him at number 10. He now sits just behind his brother Rob Walton, who remains at ninth place with a net worth of $150 billion after also gaining $7 billion. Walmart’s stock rose 6 per cent during the month, helping both brothers.
Bernard Arnault of LVMH dropped out of the top 10, falling from tenth to eleventh place. His wealth dipped slightly—by less than $1 billion—to $142 billion. This marks the first time in over three years that Arnault is no longer among the top 10, and also the first time in that period that all 10 spots are held by Americans.
Top 10 richest person in the world
| Rank | Name | Net Worth (in USD) | Source |
| 1. | Elon Musk | 782 billion | SpaceX, Tesla |
| 2. | Larry Page | 313 billion | |
| 3. | Sergey Brin | 289 billion | |
| 4. | Jeff Bezos | 272 billion | Amazon |
| 5. | Mark Zuckerberg | 210 billion | Meta (Facebook) |
| 6. | Larry Ellison | 205 billion | Oracle |
| 7. | Michael Dell | 177 billion | Dell Technologies |
| 8. | Jensen Huang | 173 billion | Semiconductor |
| 9. | Rob Walton | 150 billion | Walmart |
| 10. | Jim Walton | 147 billion | Walmart |
Source: Forbes
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2026-05-05T13:48:09Z