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Wednesday, Jan 07, 2026
Outside the box.
Taylor Swift, Elon Musk, and Sam Altman Join Record-Breaking Forbes Billionaires List
Taylor Swift and Sam Altman, creator of ChatGPT, have made their first appearances on the Forbes World's Billionaires List with estimated fortunes of $1.1bn and $1bn respectively.
Bernard Arnault and his family topped the chart with a record-breaking $233bn.
There were a total of 2,781 billionaires in 2024, a 141 increase from last year and 26 more than the previous record in 2021.
The collective wealth of the billionaires reached $14.2tn.
Swift joined the list due to her megastar status.
Taylor Swift made history at the Grammy Awards, winning the album of the year prize for the fourth time with her re-recorded album "1989 (Taylor's Version)".
Swift's success extends beyond music, as her attendance at American football games to support her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, reportedly boosted NFL viewership.
In the world of business, eight of the top 10 richest people are from the US, with six of them coming from the technology industry.
Elon Musk, the owner of Tesla and SpaceX, is the second-richest person with an estimated net worth of $195bn, followed by Jeff Bezos of Amazon.
Musk's net worth has increased by 8% since last year but is lower than his record-breaking $300bn net worth in November 2021.
Forbes released its list of billionaires for 2024, with Jeff Bezos topping the list with a net worth of $177 billion.
Other notable additions include basketball legend Magic Johnson and TV producer Dick Wolf, each with a net worth of $1.2 billion.
This year saw a record-breaking 14 centi-billionaires and a total wealth of $2 trillion among the 2,781 billionaires, representing a 255% increase from a decade ago.
The US continues to have the most billionaires with 813 on the list.
The text reports on Forbes' latest list of the world's billionaires.
China remains the second-largest country with billionaires, following the US.
The UK is home to the three richest people: hedge fund manager Michael Platt, Sir Jim Ratcliffe (part-owner of Manchester United), and inventor Sir James Dyson.
However, 129 billionaires from mainland China fell off the list due to weak consumer spending and a collapsing real estate market.
Additionally, 32 billionaires died, including Egyptian tycoon Mohamed Al-Fayed, former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, former Chilean President Sebastián Piñera, and singer Jimmy Buffett.
There were a total of 2,781 billionaires in 2024, a 141 increase from last year and 26 more than the previous record in 2021.
The collective wealth of the billionaires reached $14.2tn.
Swift joined the list due to her megastar status.
Taylor Swift made history at the Grammy Awards, winning the album of the year prize for the fourth time with her re-recorded album "1989 (Taylor's Version)".
Swift's success extends beyond music, as her attendance at American football games to support her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, reportedly boosted NFL viewership.
In the world of business, eight of the top 10 richest people are from the US, with six of them coming from the technology industry.
Elon Musk, the owner of Tesla and SpaceX, is the second-richest person with an estimated net worth of $195bn, followed by Jeff Bezos of Amazon.
Musk's net worth has increased by 8% since last year but is lower than his record-breaking $300bn net worth in November 2021.
Forbes released its list of billionaires for 2024, with Jeff Bezos topping the list with a net worth of $177 billion.
Other notable additions include basketball legend Magic Johnson and TV producer Dick Wolf, each with a net worth of $1.2 billion.
This year saw a record-breaking 14 centi-billionaires and a total wealth of $2 trillion among the 2,781 billionaires, representing a 255% increase from a decade ago.
The US continues to have the most billionaires with 813 on the list.
The text reports on Forbes' latest list of the world's billionaires.
China remains the second-largest country with billionaires, following the US.
The UK is home to the three richest people: hedge fund manager Michael Platt, Sir Jim Ratcliffe (part-owner of Manchester United), and inventor Sir James Dyson.
However, 129 billionaires from mainland China fell off the list due to weak consumer spending and a collapsing real estate market.
Additionally, 32 billionaires died, including Egyptian tycoon Mohamed Al-Fayed, former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, former Chilean President Sebastián Piñera, and singer Jimmy Buffett.
