The Top 10 Richest People In The World | December 2025

Key Concepts

AI Arms Race: The competitive development and deployment of artificial intelligence technologies by major tech companies.
Alphabet: The parent company of Google, a major player in the AI arms race.
Gemini 3: A new AI model launched by Google.
Net Worth: The total value of a person's assets minus their liabilities.
Stock Prices: The market value of shares in a company, which fluctuates daily.
Berkshire Hathaway: A conglomerate led by Warren Buffett, which has invested in Alphabet.
LVMH: A French luxury goods company led by Bernard Arnault.
Walmart: A retail corporation founded by Sam Walton.

Top 10 Richest People in the World: December 2025

This report details the top 10 wealthiest individuals globally as of December 1st, 2025, at 12:00 a.m. Eastern Time, highlighting shifts in their rankings and net worths driven by market fluctuations and the ongoing artificial intelligence (AI) arms race.

The AI Arms Race and its Impact on Wealth

The current landscape of global wealth is significantly influenced by an "AI arms race." The mid-November launch of Google's Gemini 3 model by its parent company, Alphabet, appears to have propelled Alphabet into a leading position in this race. This development has directly impacted the net worth of Alphabet's co-founder, Larry Page.

Larry Page: For the first time, Larry Page has become the world's second wealthiest person. His estimated net worth as of December 1st, 2025, is $262 billion, an increase of $30 billion from November 1st. This surge is attributed to a 14% rise in Alphabet's share price.

Overall Wealth and Market Fluctuations

The collective net worth of the top 10 richest individuals stands at $2.4 trillion, a figure that remained consistent with the previous month. It is crucial to note that stock prices are subject to daily changes, meaning net worths can fluctuate significantly. Forbes maintains a real-time list of billionaires to track these daily changes. Forbes has been compiling its list of the world's billionaires since 1987, identifying 3,028 billionaires for its April 2025 annual list.

Key Movers and Shakers in the Top 10

Several individuals experienced notable shifts in their rankings and fortunes over the past month:

Sergey Brin: Larry Page's Google co-founder, Sergey Brin, was the second-largest gainer. His fortune increased by an estimated $27 billion, reaching $242 billion. This rise moved him up one spot to number five on the list.
Warren Buffett: Warren Buffett, whose conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway disclosed a nearly $5 billion stake in Alphabet in mid-November, was the third-largest gainer. He is the only new entrant to this month's top 10. His net worth rose by $9 billion to an estimated $152 billion, moving him from number 11 to number 10. This increase was supported by an 8% climb in Berkshire Hathaway's shares.
Steve Ballmer: Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer dropped from number nine to number 11. His fortune decreased by $6 billion to an estimated $149 billion.

Overall, seven out of the top 10 wealthiest individuals saw their positions change on Forbes's billionaires list in the past month.

Notable Rank Changes

Larry Page: Previously ranked fourth on November 1st, Page has now overtaken Oracle's Larry Ellison and Amazon's Jeff Bezos.
Jeff Bezos: Amazon's Jeff Bezos is now ranked fourth, with an estimated net worth of $245 billion, a decrease of $10 billion from the previous month.
Larry Ellison: Oracle's Larry Ellison, who had held the second position since mid-June, experienced the most significant loss among the top 10. Oracle's shares plummeted by 23%, causing Ellison's fortune to fall by $67 billion to an estimated $253 billion. He is now ranked third.

Other Significant Wealth Changes

Jensen Huang: Nvidia's Jensen Huang, the second-largest loser, managed to retain his eighth-place ranking despite a 13% slump in Nvidia's chipmaking shares, which resulted in a $22 billion drop in his net worth to an estimated $154 billion.
Elon Musk: Elon Musk remains the world's wealthiest person by a considerable margin, even after being the third-largest loser this past month. His net worth is estimated at $483 billion, despite a 6% slide in Tesla's stock and a $15 billion decrease in his fortune. Musk has held the top spot since May 2024 and briefly became the first person to be worth $500 billion in October.
Mark Zuckerberg: Mark Zuckerberg, ranked sixth, dropped from fifth place last month. His net worth is estimated at $222 billion, down $1 billion from the previous month.
Bernard Arnault: At number seven is French luxury goods tycoon Bernard Arnault, Chairman and CEO of LVMH. Arnault is the only non-American on the list. His fortune has increased by $7 billion, bringing his estimated net worth to $190 billion.
Michael Dell: Michael Dell is ranked tenth, with his fortune falling by $2 billion since last month to an estimated $152.1 billion.

Demographics and Minimum Wealth Threshold

All individuals in the top 10 richest people in the world as of December 1st are men. Each of them possesses a net worth of at least $152 billion, a slight decrease from the $155 billion threshold of the previous month.

Wealthiest Woman

The planet's wealthiest woman is Alice Walton, daughter of Walmart founder Sam Walton. As of December 1st, 2025, her estimated net worth is $119 billion, making her the world's 15th richest person.

For comprehensive coverage and the complete list, readers are directed to the Forbes Wealth Teams piece on Forbes.com.

This report was presented by Kieran Meadows from Forbes.