While the pandemic hit many people hard in 2021, the world’s 10 richest added more than $385 billion USD to their wealth, according to Bloomberg‘s Billionaire Index. Combined, the 10 richest people in the world now have a net worth of $1.39 trillion USD.
This year, Elon Musk topped the list of the world’s wealthiest, with a net worth of about $270 billion USD as of December 31. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO claimed the top spot over Jeff Bezos in October, and despite selling more than $16 billion USD in Tesla shares since November to pay for taxes, has retained his lead. According to Forbes, Musk is also likely the richest person to have ever lived.
To put it into perspective, Elon Musk’s net worth represents 3.21% of the total wealth of the 500 richest people in the world and is roughly four million times the median U.S. household income.
Here are the top 10 richest people of 2021 and how much their net worth grew:
1. Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, Tesla
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Elon Musk made $114 billion USD in 2021. His net worth stands at $270 billion USD.
2. Jeff Bezos, Founder of Amazon, Blue Origin
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Jeff Bezos made $2.04 billion USD in 2021. His net worth stands at $192 billion USD.
3. Bernard Arnault, CEO of LVMH
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Bernard Arnault made $63.6 billion USD in 2021. His net worth stands at $178 billion USD.
4. Bill Gates, Co-founder of Microsoft
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Bill Gates made $6.39 billion USD in 2021. His net worth stands at $138 billion USD.
5. Larry Page, Co-founder of Google
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Larry Page made $46 billion USD in 2021. His net worth stands at $128 billion USD.
6. Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta
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Mark Zuckerberg made $22 billion USD in 2021. His net worth stands at $125 billion USD.
7. Sergey Brin, Co-founder of Google
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Sergey Brin made $43.7 billion USD in 2021. His net worth stands at $124 billion USD.
8. Steve Ballmer, Former Microsoft CEO
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Steve Ballmer made $39.3 billion USD in 2021. His net worth stands at $120 billion USD.
9. Warren Buffet, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway
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Warren Buffett made $21.3 billion USD in 2021. His net worth stands at $109 billion USD.
10. Larry Ellison, Co-founder, CTO of Oracle
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Larry Ellison made $27.5 billion USD in 2021. His net worth stands at $107 billion USD.
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