World's BillionairesWar, pandemic and sluggish markets hit the world’s billionaires this year. There are
2,668 of them on Forbes’ 36th-annual ranking of the planet’s richest people — 87 fewer than a year ago. They’re worth a collective $12.7 trillion — $400 billion less than in 2021.
The most dramatic drops have occurred in China, where a government crackdown on tech companies has led to
87 fewer Chinese billionaires on the list.
Still, Forbes found more than
1,000 billionaires who are richer than they were a year ago. And 236 newcomers have become billionaires over the past year — including the first ever from Barbados, Bulgaria, Estonia and Uruguay.
America still leads the world, with
735 billionaires worth a collective $4.7 trillion, including Elon Musk, who tops the World’s Billionaires list for the first time. China remains number two, with
607 billionaires worth a collective $2.3 trillion.
