Elon Musk has further extended his lead as the world’s richest person, with his fortune rebounding sharply in August to an estimated $892 billion, according to Forbes.
Musk’s wealth jumped by $202 billion during the month, recovering from a $363 billion decline in July. The increase was driven largely by gains in the value of his stakes in SpaceX and Tesla.
Despite the sharp fluctuations in his fortune, Musk remains comfortably ahead of the world’s other billionaires. He is now less than $110 billion short of becoming a trillionaire again, after becoming the first person in history to reach the milestone earlier this year.
According to Forbes estimates as of Tuesday, the 10 richest people in the world are:
- Elon Musk — $892 billion
- Larry Page — $277 billion
- Jeff Bezos — $268 billion
- Sergey Brin — $256 billion
- Michael Dell — $241 billion
- Mark Zuckerberg — $197 billion
- Larry Ellison — $193 billion
- Jensen Huang — $191 billion
- Steve Ballmer — $155 billion
- Amancio Ortega — $148 billion
Musk’s lead is particularly striking. His estimated fortune is more than three times that of Larry Page, the Google cofounder and world’s second-richest person.
Page’s wealth fell by about $15 billion in August, making him the biggest loser among the world’s 10 richest people during the month. Jeff Bezos and Sergey Brin also recorded declines of about $10 billion and $13 billion, respectively.
The biggest gainer after Musk was Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison, whose fortune increased by $25 billion to $193 billion after Oracle shares climbed 15%. Ellison moved from eighth to seventh place, while Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang slipped to eighth despite adding $17 billion to his fortune.
There were also significant changes at the bottom of the top 10. Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer climbed from 11th to ninth after adding $10 billion to his fortune, while Spanish billionaire Amancio Ortega, founder of the fashion empire behind Zara, rose from 12th to 10th after gaining $5 billion.
Bernard Arnault and Warren Buffett, both longtime fixtures among the world’s wealthiest people, fell out of the top 10 following declines in the value of their respective holdings in LVMH and Berkshire Hathaway.
Combined, the 10 richest people in the world are now worth an estimated $2.8 trillion, up from $2.6 trillion the previous month.
Forbes has tracked the world’s billionaires since 1987, while its Real-Time Billionaires list fluctuates with changes in stock prices and other asset values.
The September 2026 ranking is dominated by technology, artificial intelligence and other major global industries, with nine Americans and one Spaniard making up the world’s 10 richest people.
