Forbes has been tracking the world’s wealthiest individuals for decades, and the newly compiled historical list from 1987 to 2025 tells a fascinating story of how fortunes have shifted across continents, industries, and economic eras. This journey reveals not only the astronomical figures these individuals have amassed but also the global trends and innovations that have driven such fortunes.
The timeline begins in 1987 with Japan’s Yoshiaki Tsutsumi, a real estate magnate whose empire was at the height of Japan’s economic boom. With a net worth of $20 billion in 1987, Tsutsumi held the title for four straight years until 1990. His fortune reflected Japan’s property and stock market surge, but the bubble eventually burst. In 1991 and 1992, fellow Japanese real estate tycoon Taikichiro Mori took the lead, peaking at $15 billion before dropping to $13 billion the following year.
By 1993, Tsutsumi regained the top spot, though his wealth had declined to $9 billion. In 1994, he was still ahead globally but with $8.5 billion — a far cry from his late ’80s peak. The early ’90s wealth landscape was dominated by Japanese tycoons, but the scene was about to shift dramatically.
The mid-1990s marked the arrival of a name that would dominate the Forbes list for more than a decade — Bill Gates. In 1995, the Microsoft co-founder topped the chart with $12.9 billion, just as personal computers were becoming mainstream. By 1996, Gates’ fortune had grown to $18 billion, and the rise of the internet and software revolution saw his net worth skyrocket to $36.4 billion in 1997 and $51 billion in 1998.
In 1999, at the height of the dot-com boom, Gates’ fortune hit a jaw-dropping $90 billion — an amount unprecedented at the time. However, the bursting of the tech bubble and economic downturn brought his wealth down to $60 billion in 2000 and $58.7 billion in 2001. Still, Gates remained unmatched in the rankings.
From 2002 to 2007, Gates consistently held the crown, though his wealth fluctuated between $40.7 billion and $56 billion. The only interruption came in 2008, when Warren Buffett — legendary investor and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway — briefly claimed the top spot with $62 billion. By 2009, Gates was back on top, but the landscape was about to change again.
In 2010, Mexican telecom giant Carlos Slim Helú took over, with a fortune of $53.5 billion. Slim’s dominance lasted until 2013, peaking at $74 billion in 2011. His rise marked a rare non-U.S. lead in the modern era, reflecting the global reach of telecommunications and the growth of emerging markets.
Bill Gates reclaimed the title in 2014, staying ahead until 2017, when his fortune reached $86 billion. But the next shift was perhaps the most significant in recent history — the rise of Jeff Bezos. The Amazon founder took over in 2018 with $112 billion, reflecting the explosive growth of e-commerce, cloud computing, and online services. Bezos’ reign lasted until 2021, peaking at $177 billion.
In 2022, the crown passed to Elon Musk, whose ventures in electric vehicles, space exploration, and technology innovation propelled him to $219 billion. The following year saw a rare appearance of Bernard Arnault, head of luxury conglomerate LVMH, who topped the list in both 2023 ($211 billion) and 2024 ($233 billion), proving the global power of the luxury goods market.
The most recent data for 2025 shows Elon Musk reclaiming the top position with an unprecedented $342 billion — the highest net worth ever recorded in Forbes’ history. Musk’s wealth reflects the surge in Tesla’s market value, his ventures in SpaceX and AI, and the increasing dominance of technology-driven industries.
This 38-year journey tells more than just the story of individual fortunes. It mirrors the rise and fall of industries, the globalization of markets, and the power of innovation to create vast wealth. From Japan’s real estate boom in the late 1980s to the Silicon Valley revolution, from telecommunications expansion to the age of e-commerce and electric vehicles, the list shows how economic power centers have shifted over time.
The Forbes richest person timeline is also a reminder of how volatile wealth can be. Even for those at the very top, fortunes can swing by tens of billions of dollars due to market shifts, technological breakthroughs, or economic crises. What remains constant is the drive of these individuals to innovate, invest, and expand into new industries — often reshaping entire sectors in the process.
As of 2025, the wealth gap between the richest person and the rest of the world has never been larger. With Elon Musk setting a record that may take years to break, the coming decade will reveal whether this figure is the peak of personal wealth or just another milestone in an ever-rising trend.
History shows us that the next world’s richest person could come from anywhere — a tech visionary, a manufacturing innovator, or even an industry we can’t yet imagine. The only certainty is that the title of “world’s richest” will continue to capture the world’s attention, as it has for nearly four decades.
