The world’s ten richest individuals saw their collective wealth shrink by $140 billion in February, bringing their total net worth down to $1.89 trillion from $2.03 trillion at the beginning of March, according to Forbes’ latest billionaire index. The downturn was mostly driven by price falls in equities.
Every billionaire on Forbes list, bar Warren Buffet, saw their net worth trickle down at the start of the month, as the effects of a Trumpian market, which started back in November 2024, continue to wear off.
Elon Musk’s fortune sheds $62 billion
Forbes still places Elon Musk as the world’s richest person, but February was a month to forget for the Tesla and xAI CEO. A decline in Tesla shares wiped out $62 billion from his fortune, aided by the electric vehicle maker’s loss of one-quarter of its market value in 2025.
Musk became the first billionaire to surpass a $400 billion net worth in December last year. His privately held artificial intelligence firm, xAI, had grown in value due to the capital new investors had poured into the tech company. But by February 10, Tesla’s stock had slid enough to take his wealth below the $400 billion mark.
Trump’s “First Buddy” has made enemies by taking up a role in Washington as a special advisor to the Office of the President, and founder of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which has cut thousands of federal jobs in the past month.
As of March 1, Musk’s net worth is estimated at about $359 billion.
Zuckerberg overtakes Bezos for no. 2 spot
Mark Zuckerberg had a relatively better month compared to his billionaire counterparts, although he did count losses as well. The Meta Platforms CEO climbed to the second spot in the rankings for the first time, taking Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ spot.
Zuckerberg clinched the world’s second-wealthiest person position largely due to a downtick in Amazon stock, which saw an 11% decline in February, erasing more than $23 billion from Bezos’ fortune.
He begins March with an estimated fortune of nearly $231 billion, while Bezos now stands at roughly $227 billion.
Oracle’s Larry Ellison stays fourth
Larry Ellison retained fourth place, but his wealth took an $8.8 billion hit after Oracle shares fell about 2% over the past month.
Ellison was present on January 21, the day after Donald Trump was inaugurated as US president when the latter announced the Stargate Project. The initiative, involving Oracle, OpenAI, Japan’s SoftBank, and UAE-based MGX, will reportedly invest $500 billion over four years to build AI infrastructure, primarily data centers across the United States.
Bernard Arnault sees losses after LVMH shares slip
Fifth on the list is French luxury goods magnate Bernard Arnault, CEO and chairman of LVMH, who saw his wealth drop by $2.8 billion following a slight decline in the company’s share price. He was the world’s richest person for the first quarter of 2024, but Musk overtook him in May.
Earlier this year, Arnault nominated two of his sons, Alexandre and Frédéric, to the board of LVMH. His daughter Delphine, who oversees Dior, and his son Antoine were already serving on the board. Arnault seemingly likes to keep the top spots of his businesses within the family.
Warren Buffett gains $15 billion as Berkshire Hathaway rises
94-year-old Warren Buffett was the only billionaire in the top ten to see his fortune grow in February. Shares of the conglomerate he heads, Berkshire Hathaway, climbed by nearly 10%, adding about $15 billion to his net worth. Buffett now holds an estimated fortune of $161 billion.
Google Founders hit slag over Alphabet stock decline
Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin both suffered heavy losses last month as shares of Alphabet, Google’s parent company, plummeted by more than 13%.
Page lost $26 billion, bringing down his estimated net worth to $141.61 billion. His wealth took a deep cut in late November, after the US Department of Justice pushed Google to divest its Chrome browser, planning to reduce its dominance in the online market. Google clapped back, cautioning the DOJ that the order could harm consumers and America’s technological prowess.
His partner Brin, who co-founded Google with Page in 1998, also saw his net worth fall to $135.4 billion at the eighth position. He recently came out of retirement to contribute to Google’s Gemini AI chatbot project and was credited as a core contributor when the model launched in December.
The last two names on the list are fashion business Zara-parent Inditex founder Amancio Ortega, and former Microsoft CEO and NBA franchise Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, who are worth $121.9 and $118.9 billion, respectively.
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