July proved to be a “golden” month for technology giants, pushing stocks to new heights and personal fortunes to record levels. According to the latest Forbes ranking, Elon Musk maintains his commanding lead with over $400 billion, while Nvidia’s Jensen Huang enters the top six for the first time, marking the explosive rise of the AI era. Meanwhile, others like Warren Buffett and Bernard Arnault saw decreases in their wealth. August’s list captures this year’s most dramatic financial reshuffling.
Combined, the world’s ten richest people control $2.1 trillion.
-
Bernard Arnault: Net worth: $142.9 billion
Bernard Arnault, CEO of LVMH, arrives for dinner at the Élysée Palace during an event on the sidelines of the AI Action Summit in Paris (2025)
The French tycoon dropped one position compared to July, despite adding $4.5 billion thanks to a 6% rise in LVMH shares. Arnault, who leads a global luxury goods conglomerate, remains the only non-American in the top 10.
At 76, he maintains a strategy based on controlled expansion and family succession. In 2024, he integrated all his children into key positions within the group.
-
Warren Buffett: Net worth: $143.4 billion
Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, smiles while playing bridge after the annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting in Omaha, Nebraska (2019)
Warren Buffett fell three positions after losing $2.2 billion in wealth. Berkshire Hathaway shares declined slightly (-1%) amid transitional circumstances, following his announcement that he will step down as CEO at the end of 2025.
At 94, he remains one of the most respected figures in the financial world. He has already donated over $66 billion and remains committed to giving away 99% of his wealth to philanthropy.
-
Steve Ballmer: Net worth: $148.7 billion
Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer during the second half of Game 2 of the first round of the NBA playoffs (2025)
Ballmer benefited from a 7% gain in Microsoft shares in July, which earned him an additional $7.5 billion. The former CEO of the company and current owner of the LA Clippers inaugurated the team’s new arena, the Intuit Dome, in August 2024.
Since retiring from Microsoft, Ballmer holds the majority of his stock holdings, which has been key to maintaining his wealth growth.
-
Sergey Brin: Net worth: $150.8 billion
Sergey Brin arrives at the 10th Breakthrough Prize ceremony at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles (2024)
Google’s co-founder increased his wealth by $11.3 billion thanks to Alphabet’s strong performance, with shares rising nearly 9%. Brin maintains an active role as a board member and returned to the spotlight in 2024 by directly participating in the development of the Gemini AI chatbot.
-
Jensen Huang: Net worth: $154.8 billion
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang acknowledges President Donald Trump’s speech during an artificial intelligence summit at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium (2025)
Huang achieved one of the month’s most remarkable gains, rising from 10th to 6th place after gaining $17 billion in July. Nvidia shares rose 14% and the company became the first chip company to reach a market value of $4 trillion.
The CEO and co-founder of Nvidia recently stated: “I’ve created more billionaires on my management team than any other CEO in the world.”
-
Larry Page: Net worth: $158 billion
Google co-founder Larry Page speaks at the Fortune Global Forum in San Francisco. Page has obtained residency permits in New Zealand, officials confirmed Friday, August 6, 2021, sparking debate about whether extremely wealthy people can essentially buy access to the South Pacific nation
Page maintained his fifth position in the rankings. His wealth increased by $12 billion in July, thanks to Alphabet’s strong stock performance.
While maintaining a low profile, he remains a key shareholder in Google’s parent company. He continues to invest in emerging technology projects and sustainability initiatives.
-
Jeff Bezos: Net worth: $246.4 billion
The Bezos couple departs from the Aman hotel during wedding celebrations in Venice
Bezos added $13 billion to his net worth in July, following a 7% increase in Amazon shares. Amazon Web Services’ growth and his recent wedding to Lauren Sanchez, which took place in Venice, kept him in the media spotlight and financial headlines.
His space company Blue Origin also made headlines for a crewed mission that included Katy Perry and Gayle King.
-
Mark Zuckerberg: Net worth: $266.7 billion
Meta’s CEO closed July with a $12 billion increase in his wealth, due to strong financial results and an 11% jump in the company’s stock following the presentation of its quarterly report.
Zuckerberg made headlines for the salary packages Meta offered to AI talent, some of which exceeded $100 million.
-
Larry Ellison: Net worth: $299.6 billion
Larry Ellison, chairman of Oracle Corporation, center, speaks as President Donald Trump, left, and Masayoshi Son, CEO of SoftBank Group, listen in the Roosevelt Room of the White House (2025)
Ellison was the month’s biggest winner in absolute terms, with an increase of $37 billion. Oracle shares rose 14% in July. His net worth approaches $300 billion, narrowing the gap with Musk to just over $100 billion.
Oracle is also part of Project Stargate, a joint initiative with OpenAI, SoftBank and MGX to build AI infrastructure in the US.
-
Elon Musk: Net worth: $401 billion
Musk remains at the top, although his wealth decreased by $5.3 billion in July. The decline is explained by a 3% drop in Tesla shares, which has had several quarters of lower sales.
Despite this, Musk maintains a significant lead and is the only member of the top 10 with wealth exceeding $400 billion. His AI company xAI is already valued at $80 billion, according to Musk’s own statements.
