The richest person in the world lives in Texas — and his wealth is still growing.
Tesla shareholders voted Thursday to approve a controversial pay package for Elon Musk, putting him on track to be the world’s first trillionaire.
While still leagues ahead of other wealthy individuals, Musk isn’t the only Texan with an astronomical net worth.
Here’s a quick look at the world’s richest individuals — some of whom will hit close to home.
Elon Musk holds the title of the world’s richest person. He has a net worth of $491.4 billion as of Thursday, Nov. 6.
Musk claimed the top spot overall, surpassing Amazon’s Jeff Bezos. Rounding out the top five are Oracle’s Larry Ellison, as well as Sergey Brin and Larry Page, both of Google.
Musk, who is CEO of Tesla, SpaceX and X, could see his net worth skyrocket to $1 trillion if he meets certain sales goals for Tesla over the next 10 years. Thursday’s shareholder vote solidifies his newfound status as wealthiest person in the world.
At age 75, Walton has an estimated net worth of $110.7 billion. In 2023, she briefly lost the position to Francoise Bettencourt Meyers, 71, the heiress of the French cosmetics company L’Oréal. In 2023, Bettencourt Meyers was also a centibillionaire, meaning she had a net worth of at least $100 billion.
The two have vied to be the richest woman in the past, including in 2019, when Bettencourt Meyers briefly dethroned Walton that year until Walton surpassed her in 2020.
In 2023, Bettencourt Meyers once again surpassed Walton, who dropped to the third-place spot below American socialite Julia Koch, who inherited Koch, Inc. ownership stakes from her late husband David Koch. Koch, 62, was estimated to be worth $74.2 billion in the latest Forbes ranking.
All but one of Earth’s 10 richest people reside in the U.S. Here are their rankings and net worth as of Nov. 6, as reported by Forbes:
