Khaberni - The world's eyes are on the economic pyramid's summit, where recent "Forbes" data revealed dramatic shifts in the fortunes of the ten richest people on the planet as of March 1, 2026.
Despite the relative stability in the top ten rankings after a volatile January, the recorded figures reflect a huge gap starting to form between the leader and the rest of the competitors, amidst a meteoric rise for the king of space and electric cars, Elon Musk, and a collective decline for other technology tycoons.
Approaching the "trillion club"
American billionaire Elon Musk performed exceptionally during February, managing to add $64 billion to his fortune in just 30 days, reaching a record net worth of $839 billion.
This increase was not just a paper surge; it was driven by a major merger deal between his rocket company "SpaceX" and his artificial intelligence and social media company "xAI"; the deal estimated the merged entity's value at $1.25 trillion.
With this achievement, Musk became the first human in history to exceed a fortune of $800 billion, further reinforcing his lead with a gap exceeding half a trillion dollars over his closest pursuer.
As the IPO for "SpaceX" is expected later this year, analysts and markets are counting down to the day when Musk will become the first "trillionaire" on Earth.
Billion-dollar losses in "Silicon Valley"
Conversely, February was not kind to the technology tycoons in the United States, as the list saw significant losses for five of the technology giants, each losing at least $20 billion due to declining stocks of companies like "Alphabet", "Amazon", "Meta", and "Oracle".
Larry Page, the co-founder of Google, ranked second with a fortune of $257 billion after losing $20 billion this month, followed by his partner Sergey Brin in third place with $237 billion.
Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, was the biggest loser on the list this month, as his fortune fell by $26 billion to settle at $224 billion, after a 12% drop in Amazon stocks.
Minor movements at the bottom of the list
In terms of ranking, February witnessed only a single exchange of positions; Warren Buffett moved up to ninth place with a fortune estimated at $149 billion after announcing his retirement as CEO of "Berkshire Hathaway", while Amancio Ortega, the founder of "Zara", dropped to the tenth position with a fortune of $148 billion.
The statistics show a dominant American presence, with Americans representing 8 out of the 10 richest people in the world, while the non-American presence is limited to the Frenchman Bernard Arnault (seventh place) and the Spaniard Amancio Ortega.
It is also noteworthy that the entire list consists solely of men, with a minimum fortune of $148 billion required to enter the top ten club.
Details of the list on March 1, 2026:
1- Elon Musk ($839 billion): Source of wealth "SpaceX" and "Tesla".
2- Larry Page ($257 billion): His fortune was impacted by antitrust lawsuits filed against Google regarding the "Chrome" browser.
3- Sergey Brin ($237 billion): Currently focusing on artificial intelligence strategies at "Alphabet".
4- Jeff Bezos ($224 billion): Currently managing a new artificial intelligence project named "Project Prometheus".
5- Mark Zuckerberg ($222 billion): Focusing on "Meta"'s collaboration with "Prada" to produce luxury smart glasses.
6- Larry Ellison ($191 billion): Facing challenges due to analysts' questions about the artificial intelligence bubble and its impact on "Oracle"'s stocks.
7- Bernard Arnault ($171 billion): The luxury goods emperor whose five children manage the joints of the "LVMH" empire.
8- Jensen Huang ($154 billion): Leads "Nvidia", which has become the first company in history to reach a valuation of $5 trillion.
9- Warren Buffett ($149 billion): Legendary investor pledged to donate 99% of his fortune.
10- Amancio Ortega ($148 billion): Fast fashion pioneer who reinvests his profits in global real estate.
Women in the world of billionaires
Despite the absence of women from the top ten, Alice Walton, the heiress of "Walmart", remains the richest woman in the world, ranking 14th globally with a fortune estimated at $134 billion, reflecting a vast wealth distribution gap between genders.
