Forbes released its 45th annual ranking of the 400 wealthiest people in the United States on September 15, and the combined fortune of the group reached a record 8 trillion dollars. That figure is up from 6.6 trillion a year earlier, a jump that reflects strong gains in technology stocks and rising private company valuations. The price of admission also climbed to a new high. A person needed at least 4.4 billion dollars to secure a place, 600 million more than the cutoff in 2025. According to Forbes, 590 American billionaires fell short of that mark and were left off the list entirely.
Elon Musk held the top position for another year, with a fortune Forbes valued at 908 billion dollars. His wealth more than doubled over the past year, rising by roughly 480 billion as Tesla, SpaceX and his other ventures gained ground. Jeff Bezos ranked second at 378 billion dollars after adding about 137 billion, followed by Google co-founder Larry Page at 278 billion. Michael Dell held the fourth spot, and Sergey Brin, the other Google co-founder, rounded out the top five at 256 billion dollars.
The concentration of wealth at the very top stood out. The 20 richest members gained close to 1 trillion dollars between them over the year and are now worth a combined 4 trillion, half of the entire list’s total. Turnover was steady lower down the ranking. Forbes counted 34 newcomers who joined for the first time, while 34 others slipped off. Six members who appeared on the 2025 edition have since died, and their families no longer hold spots in their own right.
The makeup of the list shifted in a few notable ways. Sixty-two women appear this year, about 16 percent of the total. Ten members are under the age of 40, up from four a year earlier, a sign that younger founders in technology and finance are building fortunes faster. Forbes reported that 71 percent of the group is self-made rather than having inherited their money. The average age is 70, and the oldest member, timber magnate Archie Aldis Emmerson, is 97.
Charitable giving drew attention again this year. Forbes found that 44 percent of the 400 had donated less than 1 percent of their fortune, and nearly 80 percent had given away under 5 percent. Only 13 members had parted with 20 percent or more. The findings arrive as the gap between the richest Americans and everyone else continues to widen, keeping questions about how the ultra-wealthy use their money near the center of public debate.
