Elon Musk tops list of richest Americans in Forbes 400: Tesla owner is $90 billion wealthier than Jeff Bezos who took out second spot ... while Donald Trump DROPS OFF
- The top are $500 billion richer than a year ago, aided by rebounding stock markets and an AI-driven tech boom
- It now takes $2.9 billion to make the cut, up from $2.7 billion a year ago
- The annual list from the business magazine puts the total wealth of America's top 400 at $4.5 trillion, matching its previous high in 2021.
Elon Musk is still America's richest man with a $251 billion fortune, according to the Annual Forbes 400 survey, leaving fellow tech titans Jeff Bezos and Larry Ellison trailing in his wake.
Like millions of Americans the Tesla boss is no better off than last year, but he remains cushioned by a fortune around $90 billion bigger than anyone else's.
Despite paying $44 billion for Twitter last year he has maintained his wealth, helped by a five-fold increase in the value of his rocket company SpaceX to $150 billion in the last four years.
But there is no place for ex-president Donald Trump who drops off the list with an estimated $2.6billion fortune a full $300million short of making the top 400.
The former president shared a place with his father Fred on the list's first incarnation back in 1982, but is thought to have lost $600million over the past year amid a flurry of legal bills and the poor performance of his social media network Truth Social.
No place either for any of the Kardashian clan, despite Kim having a fortune of $1.4billion and younger sister Kylie making $750million from her cosmetics brands.
Tesla and SpaceX boss Elon Musk, pictured at a 2022 Halloween party, keeps his top spot as America's richest man with a fortune estimated at $252billion
But the former richest man ex-Amazon boss Jeff Bezos, 59, pictured with fiancee Lauren Sanchez has made up some ground in second place with $161billion
Reclusive Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, 79, comes in at third with $158billion
But Ivanka Trump's brother-in law Josh Kushner joins the list for the first time with $3.6billion thanks to his venture capital firm Thrive Capital.
The annual list from the business magazine puts the total wealth of America's top 400 at $4.5 trillion, matching its previous high in 2021.
Just 60 women make the list topped by Walmart heir Alice Walton, 73, with $64.9billion, but the list sees its first pro athlete in the shape of Michael Jordan with a $3billion fortune thanks partly to nine-figure annual royalty checks from Nike and his sale of shares in the Charlotte Hornets NBA team.
Back at the top table, Musk has found Amazon founder Jeff Bezos making ground with a $161billion fortune up $10billion in the last year.
Bezos, 59, spent four years as the world's richest man with a fortune peaking at $201billion before being overtaken by Musk in 2021.
His wife MacKenzie received a quarter of his Amazon stock when they divorced in 2019 and he has been accused of leaving Amazon successor Andy Jassy to clear up his mess after stepping down as CEO of the company in July 2021.
He retains ownership of the Washington Post and aerospace company Blue Origin with which he flew into orbit in 2021.
Fighting Bezos for third place is Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, 79, with $158billion from his 40 per cent stake in the company.
He also owns 15 million shares in the electric carmaker Tesla and 98% of Lana'l, the private island in Hawaii he moved to in 2020.
Donald Trump shared a place with his father Fred on the list's first incarnation back in 1982, but has dropped off the list after losing $600million over the past year amid a flurry of legal bills and the poor performance of his social media network Truth Social.
'Sage of Omaha' Warren Buffet, 93, has a fortune of $121billion after a lifetime of spotting good investments for his company Berkshire Hathaway
Larry Page, 50, remains a board member and a controlling shareholder of Google's parent company Alphabet
Google once threatened to eclipse Microsoft but Bill Gates, 67, remains America's sixth richest man with a $111billion fortune while upstart rival Sergey Brin is $1billion behind him
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg accused Musk of chickening out of the cage fight the Tesla boss had planned, meanwhile Microsoft's Steve Ballmer is happy to be a spectator
Michael Bloomberg, pictured with Prince William, found time to be mayor of New York as well as build a media empire
Alice Walton, 73, of the Walmart retail dynasty is now America's richest woman with a fortune of $66.5billion
Walton swaps places with Julia Koch who inherited a $60billion stake in Koch Industries
But technology is not the only route to wealth, and investor Warren Buffet, 93, takes fourth place in the list with $121billion from his investment firm Berkshire Hathaway.
The 'Sage of Omaha' is the son of a US congressman, bought his first stock aged 11 and filed his first taxes at 13.
Born in Nebraska his firm wholly owns companies such as Geico and Dairy Queen, along with parts of Cocoa Cola, Kraft Heinz and Apple.
Reclusive Google co-founder Larry Page, 50, keeps his place at the bottom of the top five with $144bn up $21billion on last year.
He has only been photographed a handful of times since stepping down as CEO of Google's parent company Alphabet in 2019 and spent months in Fiji during the coronavirus pandemic - mostly on the island of Tavarua.
Microsoft founder Bill Gates, was once the world's richest man but now sits at sixth on America's list, while Page's Google co-founder, Sergey Brin, comes in at number seven.
Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg spent part of this year fending off a challenge to a cage fight from Musk, but his early investment in AI sees him consolidate his $106billion fortune.
Gates's former right-hand man, ex-Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer tucks in at number nine with $101billion, and media titan Michael Bloomberg proves you do not need an 11-digit fortune to make the top ten, sneaking into tenth place with $96billion.
Michael Dell of the eponymous computer firm has seen his fortune grow for five years running to $72billion while the next three spots are taken by members of the Walton family behind Walmart, including Alice in 14th place.
Julia Koch tucks in behind with a $60billion stake in Koch Industries inherited from her husband, David, who died in August 2019 at age 79.
And her former in-law Charles Koch is close behind with $55 billion from the sprawling manufacturing giant.
The biggest riser on the list is the Taiwan-born cofounder of Nvidia Jensen Huang who shoots up 31 places to 17th on the back of furious demand from AI firms for his company's computer chips.
Oregon's Phil Knight (left) retired as chairman of Nike in 2016 after 52 years in charge of the company, while California's Jensen Huang storms 31 places up the list to 17 on the back of Nvidia's success in the chip market
Virginia's John Mars seen with wife Adrienne picking up an honorary knighthood from the Queen at Windsor Castle saw his wealth rise to $38.9billion
Former NBA giant Michael Jordan becomes the first pro-athlete to ever join the top 400 thanks to sponsorship deals and the sale of his stake in the Charlotte Hornets
MacKenzie Scott, pictured with ex-husband Jeff Bezos, received a quarter of his Amazon stock when they divorced in 2019 and is currently worth $37billion
Nike founder Phil Knight slips to 18th, while siblings Jacqueline and John Mars take the next two spots thanks to their shares in the confectionary giant.
Propping up the top 20 is MacKenzie Scott, the former wife of Bezos, who has wealth of $37 billion after giving away more than $14 billion to charities since 2020.
Lower down on the list is Lukas Walton, at 37 the youngest in the top 400, and one of only four people under 40 to make the cut.
The oldest is Dole Food Products billionaire David Murdock at 100 and the average age of the richest billionaires is 70.
