I’ve just read the list of the richest people in the world this year, and it’s quite interesting to see who they are. Most of the names are ones we’ve heard before, but there are some details that we may not know as much about.

Elon Musk remains in first place with a net worth of $342 billion. His wealth comes from multiple sources, such as Tesla, in which he holds about 12.8% of the company. In addition, there is SpaceX, The Boring Company, Neuralink, and xAI, which he holds as personal assets. What’s especially interesting is that he started out by selling games when he was only 12 years old.

Mark Zuckerberg is in second place with $216 billion. Most of it comes from holding about 13% of Meta Platforms. Compared with others on the list, he is a billionaire who is relatively young.

Jeff Bezos is in third place with $192 billion. His main asset is Amazon, in which he holds about 9–9.7%. He also owns Blue Origin and the media outlet The Washington Post.

Larry Ellison, the founder of Oracle, is in fourth place with $178 billion. He holds about 42% of Oracle, which is a very high stake.

Bernard Arnault, chairman of LVMH, is in fifth place with $154 billion. He started by using $15 million from his family’s construction business to buy Christian Dior in 1984, and then expanded into a luxury empire of various brands, 帝国แบรนด์หรูต่างๆ.

Warren Buffett, the “Oracle of Omaha,” is in sixth place with $146 billion. He is a well-known investor with a fairly strict investment philosophy.

Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the co-founders of Google, are in seventh and eighth place with $144 billion and $138 billion, respectively. Both of them hold about 6% of Alphabet.

Amancio Ortega, the founder of Inditex—the parent company of Zara—is in ninth place with $124 billion. He holds about 60% and also has many real estate holdings worth a great deal worldwide.

Steve Ballmer, the former CEO of Microsoft, is in tenth place with $118 billion. He holds about 4% of Microsoft and also owns the NBA team Los Angeles Clippers.

What’s notable is that almost all of the people with the most money in the world have built their fortunes by creating companies or making smart investments—not by inheriting migrated assets. Their success comes from innovation, long-term vision, and sticking to what they believe, even when facing many challenges. If you’re interested in investing or entrepreneurship, the stories of these people are likely to be inspiring.