Top 10 richest people in the world: Jeff Bezos third-richest; Musk loses $363 billion

The biggest reason behind Musk’s loss was the performance of SpaceX. After jumping as much as 67 per cent above its IPO price in June, the company’s stock fell 37 per cent in July. Since Musk owns a 38 per cent stake in SpaceX, the drop reduced the value of his holdings by about $320 billion, leaving his stake worth an estimated $552 billion.

While Musk had a difficult month, Jeff Bezos emerged as July’s biggest gainer. The Amazon founder added $29 billion to his fortune as Amazon shares climbed 14 per cent. His net worth reached an estimated $278 billion, helping him rise to become the world’s third-richest person for the first time since March.

Bezos overtook Google’s co-founder Sergey Brin, who slipped to fourth place despite adding $1 billion to his wealth. Brin’s fortune now stands at an estimated $269 billion.

After Musk, the biggest decline was recorded by Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison. His wealth fell by $24 billion to an estimated $168 billion after Oracle shares dropped 11 per cent during the month. The fall pushed him from seventh to eighth place, allowing Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang to move ahead. Huang’s net worth increased by $1 billion to an estimated $174 billion.

Apart from Bezos and Brin changing positions, the rest of the top 10 rankings remained unchanged. Michael Dell, ranked fifth, also saw his wealth shrink by $6 billion, leaving him with an estimated $229 billion. Besides Bezos, the only members of the top 10 to post gains in July were Larry Page, Sergey Brin and Jensen Huang.

Together, the world’s 10 richest people were worth an estimated $2.6 trillion as of August 1, down $368 billion from the previous month. Every person in the top 10 is a man, and each has a fortune of at least $145 billion, slightly lower than the $148 billion minimum recorded a month earlier.

Top 10 richest people in the world (August 2026):