According to Forbes, the world’s richest people are wealthier now than they've ever been, and more billionaires have made it onto the 2025 World's Billionaires List than ever before. And after being dethroned from the No. 1 spot in recent years, Austin billionaire Elon Musk has reclaimed the title as the world's richest person in 2025.
Musk knocked French luxury goods magnate Bernard Arnault down to second place this year.
Forbes declared Musk the first person to reach the $300 billion status. His current net worth stands at $342 billion, which is a staggering $147 billion more than his 2024 net worth of $195 billion.
Musk, 53, is the cofounder of seven companies, including Austin-based Tesla, SpaceX, xAI, The Boring Company, and more. He famously acquired Twitter in 2022, renamed it X, and most recently sold the social media site to his artificial intelligence startup xAI.
Forbes cites Musk's "big new valuations" of xAI and SpaceX as big reasons for his massive wealth growth, as well as his role in reshaping the U.S. government.
"It’s another record-breaking year for the world’s richest people, despite financial uncertainty for many and geopolitical tensions on the rise," said Forbes senior editor of wealth Chase Peterson-Withorn. "And, from Elon Musk to Howard Lutnick and the other billionaires taking over the U.S. government, they’re growing more and more powerful."
Dell Technologies chairman and CEO Michael Dell is the second-richest person in Austin with an estimated net worth of $97.7 billion in 2025. He ranked No. 17 on Forbes' list of richest billionaires in the world.
Other Austin-area billionaires that made Forbes 2025 list of the world's richest include:
- Venture capitalist Robert F. Smith: tied for No. 230 with an estimated net worth of $10.8 billion, up from $9.2 billion in 2024
- Airbnb cofounder Joe Gebbia: tied for No. 364, $8.3 billion, down from $9.7 billion
- Tech entrepreneur Thai Lee: tied for No. 474, $7 billion, up from $5.3 billion
- Software investor Joseph Liemandt: tied for No. 561, $6.2 billion, up from $5.1 billion
- Tito's Vodka baron Bert Beveridge: tied for No. 751, $4.8 billion, down from $6.8 billion
- GoodLeap cofounder Hayes Barnard: tied for No. 1108, $3.3 billion, down from $3.7 billion
- Patrón Spirits founder John Paul DeJoria: tied for No. 1219, $3 billion, flat from 2024
- Finance chief executive David Booth: tied for No. 1462, $2.5 billion, up from $2.1 billion
- Software tech magnate James Truchard: tied for No. 2933, $1 billion, flat from 2024
New to Austin's growing list of billionaires is venture capitalist and data mining entrepreneur Joe Lonsdale. He ranked No. 1,763 this year with an estimated net worth of $2 billion.
Elsewhere in Central Texas, Temple-based billionaire Drayton McLane, Jr., who is the chairman of holding company McLane Group, ranked No. 902 this year with a net worth of $4 billion, up from $3.2 billion in 2024.
H-E-B fortune heiress Eleanor Butt Crook, a San Marcos resident, has a net worth of $4.4 billion, making her No. 823 on the list in 2025. Fellow H-E-B heirs and family membersHoward Butt III and Stephen Butt also made the list, both tied for No. 1172 with the same net worth of $3.1 billion. H-E-B chairman and San Antonio resident Charles Butt ranked No. 230 this year with a $10.8 billion net worth.
