The Billionaire Bracket: Who's Actually Running the World in 2025

Bloomberg’s billionaire index just dropped, and the wealth rankings are absolutely wild. Let’s cut through the noise and see who’s sitting on top of the financial pyramid.

The Top 5 That Own Everything

1. Elon Musk - $342B Still holding the crown. The guy literally owns piece of everything: Tesla (12.8%), X (79%), SpaceX, Neuralink, The Boring Company, xAI. Man’s basically collecting companies like Pokemon at this point.

2. Mark Zuckerberg - $215B Meta’s CEO and the internet’s favorite controversial figure. Holds 13% of Meta ($164B of his wealth). From dorm room to global empire—classic Silicon Valley flex.

3. Jeff Bezos - $192B Amazon founder still banking hard. ~9-10% stake in Amazon = $186-190B right there. Plus Blue Origin, Washington Post, and $19.9B in cash sitting around. The diversification game is strong.

4. Larry Ellison - $178B Oracle’s godfather. Holds 42% of the company (that’s $117B alone). Tesla board member, crypto holder—this dude’s portfolio is chef’s kiss.

5. Bernard Arnault - $154B The luxury king. CEO of LVMH holding 48% ($170B). Bought Tiffany & Co for $15.8B in 2021. Fashion billionaires gonna fashion.

The Rest of the Club

Warren Buffett ($146B) - Still crushing it at 94 years old. Berkshire Hathaway’s 15% stake = $137B. The guy’s literally a money-making machine.

Larry Page & Sergey Brin ($144B & $138B) - Google’s dynamic duo. Both hold ~6% of Alphabet each. Basically built the internet’s nervous system.

Amancio Ortega ($124B) - Zara’s founder. 60% of Inditex + $12B in real estate. Fast fashion pays very well.

Steve Ballmer ($118B) - Microsoft’s ex-CEO. 4% of MSFT ($134B), owns LA Clippers, just donated $425M to University of Oregon.

The Pattern Nobody’s Talking About

• Tech dominates: 7 out of top 10 are tech or tech-adjacent
• Holdings matter: Most billionaires hold massive stakes in their companies (42-79% range)
• Diversification is key: Cash, real estate, side projects keep them liquid
• Age ≠ Relevance: Ellison’s 80, Buffett’s 94, but they’re still in the game

Quick Reality Check

These 10 people control roughly $1.7 TRILLION in wealth. That’s more than most countries’ GDP. Their net worth fluctuates with market close every single day.

The real lesson? Most of them built tech or consumer empires, held significant stakes, and reinvested aggressively. No passive income fairy tales here—just relentless execution and positioning in growth sectors.

What’s wild is how much of this wealth is on paper (stock holdings). A market correction could shuffle these rankings overnight. But for now, this is the billionaire pecking order. 📊