Bezos, Musk top Forbes billionaire list

Forbes’ annual list of the world’s billionaires features a record-breaking 2,755 people, with Amazon.com Inc founder Jeff Bezos leading the list for the fourth year in a row, according to the media group.

After a year in which the coronavirus pandemic upended world economies and threatened the livelihoods of people all over the world, the ranks of the ultra-wealthy are growing.

According to Forbes, this year’s billionaires are worth a total of $13.1 trillion, up from $8 trillion last year.

“The very, very rich got very, very richer,” said Forbes’ Chief Content Officer Randall Lane, in an interview with Reuters Video News.

Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk jumped into second spot on the list, up from 31st last year.

Bernard Arnault, chief executive of luxury goods firm LVMH, Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg round out the top five of the world’s richest billionaires.

Investor and business tycoon Warren Buffett fell out of the top five for the first time in over two decades, as tech executives dominate the Forbes rankings.

This year’s list has 493 newcomers, including Whitney Wolfe Herd, chief executive of dating app Bumble, which went public this year.