The Top 10 Richest People In The World | August 2026

Elon Musk became the world’s first trillionaire when SpaceX went public on June 12. But his four-comma-fortune didn’t last long, as his rocketmaker’s once soaring stock came crashing back to earth and Musk lost a record $363 billion in July. That’s more than the entire net worth of each of the world’s next nine richest people, including No. 2 Larry Page, whose fortune inched upward by $1 billion, to an estimated $292 billion, as of August 1 at 12 a.m. Eastern time. Musk, meanwhile, is the poorest he’s been since December, worth an estimated $690 billion.  Shares of SpaceX, which had soared by as much as 67% above their IPO price in June, sank by 37% in July. That shaved $320 billion off the fortune of Musk, whose 38% stake in SpaceX is now valued at $552 billion. His 11% stake in Tesla, meanwhile, is worth $43 billion less than last month ($123 billion in all), after the electric vehicle maker reported Q2 earnings that fell short of analysts’ expectations on July 22 and Tesla’s stock slid by 26% during the month.  The biggest winner of July was Jeff Bezos, whose fortune grew by $29 billion, to an estimated $278 billion, as shares of Amazon climbed by 14%. That helped Bezos end the month as the world’s third richest person for the first time since March. He overtook Page’s cofounder Sergey Brin, who fell to No. 4, despite also being worth $1 billion more than last month, or an estimated $269 billion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices