The American stock market reached new heights in September, propelling the world’s top 10 richest individuals to collectively gain an additional $201 billion in wealth, according to a Forbes report. Except for three whose wealth had declined at the end of August, all others became significantly wealthier in September. Leading this wealth surge were the world’s two richest individuals—Elon Musk and Larry Ellison.
Elon Musk: Unstoppable Momentum
With a net worth of $490.8 billion, Elon Musk remains the world’s wealthiest person. His involvement with four massive enterprises—Tesla, SpaceX, xAI, and X (formerly Twitter)—continues to drive his wealth upward.
Tesla’s stock price surged 33% in September, significantly boosting Musk’s fortune. Several key factors contributed to this growth. On September 12, Musk personally purchased approximately $1 billion worth of Tesla shares, instilling renewed confidence among investors. A week earlier, Tesla’s board had proposed the largest compensation package in history, from which he could receive nearly $1 trillion in stock options (after taxes and other expenses).
The 54-year-old Austin, Texas resident currently serves as CEO of Tesla, CEO of SpaceX, Chairman and Chief Technology Officer of X, and founder of artificial intelligence company xAI. In March 2025, xAI acquired X, valued at $45 billion (including debt). He had purchased Twitter in 2022 for $44 billion. Musk holds approximately 12% of Tesla’s shares, some of which are pledged as collateral for loans. Currently, xAI is valued at $80 billion, while SpaceX reached a $400 billion valuation through a private tender in August.
Musk’s journey began in 2000 when he merged his online bank X.com with Peter Thiel’s company to create PayPal, which eBay acquired in 2002 for $1.4 billion. That same year, he founded SpaceX. He joined Tesla as an investor and chairman in 2004, became CEO in 2008, and took the company public in 2010.
Larry Ellison: Cloud Computing King
With a net worth of $341.8 billion, Larry Ellison stands as the world’s second-richest person. The 81-year-old Oracle founder experienced the most substantial wealth increase in September.
On September 10, Oracle’s stock price jumped 36% in a single day, adding approximately $100 billion to Ellison’s wealth. The surge came after the company announced that its cloud infrastructure business would grow 700% over the next four years, reaching $144 billion. Though the stock price moderated somewhat afterward, it still closed September with a 24% gain.
Ellison is currently involved in the Trump administration’s ambitious “Stargate Project,” where Oracle, OpenAI, and other companies have pledged to invest $500 billion over four years to build AI infrastructure across the United States. Additionally, he and his son David merged Paramount with David’s Skydance Media in August, with Ellison controlling approximately 77.5% of the voting rights in the combined entity.
Ellison co-founded Oracle Software Company in 1977 and served as CEO until 2014. He currently holds the positions of Chairman and Chief Technology Officer. In 2012, he purchased 98% of the Hawaiian island of Lanai for $300 million. He also owns properties in California, Nevada, and Florida.
Tech Titans’ Dominance
The top 10 list is heavily dominated by technology sector leaders. Mark Zuckerberg ranks third with $251.5 billion. The 41-year-old Meta (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp) founder co-founded Facebook in 2004 while a student at Harvard University. The company has grown into the world’s largest social media platform. He took the company public in 2012 and still owns approximately 13% of its shares.
Jeff Bezos holds fourth place with $232.5 billion. The 61-year-old Amazon founder established the e-commerce giant in 1994. He served as CEO until 2021 and currently holds the position of Executive Chairman. Amazon began as an online bookstore when very few people shopped online. The company later dominated cloud storage and entered film and series production with Amazon Prime.
Bezos was the world’s richest person from 2018 to 2021. He dropped to second place in 2022 and has held third place from 2023 to 2025. Following his 2019 divorce from MacKenzie Scott, she received 4% of Amazon shares while he retained 12%. Since then, he has sold and donated additional shares, currently holding 8% of the company. According to Forbes, Bezos has sold more than $49 billion worth of his shares since Amazon went public in 1997.
Google’s Co-Founders
Google co-founders Larry Page ($202.2 billion) and Sergey Brin ($187.6 billion) rank fifth and sixth, respectively. Page and Brin founded the search engine in 1998 while students at Stanford. In September, a federal judge ruled that Google would not have to sell its Chrome browser, causing Alphabet’s stock to rise 14% last month.
Brin has emerged from semi-retirement to help with Alphabet’s AI strategy. Last year, he returned to propose changes to Google’s Gemini AI chatbot and was listed as a “core contributor” when the model was unveiled in December.
AI Era’s Rising Star
Jensen Huang ranks seventh with $162 billion. The 62-year-old founder and CEO of Nvidia has dominated chip manufacturing in the artificial intelligence era. Under his leadership, Nvidia’s market capitalization reached $4.5 trillion as of September 30. Huang, who was born in Taiwan and spent part of his childhood in Thailand, founded Nvidia in 1993. The company’s GPUs initially dominated computer gaming and now dominate AI applications.
Europe’s Representative
France’s Bernard Arnault is the only European in the top 10, ranking eighth with $159.4 billion. The 76-year-old CEO and Chairman of luxury goods group LVMH controls approximately 70 fashion and cosmetic brands, including Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Moët & Chandon, Sephora, and jewelry brand Tiffany & Company. His father earned millions in the construction business, and Arnault used $15 million from that wealth to purchase Christian Dior, building it into the world’s largest luxury goods company.
Veteran Legends
Steve Ballmer ($156 billion) and Warren Buffett ($150.2 billion) round out the top 10 in ninth and tenth place respectively. Former Microsoft CEO Ballmer, now 69, was Bill Gates’ classmate at Harvard. He joined Microsoft as the 30th employee in 1980 after leaving Stanford’s MBA program and served as CEO from 2000 to 2014. Upon retiring from Microsoft, he purchased the Los Angeles Clippers NBA team for $2 billion; Forbes now values the team at $5.5 billion.
The 95-year-old Warren Buffett is one of the world’s most successful investors. Born to a U.S. Congressman, he bought his first stock at age 11 and filed his first tax return at 13. He still manages Berkshire Hathaway, which owns dozens of companies, including insurance company GEICO, battery manufacturer Duracell, and restaurant chain Dairy Queen. In May, he announced he would retire from the CEO position at the end of 2025. Buffett has pledged to donate 99% of his wealth and has already donated approximately $65 billion, according to Forbes.
September’s wealth surge primarily reflects the technology sector’s strong position and investor confidence in artificial intelligence. Companies like Tesla, Oracle, Meta, Google, and Nvidia are opening new possibilities in the AI era, reshaping not just the fortunes of these billionaires but the entire global economy. However, debates continue regarding this massive wealth concentration and the technology sector’s monopolistic dominance.
