This year’s ranking highlighted how artificial intelligence transformed fortunes, adding new billionaires in record numbers.

The rise of artificial intelligence propelled a new generation of billionaires to prominent positions on Forbes’ prestigious 2025 list. With market growth surpassing investors’ expectations, major tech players saw their fortunes multiply thanks to the surge in demand for computing power, the creation of enterprise applications, and advances in AI language models.
In 2025, the technology industry emerged as the richest in the world, with a combined value of USD 3.2 trillion and 46 new billionaires coming from this sector. Among all areas of the economy, none achieved such rapid growth or added as many new members to the ranks of the wealthy as the artificial intelligence sector.

The Great AI Boom and Its Protagonists:

The generative AI revolution, sparked by the launch of ChatGPT in 2022, not only changed the way companies operate but also created new opportunities for investment and funding. The seven former OpenAI employees who founded Anthropic in 2021, for example, benefited enormously from a USD 3.5 billion capital injection that valued the company at USD 61.5 billion.
In a strategic merger, Elon Musk combined his xAI project with X (formerly Twitter), achieving a valuation of USD 80 billion following a USD 6 billion capital infusion.
Among the new billionaires is Liang Wenfeng, founder of DeepSeek, an AI startup that captured global attention for its reasoning model R1, which promises to be more cost-effective to train than other leading models without sacrificing performance.
Through private capital, Liang, who is also a hedge fund manager, managed to build a considerable fortune thanks to his company’s rapidly growing valuation.

A Look at the Leading AI Billionaires:
Among the top magnates now featured on the Forbes list are some of the most resonant names in the tech world.

Mark Zuckerberg
Net Worth: USD 216 billion
The co-founder and CEO of Meta, formerly known as Facebook, experienced a remarkable increase in his wealth. In 2025, his fortune is estimated at USD 216 billion, making him the second richest person in the world.
This surge is due to a boom in Meta’s stock, driven by investor enthusiasm for the company’s AI-powered projects.

Larry Ellison
Oracle grows through collaboration
Net Worth: USD 192 billion
The co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Oracle saw his wealth rise by USD 51 billion, thanks to Oracle’s collaboration with AI companies, including Nvidia, in a deal nicknamed “Stargate.” Ellison remains one of the major players in the cloud computing arena.

Jensen Huang
Net Worth: USD 98.7 billion
The CEO of Nvidia also benefited enormously from the surge in demand for AI computing power. His fortune increased by USD 21.7 billion, and his company continues to be an essential pillar for AI operations worldwide.

Sam Altman
Net Worth: USD 1.5 billion
The CEO of OpenAI stood out as one of the most influential figures in artificial intelligence, amassing significant wealth thanks to the success of ChatGPT and other generative AI models. His leadership was key to OpenAI’s growth, positioning it at the forefront of the AI and machine learning sectors.

Alexandr Wang
Net Worth: USD 2 billion
The young founder of Scale AI, a company dedicated to data labeling that works with giants such as OpenAI and Google, achieved a valuation of USD 14 billion, allowing him to join the billionaire ranks with a fortune of USD 2 billion.

The Business of Computing Power:

Companies dedicated to selling computing power have greatly benefited from the AI boom. A clear example is CoreWeave, a startup that operates 32 data centers and offers solutions to businesses of all sizes.
Founded by Brannin McBee, Jack Cogen, and two other entrepreneurs, the company saw an explosive increase in its valuation, rising from USD 2 billion in 2023 to USD 23 billion when it went public in March 2025. CoreWeave’s focus on providing critical infrastructure for training AI models turned its founders into new billionaires.

Strategic Investors: The Future of AI and Its Implications:

Several prominent tech investors have seen considerable growth in their wealth due to their stakes in key companies within the sector. Joe Lonsdale, with significant interests in Palantir and Anduril, has seen his fortune reach USD 2 billion thanks to his contribution to developing AI applications in defense.
Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal and one of Silicon Valley’s most influential investors, consolidated his USD 16.3 billion fortune by backing companies like Palantir, which specializes in data analysis and AI applied to security.
Meanwhile, Reed Hastings, co-founder of Netflix, played an essential role in integrating AI into the platform, optimizing streaming and content recommendations. With a fortune of USD 5.2 billion, his influence in adopting AI within Netflix was crucial to the company’s growth, positioning him as a key figure in the tech industry.