THE number of billionaires worldwide has climbed to a record 3,428, with the latest Forbes figures showing that most of the ultra-rich remain concentrated in a small group of countries.
The figures, updated on March 11, cover billionaires across 80 countries and territories.
More than half of the world’s billionaires are based in just three countries — the United States, China and India.
The US leads by a wide margin with 989 billionaires holding a combined wealth of US$8.4 trillion (about RM34 trillion).
Elon Musk remains the richest person in the US, with Forbes estimating his fortune at US$839 billion (RM3.39 trillion).
China comes next with 539 billionaires and combined wealth of US$2.2 trillion (RM8.9 trillion).
The country’s growing technology and consumer sectors have helped produce a new generation of billionaires.
Zhang Yiming, founder of ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, is ranked China’s richest with an estimated fortune of US$69.3 billion (RM280 billion).
India has 229 billionaires, whose combined wealth stands at about US$1 trillion (RM4.04 trillion).
Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries, is the country’s richest at US$99.7 billion (RM403 billion).
Germany ranks fourth with 212 billionaires and total wealth of about US$1 trillion.
Retail businessman Dieter Schwarz tops the country’s list with US$67.2 billion (RM272 billion).
Russia has 147 billionaires worth a combined US$649 billion (RM2.62 trillion), led by Alexey Mordashov and his family, whose wealth is estimated at US$37 billion (RM150 billion).
Italy has 89 billionaires with a combined fortune of US$483 billion (RM1.95 trillion), while Canada has 82 billionaires with total wealth of US$457 billion (RM1.85 trillion).
Hong Kong recorded 71 billionaires, up from 66, with combined wealth of US$420 billion (RM1.7 trillion).
Brazil saw a larger jump, with its billionaire count rising from 56 to 70. Their combined wealth is estimated at US$265 billion (RM1.07 trillion).
Taiwan completes the top 10 with 66 billionaires and combined wealth of US$245 billion (RM991 billion).
The latest figures point to a widening concentration of extreme wealth, with a relatively small number of countries continuing to account for a large share of the world’s billionaire population. – August 23, 2026
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