The richest person in the world right now (early 2026) is Elon Musk, according to the latest billionaire rankings and January 2026 wealth estimates.

Quick Scoop: whois the richest person in the world

  • Name: Elon Musk.
  • Estimated net worth (early 2026 range): Roughly 700–770 billion USD, depending on the source and the day’s market moves.
  • Main sources of wealth: Tesla, SpaceX, xAI and other tech/space ventures.
  • Ranking: Sits at No. 1 on multiple “real-time” billionaire trackers and early‑2026 rich lists.

In simple terms: stock markets have boomed again for tech, Tesla and related companies have surged, and that’s pushed Musk far ahead of other billionaires like Larry Page, Jeff Bezos, Bernard Arnault, and Larry Ellison.

Mini table: top slot and the chasing pack

[5][9][3] [1][3][5] [9][3][5] [8][3] [3][1] [1][3] [4][3][1] [4][3][1]
Rank (2026) Person Approx. net worth Main businesses
1 Elon Musk About 700–770B USD (varies by day)Tesla, SpaceX, xAI, other tech ventures
2 Larry Page Around 260–280B USD rangeGoogle (Alphabet), tech investments
3 Jeff Bezos Roughly 230–250B USDAmazon, Blue Origin, investments
4–5 Larry Ellison / Bernard Arnault Roughly 190–240B USD tierOracle, LVMH luxury empire

Why this changes all the time

  • Most of this wealth is in stocks , so rankings move with the market every day.
  • Different lists (Forbes, Bloomberg, various 2026 compilations) use slightly different methods and cut‑off dates, so the exact dollar number never fully agrees.
  • Still, across those independent trackers, the same pattern shows up: Musk is clearly in the No. 1 spot as of early 2026, often by a huge margin.

If you ever want the ultra‑current figure to the last billion, you’d need to check a real‑time billionaire tracker on the specific day you care about, because it fluctuates with every big market swing.

Bottom note: Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.