For the first time in history, both the richest man in the world and the richest woman in the world are… French. Find out who they are and their wealth according to the latest ranking of Forbes magazine.
“Cocoricos” or shouts of indignation will follow the announcement of this ranking. In 2023, Forbes magazine puts a Frenchman and a Frenchwoman at the top of its list of the world’s greatest riches. Bernard Arnault, chairman of the LVMH group, becomes the richest man in the world, while Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, daughter of Liliane Bettencourt (L’Oréal), retains her place as the richest woman in the world. You can find the entire ranking of the richest men, women and French in the world in our dedicated article.
Who is the richest man in the world?
In 2023, Bernard Arnault becomes the richest man in the world. At the age of 74, the president of the famous LVMH group has 211 billion dollars. In one year, he went from third place on the Forbes list to first place, dethroning Jeff Bezos (former head of Amazon) and Elon Musk (head of Tesla).
Who are the richest people in the world in 2023?
| Ranking 2023 | Name | Net worth (billions of dollars) | The origin of wealth | Earth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bernard Arnault | 211 | LVMH | France |
| 2 | Elon Musk | 180 | You are here | UNITED STATES |
| 3 | Jeff Bezos | 114 | Amazon | UNITED STATES |
| 4 | Larry Ellison | 107 | software | UNITED STATES |
| 5 | Warren Buffett | 106 | Berkshire Hathaway | UNITED STATES |
| 6 | Bill Gates | 104 | Microsoft | UNITED STATES |
| 7 | Michael Bloomberg | 94.5 | Bloomberg LP | UNITED STATES |
| 8 | Carlos Slim Hello | 93 | Telecom | Mexico |
| 9 | Mukesh Ambani | 83.4 | Reliance Industries | India |
| 10 | Steve Ballmer | 80.7 | Microsoft | UNITED STATES |
| 11 | Françoise Bettancourt-Meyers | 80.5 | L’Oreal | France |
| 12 | Larry Page | 79.2 | UNITED STATES | |
| 13 | Amancio Ortega | 77.3 | Zara | Spain |
| 14 | Sergey Brin | 76 | UNITED STATES | |
| 15 | Zhong Shanshan | 68 | Pharmacy | China |
| 16 | Mark Zuckerberg | 64.4 | UNITED STATES | |
| 17 | Charles Koch | 59 | Koch Industries | UNITED STATES |
| 18 | Julia Koch and family | 59 | Koch Industries | UNITED STATES |
| 19 | Jim Walton | 58.8 | Walmart | UNITED STATES |
| 20 | Rob Walton | 57.6 | Walmart | UNITED STATES |
Who is the richest woman in the world in 2023?
Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, daughter of Liliane Bettencourt (L’Oréal), who died in September 2017, retained her position as the richest woman in the world in 2023. Her personal wealth is estimated by the American magazine Forbes at $80.5 billion. A growing sum that makes the French woman and her family the 11th richest people in the world, men and women combined.
Who are the richest women in the world in 2023?
| Rank | Name | Net worth (billions of dollars) | The origin of wealth | Earth | Overall ranking (male/female) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Françoise Bettencourt Meyers | 80.5 | L’Oreal | France | 11 |
| 2 | Julia Koch | 59 | Koch Industries | UNITED STATES | 18 |
| 3 | Alice Walton | 56.7 | Walmart | UNITED STATES | 21 |
| 4 | Jacqueline Mars | 38.3 | various | UNITED STATES | 30 |
| 5 | Miriam Adelson | 35 | casinos | UNITED STATES | 34 |
Who are the great French rich?
The richest man in the world Bernard Arnault (LVMH) mechanically stands out as the richest Frenchman in the world. It is about a woman, Françoise Bettencourt Meyers (L’Oréal), who is on the 2nd place in the ranking of the richest French people on the planet. In 3rd place is François Pinault (Kering) with 40.10 billion dollars, ahead of the Wertheimer brothers (Chanel) and Emmanuel Besnier (Lactalis).
| Rank | Name | Net worth (billions of dollars) | The origin of wealth | World ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bernard Arnault | 211 | LVMH | 1 |
| 2 | Francoise Bettencourt Meyers | 80.5 | L’Oreal | 11 |
| 3 | Francois Pinault | 40.10 | Kering | 31 |
| 4 | Alain and Gérard Wertheimer | 31.6 | Chanel | 41 |
| 5 | Emmanuel Besnier | 22 | Lactalis | 71 |
Nigerian national Aliko Dangote remains, for the 12th consecutive year, the richest African, according to Forbes. He has assets estimated at $13.5 billion. which makes it 124th in the world. Where does his wealth come from? Cement, sugar and flour.
The richest man in the world, Frenchman Bernard Arnault (LVMH) is still the richest European in the world. The French billionaire has a personal fortune of more than 211 billion dollars.
The second richest man in the world, Elon Musk, is considered the richest American, with a fortune estimated at $180 billion in 2023. The billionaire is the CEO of Tesla and the founder of SpaceX. He recently became a customer of the social network Twitter.
Mukesh Anbani, an Indian, is considered the richest man in Asia, with a fortune estimated at $83.4 billion. The origin of his wealth? He is the head of Reliance Industries which he inherited from his father. Today, he is considered one of the most powerful men in India.
Contrary to what some people assume, Vladimir Putin is not the richest man in Russia. At least not according to Forbes, which doesn’t include him at all in its ranking of the planet’s billionaires. No, according to the magazine, the first Russian fortune in 2023 is that of Andrei Melnychenko, estimated at $25.2 billion. He is the president of Eurochem, a company specializing in the production and sale of fertilizers and agricultural inputs. It also invests in coal mining in Russia.
Who is the richest man of all time?
According to Money, who claims to have spent “hours” interviewing economists and historians to compare wealth at different times, the richest man of all time is African: Mansa Mousa (also called Kankou Moussa), ruler of the Mali Empire from 1312 to 1332. How rich was he? He was “richer than anyone can describe,” Money replies.