Wealth
The richest people in the world, the world’s religions, and how the world’s wealth divides between them.
100 people · combined $7,124B · Forbes World’s Billionaires 2026 (annual list, as republished by Forbes Australia) 2026-03-01
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The richest people in the world
Forbes World’s Billionaires 2026 (annual list, as republished by Forbes Australia) — net worth in US dollars as of 2026-03-01. Latest = Forbes’ monthly snapshot of 2026-11-01, published for the top 10 only. The live Forbes and Bloomberg lists do not allow our crawler. Companies link to their page here. All 4,020 billionaires →
| # | Name | Net worth (2026-03-01) | Latest | Where the money comes from | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Elon Musk self-made | $839B ↗ | $869B #1 · 2026-11-01 ↗ | Tesla, SpaceX Elon Musk cofounded seven companies, including electric car maker Tesla, rocket producer SpaceX and artificial intelligence startup xAI. |
United States |
| 2 | Larry Page self-made | $257B ↗ | $233B #3 · 2026-11-01 ↗ | Google Larry Page stepped down as CEO of Alphabet, the parent company of Google, in 2019 but remains a board member and a controlling shareholder. |
United States |
| 3 | Sergey Brin self-made | $237B ↗ | $214B #5 · 2026-11-01 ↗ | Google Sergey Brin stepped down as president of Alphabet, parent company of Google, in 2019 but remains a board member and a controlling shareholder. |
United States |
| 4 | Jeff Bezos self-made | $224B ↗ | $361B #2 · 2026-11-01 ↗ | Amazon Jeff Bezos founded e-commerce giant Amazon in 1994 out of his Seattle garage. |
United States |
| 5 | Mark Zuckerberg self-made | $222B ↗ | $211B #6 · 2026-11-01 ↗ | Meta (Facebook) A 19-year-old Mark Zuckerberg started Facebook in 2004 for students to match names with photos of classmates. |
United States |
| 6 | Larry Ellison self-made | $190B ↗ | $172B #8 · 2026-11-01 ↗ | Oracle Larry Ellison is chairman, chief technology officer and cofounder of software giant Oracle, of which he owns roughly 40%. |
United States |
| 7 | Bernard Arnault & family | $171B ↗ | — | LVMH Bernard Arnault oversees the LVMH empire of 75 fashion and cosmetics brands, including Louis Vuitton and Sephora. |
France |
| 8 | Jensen Huang self-made | $154B ↗ | $178B #7 · 2026-11-01 ↗ | Nvidia Jensen Huang cofounded graphics-chip maker Nvidia in 1993 and has served as its CEO and president ever since. |
United States |
| 9 | Warren Buffett | $149B ↗ | $154B #10 · 2026-11-01 ↗ | Berkshire Hathaway Known as the “Oracle of Omaha,” Warren Buffett is one of the most successful investors of all time. |
United States |
| 10 | Amancio Ortega | $148B ↗ | — | Inditex Amancio Ortega of Spain is one of the wealthiest clothing retailers in the world. |
Spain |
| 11 | Rob Walton & family | $146B ↗ | — | Walmart Rob Walton is the eldest son of Walmart founder Sam Walton. |
United States |
| 12 | Jim Walton & family | $143B ↗ | — | Walmart Jim Walton is the youngest son of Walmart founder Sam Walton (d. 1992). |
United States |
| 13 | Michael Dell self-made | $141B ↗ | $229B #4 · 2026-11-01 ↗ | Dell Technologies Michael Dell is chairman and CEO of Dell Technologies, which formed in 2016 via Dell’s $60 billion merger with computer storage giant EMC. |
United States |
| 14 | Alice Walton | $134B ↗ | $133B #14 · 2026-11-01 ↗ | Walmart Alice Walton is the only daughter of Walmart founder Sam Walton (d. 1992). |
United States |
| 15 | Steve Ballmer | $126B ↗ | $162B #9 · 2026-11-01 ↗ | Microsoft Steve Ballmer is the high-energy former CEO of Microsoft, who led the company from 2000 to 2014. |
United States |
| 16 | Carlos Slim Helu & family | $125B ↗ | — | América Móvil Mexico’s richest person, Carlos Slim Helú and his family control América Móvil, Latin America’s biggest mobile telecom firm. |
Mexico |
| 17 | Changpeng Zhao self-made | $110B ↗ | — | Binance Changpeng Zhao, who goes by CZ, is the founder and former CEO of Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world. |
Canada |
| 18 | Michael Bloomberg self-made | $109B ↗ | — | Bloomberg LP Michael Bloomberg cofounded financial information and media company Bloomberg LP in 1981. |
United States |
| 19 | Bill Gates self-made | $108B ↗ | — | Microsoft Bill Gates helped usher in huge changes in personal technology with software firm Microsoft; now he’s focused on giving away his massive fortune. |
United States |
| 20 | Francoise Bettencourt Meyers & family | $100B ↗ | — | L'Oréal Francoise Bettencourt Meyers is the granddaughter of the founder of L’Oréal. |
France |
| 21 | Mukesh Ambani | $99.7B ↗ | — | Reliance Industries Mukesh Ambani chairs and runs $125 billion (revenue) Reliance Industries, which has interests in petrochemicals, oil and gas, telecom, retail, media and financial services. |
India |
| 22 | Giancarlo Devasini | $89.3B ↗ | — | Tether Giancarlo Devasini is the chief financial officer, and likely the biggest shareholder, of Tether, the largest issuer of crypto stablecoins. |
Italy |
| 23 | Thomas Peterffy | $82.9B ↗ | — | Interactive Brokers A digital trading pioneer, Thomas Peterffy chairs Interactive Brokers, which markets its specialized trading platform to sophisticated investors. |
United States |
| 24 | Julia Koch & family | $81.2B ↗ | — | Koch, Inc. Julia Koch and her three children inherited a 42% stake in Koch, Inc. (formerly Koch Industries) from her husband, David Koch, who died in 2019 at age 79. |
United States |
| 25 | Charles Koch & family | $73.8B ↗ | — | Koch, Inc. Charles Koch has been chairman of Koch, Inc., America’s second largest private company by revenue, since 1967. He brought on his first ever co-CEO in 2023. |
United States |
| 26 | Zhang Yiming self-made | $69.3B ↗ | — | ByteDance Zhang Yiming is the main cofounder of Chinese tech giant ByteDance, best known for its insanely popular app TikTok, which has more than 1 billion users worldwide. |
China |
| 27 | Zhong Shanshan self-made | $68.1B ↗ | — | Nongfu Spring Zhong Shanshan is the founder and chairman of Nongfu Spring, a bottled water company that listed its shares in Hong Kong in 2020. |
China |
| 28 | Jeff Yass self-made | $67.4B ↗ | — | Susquehanna International Group Jeff Yass is a cofounder of Susquehanna International Group, one of Wall Street’s largest and most successful trading firms. |
United States |
| 29 | Dieter Schwarz | $67.2B ↗ | — | Schwarz Group Dieter Schwarz owns Schwarz Group, a German discount grocery retailer with revenue of more than $200 billion. |
Germany |
| 30 | Germán Larrea Mota Velasco & family | $67.1B ↗ | — | Grupo México Germán Larrea Mota Velasco owns the majority of Mexico’s largest copper mining company, Grupo México, which also has operations in Perú and the U.S. |
Mexico |
| 31 | Gautam Adani | $63.8B ↗ | — | Adani Group Gautam Adani is chairman of the Ahmedabad-headquartered Adani Group, with interests in ports, airports, power generation and transmission, and green energy, among others. |
India |
| 32 | Tadashi Yanai & family | $61.8B ↗ | — | Fast Retailing (Uniqlo) Tadashi Yanai built and runs Tokyo-listed retail clothing empire Fast Retailing, parent of the Uniqlo chain. |
Japan |
| 33 | Ma Huateng | $53.8B ↗ | — | Tencent Holdings Ma Huateng, also known as Pony Ma, is the chairman and CEO of Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings. |
China |
| 34 | Robin Zeng self-made | $53.2B ↗ | — | Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) Robin Zeng is the founder, chairman and CEO of Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), one of the world’s largest suppliers of batteries for electric vehicles. |
Hong Kong |
| 35 | Iris Fontbona & family | $52.6B ↗ | — | Metals & Mining Iris Fontbona is the widow of Andrónico Luksic, who built a fortune in mining and beverages before dying of cancer in 2005. |
Chile |
| 36 | Masayoshi Son self-made | $51.5B ↗ | — | SoftBank Group Masayoshi Son founded and runs investment giant SoftBank Group, which reported net profit of 3.2 trillion yen ($20.5 billion) on sales of 5.7 trillion yen ($37 billion) for the nine months ended December 31, 2025. |
Japan |
| 37 | Ken Griffin self-made | $49.8B ↗ | — | Citadel Ken Griffin founded and runs Citadel, a Miami-based hedge fund firm that manages $68 billion in assets. |
United States |
| 38 | Jacqueline Mars | $49.1B ↗ | — | Mars Jacqueline Mars owns an estimated one-third of Mars, the candy, food and pet care firm founded by her grandfather. |
United States |
| 38 | John Mars | $49.1B ↗ | — | Mars John Mars and his siblings Jacqueline and Forrest Jr. (d. 2016) inherited stakes in the candy firm Mars when their father died in 1999. |
United States |
| 40 | Lukas Walton | $48.9B ↗ | — | Walmart Lukas Walton is a grandson of Walmart founder Sam Walton (d. 1992). |
United States |
| 41 | Giovanni Ferrero | $48.8B ↗ | — | Ferrero Giovanni Ferrero is executive chairman of his family’s namesake confections business, which boasts $20 billion in annual sales. |
Italy |
| 42 | Li Ka-shing | $47B ↗ | — | Diversified Nicknamed Superman, Li Ka-shing is revered as one of the most influential businessmen in Asia. |
Hong Kong |
| 43 | Mark Mateschitz | $45.8B ↗ | — | Red Bull Mark Mateschitz is the only child of the late Austrian billionaire Dietrich Mateschitz, who cofounded energy drink firm Red Bull in 1987. |
Austria |
| 44 | Gianluigi Aponte | $44.5B ↗ | — | MSC Gianluigi Aponte and his wife Rafaela each own a 50% stake in MSC, the world’s largest shipping line. |
Switzerland |
| 44 | Rafaela Aponte-Diamant | $44.5B ↗ | — | MSC Rafaela Aponte-Diamant and her husband Gianluigi each own a 50% stake in MSC, the world’s largest shipping line. |
Switzerland |
| 46 | Andrea Pignataro self-made | $42.6B ↗ | — | ION Group Andrea Pignataro is the founder and CEO of ION Group, a London-based financial data and technology firm. |
Italy |
| 47 | Klaus-Michael Kuehne | $41.9B ↗ | — | Kuehne + Nagel Logistics magnate Klaus-Michael Kuehne is honorary chairman of Kuehne + Nagel International AG, based in Schindellegi, Switzerland. |
Germany |
| 48 | Thomas Frist Jr & family self-made | $41.1B ↗ | — | Hospital Corp. of America Thomas Frist Jr., a former Air Force flight surgeon, founded Hospital Corp. of America with his father in 1968. |
United States |
| 49 | Alain Wertheimer | $39.4B ↗ | — | Chanel Alain Wertheimer is the chairman of Chanel, the French luxury brand. |
France |
| 49 | Gerard Wertheimer | $39.4B ↗ | — | Chanel Gerard Wertheimer and his brother Alain own French luxury brand Chanel. |
France |
| 51 | Savitri Jindal & family | $39.1B ↗ | — | Jindal Group Jindal Group, whose interests include steel, power, cement and infrastructure, is chaired by Savitri Jindal, widow of founder Om Prakash Jindal. |
India |
| 52 | Stephen Schwarzman self-made | $38.3B ↗ | — | Blackstone The son of a dry goods store owner, Stephen Schwarzman founded private equity firm Blackstone with fellow billionaire Peter Peterson in 1985. |
United States |
| 53 | Paolo Ardoino | $38B ↗ | — | Tether Paolo Ardoino is CEO of crypto firm Tether. |
Italy |
| 53 | Jean-Louis van der Velde | $38B ↗ | — | Tether, Bitfinex JL van der Velde is the former CEO of crypto firm Tether and the CEO of its sister company, Bitfinex. |
Netherlands |
| 55 | William Ding self-made | $37.9B ↗ | — | NetEase William Ding is the founder and CEO of NetEase, one of the world’s largest online games companies. |
China |
| 56 | Miriam Adelson & family | $37.5B ↗ | — | Las Vegas Sands Miriam Adelson is the widow of Sheldon Adelson, the former CEO and chairman of casino company Las Vegas Sands, who died at 87 in 2021. |
United States |
| 57 | Alexey Mordashov & family | $37B ↗ | — | Severstal Alexey Mordashov is the majority shareholder in steel company Severstal, which he ran as CEO for 19 years before resigning in 2015. |
Russia |
| 58 | Colin Huang self-made | $36.6B ↗ | — | PDD Holdings Colin Huang is the founder of PDD Holdings, the Chinese e-commerce company that changed its name from Pinduoduo in 2023. |
China |
| 59 | Eduardo Saverin self-made | $35.9B ↗ | — | Meta Platforms Eduardo Saverin cofounded Meta Platforms, formerly Facebook, with Harvard classmate Mark Zuckerberg in 2004. |
Brazil |
| 60 | Eric Schmidt | $35.5B ↗ | — | Alphabet, Google Eric Schmidt left the board of Google parent company Alphabet in June 2019 after 18 years; he stayed on as a technical advisor until February 2020. |
United States |
| 61 | Idan Ofer | $34.6B ↗ | — | Diversified Idan Ofer is one of two sons of shipping magnate Sammy Ofer, who died in 2011 and was once Israel’s richest man. |
Israel |
| 62 | Eyal Ofer | $33.6B ↗ | — | Ofer Global Eyal Ofer is the chairman of the Monaco-based Ofer Global, active in shipping, real estate, technology, banking, energy and other investments. |
Israel |
| 63 | He Xiangjian & family self-made | $33.2B ↗ | — | Midea Group He Xiangjian built Midea Group into one of the world’s largest appliance makers. |
China |
| 63 | Abigail Johnson | $33.2B ↗ | — | Fidelity Investments Abigail Johnson has served as CEO of Fidelity Investments since 2014, when she took over for her father, and has been chairman since 2016. |
United States |
| 63 | Zheng Shuliang & family | $33.2B ↗ | — | China Hongqiao Group Zheng Shuliang is the vice chairman of China Hongqiao Group, one of the country’s largest aluminum producers founded by her late husband Zhang Shiping. |
China |
| 66 | Marilyn Simons & family | $32.5B ↗ | — | Finance & Investments Marilyn Simons is the widow of hedge fund legend Jim Simons, who died in 2024 at age 86. |
United States |
| 67 | Robert Pera self-made | $31.7B ↗ | — | Ubiquiti Robert Pera is the founder and CEO of wireless equipment maker Ubiquiti Networks. |
United States |
| 68 | Phil Knight & family self-made | $31.1B ↗ | — | Nike Phil Knight, cofounder of shoe giant Nike, retired as chairman in 2016 after 52 years at the company. |
United States |
| 68 | Michal Strnad | $31.1B ↗ | — | Czechoslovak Group (CSG) Michal Strnad is the owner and CEO of Czechoslovak Group (CSG), an industrial holding company that produces ammunition, special army trucks, army vehicles, active radars, among other products. |
Czechia |
| 70 | Lakshmi Mittal | $31B ↗ | — | ArcelorMittal Lakshmi Mittal serves as chairman of $61.3 billion (revenue) ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steel and mining company by output. |
India |
| 71 | Elaine Marshall & family | $30.9B ↗ | — | Koch, Inc. Elaine Marshall owns an estimated 16% of $125 billion (revenue) conglomerate Koch, Inc. (formerly Koch Industries) with her two sons. |
United States |
| 71 | Shiv Nadar self-made | $30.9B ↗ | — | HCL Shiv Nadar cofounded HCL in a garage in 1976 to make calculators and microprocessors with five friends. |
India |
| 73 | Henry Samueli self-made | $30.8B ↗ | — | Broadcom Henry Samueli is cofounder and chairman of chipmaker Broadcom. |
United States |
| 74 | Melinda French Gates | $30.3B ↗ | — | Technology Melinda French Gates is one of the most powerful women in philanthropy. In 2024, she resigned as co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation after a nearly 24-year run. |
United States |
| 75 | Stefan Quandt | $30.1B ↗ | — | BMW Stefan Quandt owns 23.6% of automaker BMW; his sister, Susanne Klatten, the richest woman in Germany, owns 19.1%. |
Germany |
| 75 | Reinhold Wuerth & family | $30.1B ↗ | — | Wuerth Group Reinhold Wuerth is honorary chairman of the supervisory board of the Wuerth Group, a German hardware manufacturer founded by his father. |
Germany |
| 77 | Lyndal Stephens Greth & family | $30B ↗ | — | Endeavor Energy Resources Lyndal Stephens Greth chaired Endeavor Energy Resources, a private oil exploration and production firm that was acquired by Diamondback Energy in 2024. |
United States |
| 78 | Len Blavatnik | $29.9B ↗ | — | Diversified Born in Ukraine, raised north of Moscow, Len Blavatnik immigrated to the U.S. in 1978 with his family; he studied computer science at Columbia University and received an MBA from Harvard Business School. |
United States |
| 79 | Susanne Klatten | $29.7B ↗ | — | BMW Susanne Klatten owns about 19% of automaker BMW; her brother, Stefan Quandt, owns nearly 24%. |
Germany |
| 79 | Vladimir Potanin self-made | $29.7B ↗ | — | Norilsk Nickel Vladimir Potanin acquired a stake in Norilsk Nickel during Russia’s privatization in 1995; today he owns just over a third of the company. |
Russia |
| 81 | Vagit Alekperov | $29.5B ↗ | — | Energy A former Caspian Sea oil rig worker, Vagit Alekperov became a deputy minister overseeing the oil industry in the Soviet Union. |
Russia |
| 81 | François Pinault & family self-made | $29.5B ↗ | — | Kering François Pinault is honorary chairman of luxury group Kering, which owns fashion brands Saint Laurent, Alexander McQueen and Gucci. |
France |
| 83 | Jack Ma self-made | $29.1B ↗ | — | Alibaba Group A former English teacher, Jack Ma cofounded Alibaba Group Holding, now one of the world’s largest e-commerce businesses, in 1999. |
China |
| 84 | Prajogo Pangestu | $28.6B ↗ | — | Diversified Son of a rubber trader, Prajogo Pangestu got his start in the timber business in the late 1970s. |
Indonesia |
| 84 | MacKenzie Scott | $28.6B ↗ | — | Amazon MacKenzie Scott is a philanthropist, author and the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, to whom she was married for 25 years. As part of their 2019 divorce, she received a 4% stake in the online retailer. |
United States |
| 86 | Aliko Dangote self-made | $28.5B ↗ | — | Dangote Cement Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest person, founded and chairs Dangote Cement, the continent’s largest cement producer. |
Nigeria |
| 87 | Peter Thiel self-made | $28.4B ↗ | — | PayPal, Founders Fund PayPal cofounder Peter Thiel remains a general partner of venture capital firm Founders Fund, where he is involved in firm strategy and weighs in on its large investments. |
United States |
| 88 | Emmanuel Besnier | $28.3B ↗ | — | Lactalis Emmanuel Besnier is the controlling shareholder of family-held Lactalis, the world’s largest dairy conglomerate, with more than $30 billion in annual revenues. |
France |
| 88 | Leonid Mikhelson & family self-made | $28.3B ↗ | — | Novatek Leonid Mikhelson is the founder and chairman of natural gas producer Novatek. |
Russia |
| 90 | Daniel Gilbert self-made | $27.9B ↗ | — | Rocket Mortgage Dan Gilbert cofounded what would become Rocket Mortgage, the second-largest mortgage lender in the U.S., in 1985 at 22 years old. |
United States |
| 90 | Lei Jun self-made | $27.9B ↗ | — | Xiaomi Lei Jun is cofounder, chairman and CEO of Hong Kong-listed Xiaomi, one of the world’s most popular smartphone brands. |
China |
| 90 | Andreas von Bechtolsheim & family self-made | $27.9B ↗ | — | Arista Networks Andreas “Andy” von Bechtolsheim is cofounder and chief architect of network switching company Arista Networks. |
Germany |
| 93 | Pham Nhat Vuong self-made | $27.7B ↗ | — | Diversified Pham Nhat Vuong studied in Russia and started a popular instant noodle business in the Ukraine in the 1990s before moving back to Vietnam. |
VN |
| 94 | Vicky Safra & family | $27.1B ↗ | — | Finance & Investments Vicky Safra and her four adult children inherited their fortune from her late husband and their father, banker Joseph Safra, who died in December 2020. |
GR |
| 95 | Jay Y. Lee | $27B ↗ | — | Samsung Electronics Jay Y. Lee is the executive chairman of Samsung Electronics and leader of the country’s biggest conglomerate. He was appointed to the role in 2022, which had been left vacant since the death of his father in 2020. |
South Korea |
| 95 | Cyrus Poonawalla self-made | $27B ↗ | — | Serum Institute of India Son of a horse breeder, Cyrus Poonawalla founded Serum Institute of India in 1966 and built it into the world’s largest vaccine maker (by doses). |
India |
| 97 | Rick Cohen & family | $26.3B ↗ | — | C&S Wholesale Grocers Rick Cohen is owner and executive chairman of C&S Wholesale Grocers, the nation’s largest grocery wholesaler, with some $30 billion in annual revenue. |
United States |
| 98 | Israel Englander self-made | $25.8B ↗ | — | Millennium Management Israel Englander founded Millennium Management in 1989 with $35 million. Now, the hedge fund firm manages over $77 billion. |
United States |
| 99 | Suleiman Kerimov & family | $25.7B ↗ | — | Finance & Investments Suleiman Kerimov, a native of Dagestan, has represented the republic in Russia’s Federation Council since 2008. He was sanctioned by the U.S. in 2018. The EU and UK sanctioned him in March 2022. |
Russia |
| 100 | Dilip Shanghvi self-made | $25.6B ↗ | — | Sun Pharmaceutical Industries The son of a pharmaceuticals distributor, Dilip Shanghvi borrowed $200 from his father to start Sun Pharmaceutical Industries in 1983 to make psychiatric drugs. |
India |
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Where the top fortunes are
Of the 100 people above, by country — combined net worth.
| Country | People | Combined net worth |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 41 | $4,251B |
| France | 6 | $408B |
| China | 9 | $389B |
| India | 7 | $317B |
| Germany | 6 | $227B |
| Italy | 4 | $219B |
| Mexico | 2 | $192B |
| Russia | 5 | $150B |
| Spain | 1 | $148B |
| Japan | 2 | $113B |
| Canada | 1 | $110B |
| Hong Kong | 2 | $100B |
| Switzerland | 2 | $89B |
| Israel | 2 | $68B |
| Chile | 1 | $53B |
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The world’s religions
Share of the world’s population, from the source named on each row.
| Religion | Share of world population | People | Largest populations | As of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christians ↗ | 28.8% | 2,268,860,000 | United States (217.27M), Brazil (168.30M), Mexico (113.07M), Philippines (102.51M) | 2020 |
| Muslims ↗ | 25.6% | 2,022,590,000 | Indonesia (238.99M), Pakistan (226.88M), India (213.06M), Bangladesh (151.44M) | 2020 |
| Religiously unaffiliated ↗ | 24.2% | 1,905,360,000 | China (1,278.12M), United States (100.91M), Japan (72.57M), Vietnam (66.37M) | 2020 |
| Hindus ↗ | 14.9% | 1,177,860,000 | India (1,113.20M), Nepal (23.52M), Bangladesh (13.14M), Pakistan (5.03M) | 2020 |
| Buddhists ↗ | 4.1% | 324,190,000 | Thailand (67.62M), China (53.38M), Myanmar (47.21M), Japan (46.99M) | 2020 |
| Other religions (incl. folk/traditional religions, Baha'is, Daoists, Jains, Shintoists, Sikhs, Wiccans, Zoroastrians) ↗ | 2.2% | 172,170,000 | China (43.14M), India (35.70M), Taiwan (12.23M), Brazil (11.91M) | 2020 |
| Jews ↗ | 0.2% | 14,780,000 | Israel (6.78M), United States (5.73M), France (0.46M), Canada (0.35M) | 2020 |
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Who holds the world’s wealth, by religion
New World Wealth (Jan 2015), as relayed by the PTI wire: private wealth held by individuals, assigned by religion. The firm did not publish its method; treat as indicative.
%
Where income is most concentrated, by religion
Pew Research Center, Religious Landscape Study 2023-24 (US adults): share living in households with income of $100K or more. Pew notes income differences between religious groups largely mirror differences in education, age and ethnicity.
| Religion | Measure | Value | Where | As of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All U.S. adults (baseline) | % of adults in households with income $100K+ | 30 % ↗ | US | 2023-24 |
| Hindu | % of adults in households with income $100K+ | 57 % ↗ | US | 2023-24 |
| Jewish | % of adults in households with income $100K+ | 54 % ↗ | US | 2023-24 |
| Muslim | % of adults in households with income $100K+ | 35 % ↗ | US | 2023-24 |
| Religiously unaffiliated | % of adults in households with income $100K+ | 34 % ↗ | US | 2023-24 |
| Buddhist | % of adults in households with income $100K+ | 33 % ↗ | US | 2023-24 |
| Mainline Protestant | % of adults in households with income $100K+ | 33 % ↗ | US | 2023-24 |
| Catholic | % of adults in households with income $100K+ | 31 % ↗ | US | 2023-24 |
| Orthodox Christian | % of adults in households with income $100K+ | 31 % ↗ | US | 2023-24 |
| Latter-day Saint (Mormon) | % of adults in households with income $100K+ | 29 % ↗ | US | 2023-24 |
| Evangelical Protestant | % of adults in households with income $100K+ | 26 % ↗ | US | 2023-24 |
| Historically Black Protestant | % of adults in households with income $100K+ | 14 % ↗ | US | 2023-24 |
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Places of worship in our cities
164,311 places of worship listed across 1,324 /local cities, by the faith their name states. Places of worship listed in each /local city record (from the business register), given a faith only when the name states it — mosque, synagogue, gurdwara, mandir, church and so on. Counts of listed buildings, not of believers; the register is far fuller for Canadian and US cities than elsewhere.
| Faith | Places | Share | Most in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christian | 123,215 | 75% | Houston, Texas 2,265 · Chicago, Illinois 1,732 · London, England (UK) 1,709 · Dallas, Texas 1,464 |
| Not identifiable from the name | 38,484 | 23.4% | Houston, Texas 1,013 · Dallas, Texas 748 · Chicago, Illinois 731 · Los Angeles, California 671 |
| Other faiths | 690 | 0.4% | Hong Kong 16 · San Francisco, California 10 · Vancouver, BC 6 · Cleveland, Ohio 6 |
| Muslim | 621 | 0.4% | London, England (UK) 17 · Houston, Texas 16 · Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 14 · Edmonton, Alberta 10 |
| Jewish | 566 | 0.3% | New York (Manhattan), NY 22 · Chicago, Illinois 18 · Houston, Texas 15 · North York, Ontario 13 |
| Buddhist | 495 | 0.3% | Hong Kong 39 · Singapore 29 · Houston, Texas 15 · San Francisco, California 15 |
| Hindu | 122 | 0.1% | Houston, Texas 8 · Mississauga, Ontario 4 · Etobicoke, Ontario 3 · Toronto, Ontario 3 |
| Sikh | 118 | 0.1% | Victoria, BC 5 · Surrey, BC 4 · Vancouver, BC 4 · Winnipeg, Manitoba 4 |
F
Worth knowing
- 2025-06Pew counted 7.886 billion people across 7 categories in 2020, from more than 2,700 censuses and surveys. Christians grew by 122M to 2.3B, but their share fell 1.8 points to 28.8%. Muslims grew by 347M, more than all other religions combined, and their share rose 1.8 points to 25.6%. Buddhists were the only major group to shrink (down 19M to 324M). ↗
- 2025-06Pew's 2025 report does not estimate folk religions separately. It folds them into 'other religions' (2.2%, 172M), along with Baha'is, Daoists, Jains, Shintoists, Sikhs, Wiccans and Zoroastrians. The older 2010-based Pew reports had a separate folk-religion category. ↗
- 2025-06In 2020, 31% of Christians lived in sub-Saharan Africa and 22% in Europe. Sub-Saharan Africa passed Europe as the region with the most Christians. ↗
- 2025-06China holds about 67% of the world's religiously unaffiliated people. India holds 94.5% of Hindus. Israel holds 46% of Jews, counted on a religious (halakhic register) basis. Using a broader definition, Pew estimates 7.5M Jews in the US. ↗
- 2015-01New World Wealth (2015) put total private wealth at USD 195T, of which about USD 66T was held by HNWIs (net assets of USD 1M+). It counted 7,384,680 Christian HNWIs (56.2% of all HNWIs), Hindus 512,460 (3.9%), Jews 223,380 (1.7%), and 4,165,380 with no religion or another religion. It gave Muslims 6.5%. 7 of the top 10 countries by number of HNWIs are Christian-majority: USA, UK, Germany, Switzerland, Canada, France and Australia. The exceptions are China, Japan and India. ↗
- 2016-10Pew (2016) says income differences between U.S. religious groups 'largely mirror the differences in educational attainment'. Age, race and ethnicity also correlate with both religion and income. ↗
- 2025-02Pew's 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study was conducted mainly online and on paper. The 2007 and 2014 studies were done by telephone, so Pew warns the 2023-24 income figures should not be compared with the earlier ones. ↗
Quick answers
- Who is the richest person in the world?
- Elon Musk, with $839B on the Forbes World’s Billionaires 2026 (annual list, as republished by Forbes Australia) (prices of 2026-03-01). Forbes’ snapshot of 2026-11-01 put the figure at $869B.
- Who are the 10 richest people in the world?
- Elon Musk ($839B), Larry Page ($257B), Sergey Brin ($237B), Jeff Bezos ($224B), Mark Zuckerberg ($222B), Larry Ellison ($190B), Bernard Arnault & family ($171B), Jensen Huang ($154B), Warren Buffett ($149B), Amancio Ortega ($148B) — as of 2026-03-01.
- Which country has the most of the world’s richest people?
- United States: 41 of the 100 people on this list, with a combined $4,251B.
- What is the world’s largest religion?
- Christians, at 28.8% of the world’s population (2020), followed by Muslims at 25.6%.
- Which religion holds the most wealth?
- Christians, with 55% of global private wealth as of 2015, according to the one study that publishes the split. It is a group figure; no individual is assigned a religion here.
- Which religious group has the highest share of high-income households?
- Hindu: 57 % — % of adults in households with income $100K+, US (2023-24).
Religion figures describe groups, as each named study measured them; no person on this page is assigned a religion. Net worth moves daily — each figure carries the date of the list it came from.