The Forbes list of the world's top ten billionaires for April 2026 has been released. In March, influenced by the situation in Iran, both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indices fell by nearly 5%. At the beginning of April, nine out of the ten richest individuals saw their net worth decrease compared to early March. As of 12:00 AM Eastern Time on April 1st, the combined wealth of the top ten billionaires had evaporated by over $100 billion, bringing their total net worth down to $2.5 trillion. Among the ten billionaires from March, only four maintained their rankings in April. This group includes the world's richest person, Elon Musk, and the second-richest, Sergey Brin. However, although their rankings were unchanged, both men, along with three other billionaires, experienced wealth reductions exceeding $20 billion. Musk's fortune decreased by $22 billion to $817 billion, yet it remains more than three times that of the second-placed individual. Sergey Brin's wealth fell by $20 billion to $237 billion.
The largest decline in net worth was experienced by Bernard Arnault, the head of the French luxury conglomerate LVMH. His ranking dropped from seventh to tenth place as his wealth evaporated by $28 billion, falling to $142.5 billion. Another billionaire who saw a significant reduction was Spanish fast-fashion magnate Amancio Ortega. He fell from tenth to fourteenth place, with his wealth decreasing by $20 billion to $128 billion. Warren Buffett also dropped out of the top ten, moving from ninth to eleventh position. His fortune shrank by $7 billion to $142 billion.
In contrast, Rob Walton, an heir to the Walmart fortune, returned to the global top ten billionaire list after an absence of at least three years, even though his wealth decreased by $3 billion. The April ranking also featured one new face, who was simultaneously the only billionaire to see wealth growth: personal computing magnate Michael Dell. He climbed from thirteenth to eighth place, with his net worth rising slightly by $2 billion to reach $143.1 billion. Jeff Bezos also saw his ranking improve, moving up to third place for the first time since last October. His wealth saw a minor decrease of just $1 billion, standing at $223 billion. He swapped positions with Google co-founder Sergey Brin, who fell to fourth place for the first time since January of this year. Brin's wealth contracted by $18 billion to $219 billion.
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