Elon Musk’s $1 Trillion Milestone Sparks New Ranking of the Richest People in History

In 2010, Celebrity Net Worth released a ranking of the richest people in history, with every fortune adjusted for inflation. That first version—published at this very URL—went on to inspire a wave of imitators, Wikipedia entries, and endless click-driven slideshows. It was later cited in songs, books, podcasts, and TV shows. We devoted an entire month to building that inaugural list, which also marked the first major long-form feature we ever published outside of our standard net worth estimates.

To translate centuries-old fortunes into present-day values, we relied on a mix of straightforward inflation adjustments, comparisons between personal wealth and GDP across different eras, and the historical worth of two core assets: gold and land. We began with a pool of more than 100 historical and modern figures widely recognized for extraordinary wealth—industrialists, monarchs, emperors, major landholders, and dictators among them. After narrowing the field, we arrived at 25 names, which represented the richest individuals in history at the time.

A LOT has changed since that 2010 edition. On our original list, Warren Buffett’s then-record fortune of $64 billion was enough to place him at No. 25 among the wealthiest people ever. Today, $64 billion would hardly be enough to crack the top 25 richest people currently alive.

At the time, Facebook was still two years away from its IPO. Its founder, Mark Zuckerberg, then just 26 years old, had an estimated paper fortune of roughly $5 billion based on the company’s latest private valuation. Today, Zuckerberg ranks as the sixth richest person in the world, with a net worth of $229 billion, though he has at times climbed as high as No. 2 globally.

Back in 2010, a $100 billion fortune was almost unimaginable. Even after adjusting for inflation, only a small number of people in history had ever amassed wealth beyond that threshold. Now, a 12-figure net worth barely turns heads. By July 2021, each of the 10 richest people on Earth was worth more than $100 billion. Even $200 billion no longer feels especially rare. As of this writing, SEVEN people worldwide hold fortunes exceeding $200 billion.

Perhaps the most startling detail about that original 2010 ranking is this: it included neither Jeff Bezos nor Elon Musk.

Back in 2010, Jeff Bezos was worth an extremely respectable, but not exactly earth-shattering, $20 billion. Thanks to Amazon’s incredible growth in the last decade, Jeff Bezos slowly and steadily established one of the largest personal fortunes in history, currently sitting at $245 billion. That’s true even after he lost a sizable chunk of that fortune to his ex-wife.

Bill Gates is a fun caveat in this list. Bill was the undisputed richest person on the planet from roughly 1994 until 2018. Even after getting a divorce, today Bill Gates is worth $117 billion, which makes him the 16th richest person in the world. HOWEVER. When Microsoft went public, Bill owned 45% of the company’s outstanding equity. Between 1991 and 2001, Bill reduced his stake to 14%. Today, he owns less than 3% of Microsoft. He always would have sold some of his equity to diversify his net worth, but had he maintained a 30% stake, in recent times, with Microsoft’s market cap well above $3 trillion, Bill Gates absolutely could have been the world’s first trillionaire.

And then there’s Elon.

In the last decade, no billionaire has seen a more extreme explosion in wealth than Elon Musk. By total coincidence, we published our original 2010 list just a few weeks before a very important event in wealth history: On June 29, 2010, Tesla went public.

Tesla ended its first day of trading as a public company with a total market cap of $1.77 billion. That is not a typo. $1.77 billion.

That number is especially amusing today because, 16 years later, SpaceX just priced its IPO at a valuation of $1.77 trillion.

On June 11, 2026, SpaceX officially priced the largest IPO in world history, selling 555.6 million shares at $135 apiece and raising $75 billion. The offering valued SpaceX at $1.77 trillion, or roughly $1.8 trillion on a fully diluted basis. The deal was more than four times oversubscribed, with retail investors alone reportedly placing more than $100 billion in orders. BlackRock reportedly requested at least $5 billion worth of shares.

Before the IPO, CelebrityNetWorth pegged Elon Musk’s net worth at $800 billion. That already made him the richest person in history. But the IPO pricing changed the math dramatically. Musk’s non-SpaceX assets, primarily Tesla and his stakes in other ventures, are worth roughly $260 billion. Our previous $800 billion estimate effectively valued his SpaceX stake at around $540 billion, which lined up with the company’s earlier private valuation.

At SpaceX’s new $1.77 trillion IPO valuation, Musk’s roughly 43% stake is worth about $761 billion. Add back his estimated $260 billion in non-SpaceX assets, and Musk’s net worth becomes roughly $1.02 trillion.

That makes Elon Musk the first trillionaire in recorded history.

Below is a quick and easy definitive list of the top 20 richest people of all time, inflation-adjusted. You might notice the absence of a few legendary figures like Augustus Caesar or Genghis Khan. While some historians estimate their wealth in the trillions, modern economists frequently debate whether it’s accurate to equate absolute imperial control—where the line between the state treasury and a ruler’s personal wallet didn’t exist—with the modern concept of personal net worth. To keep things credible, we left those rulers off this primary ranking. A bit further down in the article, we go into more detail on each person on this list, as well as a few of those trillion-dollar emperors.

Historical Figures

Let’s talk about some historical figures. In ancient and medieval times, wealth was often tied to control of land, resources, and empires. While exact figures are impossible to determine, historians have made reasonable estimates based on records of economic influence.

• Emperor Shenzong of Song China (1048–1085) – Ruler of one of the most prosperous economies of its time, Shenzong oversaw an empire that accounted for nearly 30% of the world’s GDP. His wealth, when adjusted for today’s standards, would likely rival or surpass that of modern billionaires, effectively placing his net worth in the trillions.
• Emperor Akbar I of Mughal India (1542–1605) – The Mughal Empire under Akbar was one of the wealthiest of its time, controlling about 25% of global GDP. His personal wealth, though inseparable from the empire’s treasury, would have been immense, also effectively in the trillions.
• Genghis Khan (c. 1162–1227) – The Mongol conqueror built the largest contiguous empire in history, stretching from China to Europe. While he didn’t hoard personal wealth in the traditional sense, his control over vast lands, resources, and tribute systems effectively made him one of the richest men ever. Some speculative accounts assign him an astronomical fortune, but most historians agree that while his empire was vast, he distributed wealth among his generals and armies.
• Mansa Musa (c. 1280–1337) – The 14th-century ruler of the Mali Empire is often cited as the richest person in history. He ruled the Malian Empire, which covered modern-day Ghana, Timbuktu, and Mali in West Africa. Mansa Musa’s shocking, legendary wealth came from his country’s vast production of more than half the world’s supply of salt and gold. Musa used his wealth to build immense mosques that still stand today, nearly 700 years later. His kingdom and wealth didn’t last much longer after his death. His heirs were not able to fend off civil war and invading conquerors. Just two generations later, his world record net worth was gone. Mali was one of the largest producers of gold and salt, and Musa controlled vast trade networks. His legendary pilgrimage to Mecca was so extravagant that he reportedly caused inflation in multiple cities by giving away massive amounts of gold. Estimates of his wealth vary, but modern approximations suggest it could have been around $400 billion in today’s terms.
• Jakob Fugger (1459 – 1525) – Known as “Jakob the Rich,” this German banker, merchant, and mining pioneer is one of the wealthiest non-royal figures in history. He monopolized the copper and silver mining trades in Europe and funded kings, emperors, and popes. His inflation-adjusted peak wealth is widely estimated at up to $400 billion.
• Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov (1868 – 1918) – Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov, also known as Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, ruled the Russian Empire from 1894 to 1917, when Bolshevik revolutionists overthrew and murdered him and his family. In 1916, Tsar Nicholas II’s net worth was nearly $900 million, which is the inflation-adjusted equivalent of $300 billion.
• Mir Osman Ali Khan (1886–1967) – Mir Osman Ali Khan, also known as The Nizam of Hyderabad, was the ruler of Hyderabad until the country was invaded by neighbor India. Mir Osman Ali Khan had a personal collection of gold that was worth more than $100 million and owned over $400 million worth of jewels, including the famous Jacob Diamond, which is worth $95 million today. Khan used the diamond as a paperweight in his office. He supposedly owned more than 50 Rolls-Royces. In total, he was worth the modern equivalent of $230 billion.
• William the Conqueror (1028-1087) – William the Conqueror lived from 1028-1087 and was most famous for invading and subsequently seizing England in 1066. When you spend a lifetime conquering other kingdoms, you tend to acquire quite a bit of money. In William’s case, when he died, he left the equivalent of $229.5 billion to his sons.

Industrial Titans (100–200 Years Ago)

The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw the rise of industrial and financial empires that created record-breaking personal fortunes. These industrial titans often controlled monopolies in oil, steel, railroads, and banking.

• John D. Rockefeller (1839–1937) – The Standard Oil founder is widely regarded as the richest American in history. By the 1880s, his company controlled 90% of U.S. oil production. When adjusting for inflation and GDP share, his net worth is estimated at $630 billion today. His business dominance led to antitrust laws, and his philanthropy helped establish modern medicine and education systems.

• Andrew Carnegie (1835–1919) – A steel magnate, Carnegie built Carnegie Steel, which he sold for $480 million in 1901. This was equivalent to 2.1% of U.S. GDP at the time, translating to $459 billion today. When he sold his company to JP Morgan, Carnegie took home $230 million worth of gold bonds and received a 5% annual coupon to top it off. The bonds sat in a bank in New Jersey, which Carnegie never visited. Carnegie devoted most of his fortune to charitable causes, funding libraries, universities, and cultural institutions.

• Henry Ford (1863–1947) – The Ford Motor Company founder revolutionized the automobile industry with the Model T and assembly line production. At his peak, his fortune was around $100 million in the early 1910s, which equates to $200 billion today. His impact on mass production, wages, and industrial growth was profound.

• Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794–1877) – Made his fortune in shipping and railroads. At the time of his death, his wealth was estimated at $100 million, which would be around $200 billion today. His control over transportation infrastructure helped shape the U.S. economy.

• John Jacob Astor (1763–1848) – America’s first multimillionaire, he built his fortune through fur trading and New York real estate. He left behind $20 million, equivalent to $110–168 billion today.

(John D. Rockefeller /Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Modern Billionaires

Unlike historical estimates, modern billionaires’ net worths are well-documented through financial reports, stock valuations, and investment disclosures. Many of today’s wealthiest individuals have built their fortunes in technology, retail, and finance, with their net worth fluctuating based on market trends and business expansions.

• Elon Musk (born 1971) – The Tesla, SpaceX, xAI, and Neuralink founder became the first person to surpass $300 billion in net worth in 2021. In June 2026, Musk became the first person in recorded history to reach a 13-digit net worth after SpaceX priced the largest IPO of all time. The company sold 555.6 million shares at $135 apiece, raising $75 billion and valuing SpaceX at $1.77 trillion. At that valuation, Musk’s roughly 43% SpaceX stake was worth about $761 billion. Combined with his Tesla stake and other holdings, Musk’s net worth reached approximately $1.02 trillion, making him the richest person in history by a massive margin.
• Larry Ellison (born 1944) – The Oracle co-founder’s net worth briefly hit $395 billion in September 2025. His influence in cloud computing, enterprise software, and database management has made him one of the most enduring figures in technology. Ellison also owns a significant stake in Tesla, contributing to his vast fortune.
• Larry Page (born 1973) – A co-founder of Google and Alphabet, Page has a net worth of $293 billion. He remains a major shareholder in Alphabet, the parent company of Google, YouTube, and Waymo, among other ventures.
• Jeff Bezos (born 1964) – The Amazon founder was the first person in modern times to amass over $200 billion in net worth. His fortune is tied to Amazon’s e-commerce and cloud computing dominance. Despite stepping down as Amazon’s CEO, his holdings in Amazon and Blue Origin keep him among the wealthiest. Today, Jeff is worth $280 billion.
• Sergey Brin (born 1973) – Page’s Google co-founder, Brin has amassed $275 billion, largely through his Alphabet shares and investments in artificial intelligence and self-driving technology.
• Mark Zuckerberg (born 1984) – The Meta (formerly Facebook) founder has seen his wealth rise dramatically in recent years. Zuckerberg’s net worth has been as high as $250 billion, making him one of the richest individuals in the tech sector. His investments in artificial intelligence, the metaverse, and social media dominance have played a significant role in his financial success.
• Bernard Arnault (born 1949) – The French luxury goods magnate and CEO of LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy) has consistently ranked among the world’s richest individuals. His high-end fashion, jewelry, and alcohol empire has seen record-breaking revenues, bringing his fortune above $200 billion at various points.
• Jensen Huang (born 1963) – The Nvidia co-founder and CEO has arguably been the single biggest individual beneficiary of the artificial intelligence boom. Over the last few years, Nvidia’s absolute dominance in producing the advanced chips and GPUs that power AI has catapulted the company’s valuation into the multi-trillion-dollar stratosphere. Huang’s personal wealth, which is largely tied to his roughly 3.5% stake in Nvidia, has grown at a blistering pace. Just a few years ago, he wasn’t even in the top 50 richest people; today, he has leaped over legacy tech titans and is currently sitting at a staggering $186.7 billion.
• Michael Dell (born 1965) – Long after changing the personal computing industry by selling custom PCs directly out of his University of Texas dorm room, the founder and CEO of Dell Technologies has orchestrated one of the most lucrative second acts in wealth history. By taking his company private in 2013, executing a massive acquisition of EMC, and eventually spinning off VMware (which was later acquired by Broadcom), Dell unlocked an unbelievable amount of shareholder value. Thanks to a recent surge in tech valuations and his massive stake in Broadcom, Michael Dell’s net worth is currently sitting at $178.3 billion.
• Bill Gates (born 1955) – The Microsoft co-founder was the world’s richest person for much of the 1990s and early 2000s, with a peak net worth exceeding $170 billion. While he has given away a significant portion of his fortune through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, he still ranks among the richest individuals today, largely due to his Microsoft holdings and investments in renewable energy, AI, and philanthropy. And just a reminder, as we mentioned earlier in this article, Bill Gates absolutely could have been the world’s first trillionaire had he not sold off so much of his Microsoft stake.
• Steve Ballmer (born 1956) – The former Microsoft CEO and owner of the Los Angeles Clippers has built his fortune largely through Microsoft stock, where he remains one of the largest individual shareholders. As of now, his net worth is $170 billion.