The Forbes annual World Billionaires List dropped on Tuesday, and while it's safe to say everyone on the list is doing pretty well, the mega-rich in some countries fared better than others.
Russia and China, for example, saw the most number of individuals lose their billionaire status. Russian billionaires dropped from 117 a year ago to 83, as sanctions related to the war in Ukraine took a financial bite out of the country's so-called oligarchs.
A tech crackdown in China, meanwhile, pushed 87 Chinese citizens out of the rankings and left the billionaires who did stick it out about half-a-trillion dollars poorer than last year.
Don't feel too bad though: China still has the second-highest number of billionaires in the world at 607 10-digit fortunes. The United States is still in the lead at 735 billionaires, which is actually up from 724 last year. (Welcome Rihanna, Peter Jackson, and Josh Kushner).
As for the closely watched top 10 richest people, many of the names and faces should be familiar, but there were a few shake-ups. Tesla CEO Elon Musk topped the list for the first time, with his $219 billion net worth. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos dropped to number two, with his $171 billion net worth, due to charitable giving and a 3 percent drop in Amazon's stock.
Globally, Forbes counted 2,668 billionaires with a total net worth of $12.7 trillion. That's down from 2,756 last year with a total net worth of $13.1 trillion, which is the biggest drop since the 2009 financial crisis. IPO-fueled one-year wonders such as Bumble’s Whitney Wolfe Herd and Peloton’s John Foley have already dropped off the list. Better luck next year, folks.
Here are the Forbes top 10:
