Most Billionaires by Country — the Top 5

1. USA

•     No. of Billionaires in 2024: 813

•     Collective Net Worth: $5.7 trillion

•     Richest Citizen: Elon Musk ($195 billion)

In 2024, the USA took the top spot with 813 billionaire citizens. These top billionaires got richer by a tremendous $1.2 trillion collectively compared with 2023. The list expanded with 97 new billionaires, including famous names like the basketball star Magic Johnson, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and the no.1 global pop icon Taylor Swift.

These 813 US billionaires are worth a world record $5.7 trillion. The richest billionaire is Bernard Arnault, a French citizen and CEO of LVMH.

2. China

•     No. of Billionaires in 2024: 406

•     Collective Net Worth: $1.3 trillion

•     Richest Citizen: Zhong Shanshan ($62.3 billion)

China follows the US with 406 billionaires. Currently, these Chinese billionaires are worth around $1.3 trillion.

Interestingly, the list has shrunk from 496 people in 2023 to 406 in 2024. A significant downward trend in China’s real estate market and a struggling stock market have been cited as the primary reasons for China’s shrinking billionaire class.

3. India

•     No. of Billionaires in 2024: 200

•     Collective Net Worth: $954 billion

•     Richest Citizen: Mukesh Ambani ($116 billion)

Ambani and Adani are household names in India because of the billionaires Mukesh Ambani (Chairman of Reliance Industries) and Gautam Adani (Chairman of Adani Group).

With them on the list, India came third with 200 billionaires. Like the US, India is on an upward trend, with 25 new entrants in 2024. Collectively, the wealth of Indian billionaires stands at $954 billion, up from $675 billion last year.

4. Germany

•     No. of Billionaires in 2024: 132

•     Collective Net Worth: $644 billion

•     Richest Citizen: Klaus-Michael Kuehne ($39.2 billion)

Germany has stayed consistently in fourth place for some years. Currently, it has 132 billionaires, up from 126 in 2023. Some key billionaires who are also the latest additions to the list include Bastian Nominacher, Alexander Rinke, and Martin Klenk. All three individuals are the co-founders of an enterprise software unicorn, Celonis.

5. Russia

•     No. of Billionaires in 2024: 120

•     Collective Net Worth: $537 billion

•     Richest Citizen: VagitAlekperov ($28.6 billion)

Russia saw its list of billionaires climb up to 120, as compared to 105 in 2023. It enjoys the fifth spot in the list, which shows that despite its engagement in the Ukraine war, the country still has a booming economy.

Collectively, Russian billionaires have a net worth of $537 billion.

Other Top Countries by Billionaires

Apart from the top five, the following countries make the list of top 10 countries by billionaires. They are:

•     Italy

•     Brazil

•     Canada

•     Hong Kong

•     United Kingdom

Final Words

Since the figures change in real-time, keeping abreast of the latest news is best. However, this list is sufficient to give you a near-accurate idea about the global elite and which country has the most of them.