Forbes 400: Americas Richest People 2026
Illustration by Neil Jamieson for Forbes
The Richest Americans Are Worth A Record-Breaking $8 Trillion
Elon Musk Retains Number One Spot
Donald Trump’s Net Worth Falls $300M
NEW YORK (September 15, 2026) – Forbes today unveils its 45th annual Forbes 400 list, the definitive ranking of the wealthiest Americans.
Today’s global economy showcases resilience in the face of persistent geopolitical shocks and a profound tech-driven wealth boom, as the richest Americans continue to smash through records. The 400 wealthiest U.S. billionaires are collectively worth a record $8 trillion, up by $1.4 trillion from last year. The minimum net worth to make this exclusive club has increased again, with members needing at least an astounding $4.4 billion to make the list—$600 million higher than last year’s cutoff and a new record high.
Elon Musk holds the top spot for the fifth year in a row, more than doubling his net worth and increasing his lead over the next-richest American to $530 billion. Musk briefly became the world’s first trillionaire during SpaceX’s June IPO, and is currently worth $908 billion—the highest-ever net worth on our annual Forbes 400 list. Jeff Bezos comes in at No. 2 and Larry Page ranks No. 3, rounding out the top three.
Despite this year’s much higher admission price to make the list, 34 newcomers climbed onto this year’s list, including OpenAI cofounder Greg Brockman, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and 6 cofounders of Anthropic.
Brockman is one of scores of billionaires benefitting from the AI boom, including 14 newcomers such as Brett Adcock of Figure AI and Daniela and Dario Amodei of Anthropic, as well as longtime Forbes 400 listees such as Michael Dell and Nvidia’s Jensen Huang.
President Donald Trump fell 44 spots in the ranking, dropping from No. 201 to No. 245 during the second year of his second presidential term. Trump has an estimated net worth of $7 billion, down from $7.3 billion last year, amid the falling prices of his $TRUMP memecoin and Trump Media & Technology Group.
President Trump is not the highest-ranking member of his administration on the Forbes list as Howard Lutnick, United States Secretary of Commerce, appears at No. 235 with an estimated net worth of $7.3 billion, and United States Ambassador to Italy Tilman Fertitta appears at No. 103, worth $12.6 billion.
“America’s billionaire class is stronger than ever,” said Chase Peterson-Withorn, Assistant Managing Editor at Forbes. “It’s a golden era for billionaire wealth creation. We’re seeing new billionaires from AI and tech, but also massive amounts of new wealth being made in industries like concrete, construction and car accessories, proving there are still plenty of paths into these very selective ranks despite the high bar to entry.”
Like in 2025, this year 62 women made The Forbes 400, just over 15% of the list, down from 67 (and 17%) in 2024. Alice Walton, the only daughter of Walmart cofounder Sam Walton (d. 1992), remains the richest of the group, while the richest self-made woman remains Diane Hendricks of roofing materials distributor ABC Supply. Overall, 71% of Forbes 400 listees are categorized as self-made, meaning he or she amassed their fortune rather than inheriting it, on par with last year’s ranking.
As part of The Forbes 400, Forbes again scored billionaires based on the percentage of their fortunes they have donated to charity so far. The rating system ranks list members on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the most philanthropic. The Forbes wealth team estimated list members’ total lifetime giving based on public filings and interviews with listees. Nearly 80% of Forbes 400 listees have given less than 5% of their fortunes to charity, though some top givers such as MacKenzie Scott and Warren Buffett have given away more than 20%.
With the minimum net worth required at a record high, there are a record 590 American billionaires who are simply not rich enough to make The Forbes 400. This includes famous faces such as Oprah Winfrey, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Beyonce Knowles-Carter and Taylor Swift.
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For the complete Forbes 400 ranking, methodology, feature stories and more, visit:
The Forbes 400 list is a snapshot of wealth using stock prices and exchange rates from September 4, 2026. Forbes lists individuals rather than multi-generational families who share large fortunes, though we include wealth belonging to a billionaire’s spouse and children in certain instances, primarily if that person is the founder of the fortune.
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Contacts
Christina Vega Magrini, cmagrini@forbes.com
Feryal Nawaz, fnawaz@forbes.com
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