Richest People in the World (1987–2026)

Who was the richest person in the world in 1990? In 2000? Watch 40 years of wealth change hands, from Japan's bubble-era tycoons to Bill Gates' Microsoft dominance to Elon Musk's $918 billion peak. Every bar is a real person, every number is their real net worth, ranked live as fortunes rise and collapse: the dot-com boom and bust, the 2008 crisis, and the AI surge that briefly made Larry Ellison the world's richest person twice, 25 years apart. 📊 METHODOLOGY Net worth figures are Forbes World's Billionaires list values (annual March/April snapshots 1987–2026, plus the October 2026 real-time figure for the final frame). Values shown in millions of USD. Figures hold between Forbes snapshots; this is a visualization of the published record, not a day-by-day reconstruction. ⏱️ CHAPTERS 00:00 1987–1989: Japan's bubble era 00:55 1990s: Gates takes the crown 04:58 2000s: The dot-com boom and bust 09:02 2010s: Tech titans 13:06 2020s: Musk, AI, and $918 billion 🎬 MORE RANKINGS More chart races coming soon. Subscribe so you don't miss the next one. What should we rank next? Tell us in the comments. 📊 Data: Forbes World's Billionaires. This video is not affiliated with Forbes.