Who’s the richest person in California? See state’s 10 wealthiest billionaires
Four of the 10 richest people in the world live in California, according to Forbes.
The media company recently released its annual World’s Billionaires list, ranking the wealthiest people on the planet based on their net worth.
A total of 3,028 “entrepreneurs, investors and heirs” made the list in 2025, 247 more than the previous year.
“Not only are there more of them, but they’re richer than ever,” Forbes said, noting that the billionaires are worth $16.1 trillion collectively. That’s an increase of nearly $2 trillion compared to 2024.
Elon Musk, the Texas-based entrepreneur behind rocket company SpaceX and car manufacturer Tesla, was No. 1 on the list in 2025 with an estimated net worth of $342 billion.
An advisor to President Donald Trump, he’s stirred up controversy as the unofficial head of the federal Department of Government Efficiency.
Musk reclaimed the title of “world’s richest person” from Bernard Arnault, the French businessman who oversees the LVMH fashion and cosmetics empire, Forbes said. Arnault and his family dropped to fifth place.
Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg came in second place for the first time in 2025, while Amazon founder Jeff Bezos was third.
What do California’s wealthiest billionaires have in common?
Looking at the 10 wealthiest California billionaires on Forbes’ list, it’s easy to find some commonalities.
For starters, they’re all men.
Nine of the 10 richest billionaires in the Golden State made their money in the field of technology. Only one — real estate tycoon Donald Bren — found his fortune in a different industry.
All but two of California’s 10 wealthiest men call the Bay Area home. Most of them are married or in a relationship, and seven out of 10 have children.
More than half of California’s 10 richest billionaires attended college in the Golden State, with three graduating from Stanford University with master’s degrees. One earned his doctorate degree at UC Berkeley, and another went to UCLA to get a doctorate.
The billionaires’ average age is 60.5 years old.
On the low end of the age spectrum are Zuckerberg and Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz, who are both 40.
At 92, Bren is the oldest California billionaire in the bunch.
How rich is Mark Zuckerberg? Larry Ellison?
Here are the 10 wealthiest Californians on Forbes’ World’s Billionaires list for 2025, ranked in terms of net worth.
Who is he? Co-founder of Meta Platforms, which owns social media companies Facebook, Instagram, Threads and WhatsApp
How rich is he? Zuckerberg had a $216 billion net worth when Forbes published its 2025 World’s Billionaires list on April 1. He had a real-time net worth of $173.4 billion as of Tuesday.
Where does he live? Palo Alto
Where does he rank? No. 2 on Forbes’ 2025 World’s Billionaires list
Who is he? Co-founder, chairman, chief technology officer and former CEO of software giant Oracle
How rich is he? $192 billion net worth; $160.6 billion real-time net worth as of Tuesday
Where does he live? Woodside
Where does he rank? No. 4
Who is he? Co-founder, board member and former CEO of Alphabet, parent company of Google
How rich is he? $144 billion net worth, $127.2 billion real-time net worth as of Tuesday
Where does he live? Palo Alto
Where does he rank? No. 7
Who is he? Co-founder, board member and former president of Alphabet
How rich is he? $138 billion net worth, $122 billion real-time net worth as of Tuesday
Where does he live? Los Altos
Where does he rank? No. 8
Who is he? Co-founder, CEO and resident of software company NVIDIA
How rich is he? $98.7 billion net worth, $86.8 billion real-time net worth as of Tuesday
Where does he live? Los Altos
Where does he rank? No. 16
Who is he? Former Google CEO and co-founder of venture capital firm Innovation Endeavors
How rich is he? $24 billion net worth, $21.8 billion real-time net worth as of Tuesday
Where does he live? Atherton
Where does he rank? No. 82
Who is he? Co-founder, chief technology officer and chairman of semiconductor manufacturer Broadcom
How rich is he? $19.7 billion net worth, $17.5 billion bet worth as of Tuesday
Where does he live? Newport Beach
Where does he rank? No. 101
Who is he? Chairman of real estate company Irvine Company
How rich is he? $18.9 billion net worth and real-time net worth as of Tuesday
Where does he live? Newport Beach
Where does he rank? No. 105
Who is he? Co-founder of Facebook and workflow software company Asana
How rich is he? $17 billion net worth, $13.9 billion real-time net worth as of Tuesday
Where does he live? San Francisco
Where does he rank? No. 119
Who is he? Co-founder and CEO of mobile messaging service WhatsApp
How rich is he? $16.5 billion net worth, $16 billion real-time net worth as of Tuesday
Where does he live? Atherton
Where does he rank? No. 128
Collectively, the 10 California residents are worth $7.85.1 billion.
How have Forbes rankings changed since 2024?
After ranking fourth on Forbes’ World’s Billionaires list in 2024, Zuckerberg jumped up two spots to second place.
Ellison improved his ranking by one from No. 5 in 2024, while Page vaulted three places from No. 10 and Brin jumped three positions from No. 11.
Forbes named Page the richest person in California in 2023.
Samueli made the biggest improvement compared to 2024, jumping 31 places from No. 132.
Koum, meanwhile, dropped 11 slots after placing No. 117 in 2024.
This story was originally published April 23, 2025 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Who’s the richest person in California? See state’s 10 wealthiest billionaires."
