The recent inauguration of President Donald Trump was a blunt reminder - if needed - of the way money and power are closely entwined.
Elon Musk may have been the highest profile billionaire to offer Trump his support, but sitting next to him at the ceremony were tech tycoons Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos.
They are three of the richest men in the world, who see their fortunes fluctuate by billions every 24 hours.
The mega-rich are less rare than they used to be, with Forbes magazine revealing last year that there were a record 2,781 billionaires in the world.
Famous faces making their first appearance in the list include fashion designer Christian Louboutin ($1.2 billion), NBA legend Magic Johnson ($1.2 billon), TV producer Dick Wolf ($1.2 billion) and pop star Taylor Swift ($1.1 billion).
Here are the 10 richest people in the world in 2025 according to the experts at Forbes.
.jpeg?crop=3:2&trim=&width=800)
1. Elon Musk
The world's richest man - by quite some distance - is Tesla and X owner Elon Musk. In November 2021 he became the first person ever to be worth $300 billion and he's now eased well past the $400 million mark, showing no signs of slowing down. His involvement in politics helped Donald Trump become the American President for the second time and has seen him become Trumps de facto deputy. He's currently worth $426 billion. | Getty Images
2. Jeff Bezos
Sitting a couple of seat down from Elon Musk at the inauguration of President Donald Trump was Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. He's the world's second richest man with a forture of around $248.1 billion. | Getty Images
3. Larry Ellison
Oracle founder Larry Ellison, who owns 98 per cent of Lānaʻi, the sixth-largest island in Hawaii, takes third sport with a fortune estimated at $231.4 billion. The software guru has been advising President Trump on matters relating to Artificial Intelligence. | Getty Images
4. Mark Zuckerberg
Another billionaire with a prime seat at President Trump's inauguration was Mark Zuckerberg. The founder of Facebook (at the age of just 19) is worth an estimated $219.9 billion - making him the fourth richest person on the planet. | Getty Images