Fact Check: Is Elon Musk richer than 693 ‘poorest’ billionaires combined?
WASHINGTON, DC: Tech billionaire Elon Musk is currently the world's richest person with a staggering net worth crossing $830 billion. His wealth has surged dramatically in recent years, crossing historic milestones like $500 billion in 2025 and $800 billion in early 2026.
Recently, a rumor surfaced online claiming that Elon Musk is richer than 693 ‘poorest’ billionaires combined. But is there any truth to this rumor? Let us find out below.
Claim: Elon Musk is richer than 693 'poorest' billionaires combined
An X post mentioned that Elon Musk’s fortune exceeds the collective wealth of the world’s 693 'poorest' billionaires, and they reportedly have net worth ranging from $1 billion to $1.4 billion.
The post also claimed that Musk is $54 billion richer than Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Wilson, and Warren Buffett combined.
Another post claimed, "Elon Musk is literally richer than hundreds of billionaires combined now, Bezos doesn’t even come close anymore."
Interestingly, the Tesla CEO's empire's performance in electric vehicles, reusable rocketry, satellite internet, and AI has fueled his explosive growth, though it remains highly volatile and tied to market sentiment.
Meanwhile, Musk himself has described feeling 'cash poor' due to much of his fortune being in illiquid or stock-based assets, yet his net worth continues to grow and places him on track to potentially become the world's first trillionaire in the near future.
Fact Check: True, recent reports back the claim
The claims made in viral social media posts are true and are based on recent reports tied to Forbes' 2026 World's Billionaires List.
The list includes a record 3,428 billionaires globally, and Elon Musk tops it with an estimated net worth of $839 billion. Several news outlets and others reporting on the data stated that Musk's fortune exceeds the collective wealth of the bottom 693 billionaires on the list.
Furthermore, the 'poorest' billionaires mentioned in the post have net worth ranging from $1 billion to about $1.4 billion, and their combined total is less than Musk's individual wealth. It implies that his net worth surpasses more than 20 percent of all billionaires worldwide when grouped at the lower end.
To sum this up, the fact-check claim passes as true according to current Forbes-based reporting. Musk's explosive net worth growth has made such stark inequalities possible.
