"For many Americans, 2025 wasn't a great year financially. The affordability crisis and general economic concerns became defining themes of the year as people dealt with rising costs and a worsening job market. But for billionaires, 2025 was a boon to their already exuberant wealth. The 15 richest billionaires in the United States saw their wealth grow by more than $1 trillion over 2025, according to a new analysis from the Institute for Policy Studies, a Washington, D.C., think tank"
"As of the end of 2025, those 15 billionaires-each with assets over $100 billion-have a combined wealth of $3.2 trillion, up from $2.4 trillion a year ago. That's a gain of 33%, which is more than double the growth of the S&P 500 in the same time period, the Institute for Policy Studies notes. Over 2025, the S&P 500 rose 16%. (A double-digit gain is strong, but it is down from recent years; the S&P 500 returned 23% in 2024, and 24% in 2023.)"
"Not only did billionaires get richer in 2025, but more Americans became billionaires. At the end of 2024, there were 813 billionaires in the U.S., according to an Institute for Policy Studies analysis of Forbes data. Those billionaires had a combined wealth of $6.72 trillion. By the end of 2025, there were 935 billionaires in the U.S., and their combined wealth totaled $8.1 trillion."
Affordability pressures and a worsening job market made 2025 financially difficult for many Americans. Billionaire wealth surged in 2025, with the 15 richest holding $3.2 trillion, up from $2.4 trillion, a 33% increase. That gain outpaced the S&P 500, which rose 16% in 2025. The number of U.S. billionaires rose from 813 at the end of 2024 to 935 at the end of 2025, and combined billionaire wealth increased from $6.72 trillion to $8.1 trillion. Top-five billionaire rankings shifted, including Mark Zuckerberg leaving the top five and Sergey Brin joining; Google shares rose strongly.
Read at Fast Company
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