Who are the richest Americans today? Forbes drops 2026 ranking

In America, the rich are getting richer, according to Forbes' new list of the country's top 400 wealthiest people.

The wealth gap among the ultra-rich is widening, so much so that 590 American billionaires were "too poor" to make the annual Forbes 400 List, which calculated that everyone who did make the cut is worth a combined $8 trillion.

According to Forbes, the combined net worths of the top 20 on its list account for 50% of the total, which is up $970 billion from 2025. Despite the minimum net worth "soaring to an unprecedented $4.4 billion," 34 newcomers still made the cut.

From Elon Musk to Mark Zuckerberg, the usual suspects round out the top 10, with the South African-born businessman earning the No. 1 spot for the fifth year in a row.

Musk, the Tesla CEO and former leader of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), broke the $900 billion mark on the list this year, becoming the first person to do so. He also leads the magazine's global real-time billionaires list.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos came in second place, short by more than $500 billion behind Musk.

Here's a look at the top 50 richest Americans named…

Original source: https://www.usatoday.com/money/