scaping the Soviet-Afghan War in 1988 with just $700, Mirwais Azizi eventually made his way to Dubai in 1994, starting a business in textile manufacturing. In 2007, he ventured into real estate with Azizi Developments. The business now has more than 60 properties and is currently building what is expected to be the world’s second-tallest tower, in Dubai. Thirty-eight years after leaving Kabul, Azis is Afghanistan’s richest citizen (though he still lives in Dubai) and, worth an estimated $1.4 billion, its first and only billionaire.

Afghanistan isn’t the only nation to gain a billionaire citizen recently. So did neighboring Pakistan—thanks to Sualeh Asif, the California-based cofounder of $29.3 billion (valuation) AI coding tool Cursor, who is the first Pakistani to make Forbes’ annual World’s Billionaires list since 2010.

In total, 80 countries and territories have at least one billionaire citizen on this year’s ranking, up from 78 a year ago. While many of the world’s largest fortunes are still held by men, a number of women rank among the richest individuals in their countries, building wealth through industries ranging from mining and shipping to cosmetics and banking.

In Australia, Gina Rinehart (estimated net worth: $25.5 billion), rebuilt her father’s iron ore business into a global mining powerhouse through Hancock Prospecting. In Chile, Iris Fontbona ($52.6 billion) controls the Antofagasta mining empire and maintains one of the largest copper fortunes in the world. Shipping magnate Rafaela Aponte-Diamant ($44.5 billion) cofounded Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) with her husband, Gianluigi Aponte, turning it into one of the world’s largest container shipping firms. And, hailing from Barbados, pop icon Rihanna became a billionaire by transforming her global fame into a consumer empire through Fenty Beauty and Savage X Fenty.

The richest of all is Elon Musk, who remains the richest person in both America and the world for the second year straight. After massing a staggering $497 billion over the past year, Musk is now worth an estimated $839 billion—the highest net worth Forbes has ever found. Despite facing stiff competition in the United States—which is by far the country with the most billionaires, with a record 989—Musk is more than three times wealthier than his closest competitor, Google cofounder Larry Page (who is worth an estimated $257 billion). Greater China, with 610 billionaires (including Hong Kong), has the second-most billionaires; the richest is Zhang Yiming ($69.3 billion), the cofounder of TikTok parent company ByteDance. India, with 229 billionaires, is a distant third, led by industrial tycoon Mukesh Ambani ($99.7 billion).

Regionally, the Asia-Pacific has the most billionaires this year, with 1,229. The Americas, including the U.S., follows, with 1,186. Europe ranks third, with 875, followed by the Middle East & Africa, with 138.

Here’s the richest person in every country on Forbes’ 2026 World’s Billionaires list.

NET WORTHS ARE AS OF MARCH 1, 2026.

Richest person: Mirwais Azizi | Age: 63 | Net worth: $1.4 bil | Rank: 2712 | Source of wealth: Real estate

Richest person: Samir Mane |........

© Forbes