Top 10 Countries With Most Billionaires in 2026: Where do the world’s billionaires live? The number of high-net-worth individuals worldwide continues to grow rapidly.

According to Forbes, there were 3,428 billionaires in 2026, living across 80 countries and territories.

More than half of them, about 51 per cent, live in just three countries, according to the Forbes billionaire list 2026, released last Wednesday.

The United States remains home to the most billionaires. In fact, 15 of the world’s 20 richest people are based there.

In 2026, the US added 106 new billionaires, bringing the total to 989. Together, they hold a combined net worth of $8.4 trillion.

The richest individual in the world, Elon Musk, who emigrated from South Africa more than three decades ago, lives in the US.

China ranks second, with 539 billionaires whose combined wealth is $2.2 trillion, which marks a major rise from $500 billion last year.

This year also saw a record number of Chinese citizens featured in the Forbes list.

The country surpassed its 2023 record of 495 billionaires, largely due to growth in the artificial intelligence and consumer goods industries.

While most of the top ten countries retained their positions as global billionaire hubs, the United Kingdom dropped to 12th place in 2026.

The UK was overtaken by Taiwan, with five of its richest billionaires driving their fortunes in the electronics manufacturing sector.

Meanwhile, Pakistan made a comeback on the Forbes list of the world’s billionaires for the first time since 2010.

This comeback is mainly due to Sualeh Asif, a relatively new entrant. With a net worth of $1.3 billion, he is a California-based co-founder of Cursor, an AI-powered code editing tool.

One of the most populous countries in the world, India ranks third globally in terms of billionaires.

About 229 Indians in total, worth an aggregate of $1 trillion, make this year’s list, up from $941 billion in 2023, driven by a robust year for its stock market.

In total, 80 countries and territories had at least one billionaire citizen in 2026; below are the 10 countries with the highest number of billionaires.

Source: Forbes

Note: Net worth figures are as of March 1, 2026. Hong Kong is an autonomous territory of China.