Who is the world’s richest family in 2023? Walmart’s heirs lost the crown to UAE royals, while Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Hermès’ owners and more dynasties added US$1.5 trillion to their fortunes in total

Dec 20 , 2023

Walton siblings/ Walmart heirs Photo: Getty Images

Ultra-rich clans got even wealthier in 2023 thanks to strong economic growth and consumer spending, and cooling inflation – but Indian tycoon Gautam Adani and American socialite Julia Koch lost money

Meanwhile, the Waltons were dethroned for the first time in 5 years by the Al Nahyans, the royal family that rules Abu Dhabi and owns the Manchester City football club

The world’s 25 wealthiest families have had a stellar 2023, according to Bloomberg.

Ultra-rich dynasties have added another US$1.5 trillion to their personal fortunes this year, the outlet reported earlier this month. Strong economic growth, cooling inflation and resilient consumer spending have all helped to support their businesses over the past 12 months.

Emirati leader Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, in January. Photo: AP Photo

Abu Dhabi rulers the Al Nahyans, and the owners of the French luxury fashion house Hermès, have both seen their wealth balloon in 2023, per Bloomberg.

The Al Nahyans, who preside over the oil-rich Middle-Eastern emirate and own UK football club Manchester City, blew past the US’s Walton clan to become the world’s richest family, according to the publication. It’s the first time in five years that a family other than the Walmart heirs has been the world’s richest.

Meanwhile, the family that controls Hermès – including the brand’s artistic director Pierre-Alexis Dumas and executive chairman Axel Dumas – added US$56 billion worth of wealth in 2023 to place third on Bloomberg’s list.

Bill and David Koch attend the Lincoln Center spring gala in May 2017, in New York City. Photo: Getty Images for Lincoln Center

The Waltons, chocolate tycoons the Mars family, and oil billionaires the Kochs are the US’s three representatives in the outlet’s top 10.

The ultra-rich getting richer has been a consistent theme in 2023, with stock prices rebounding and the world economy tending to hold up better than gloomy forecasters had expected at the start of the year.

Elon Musk, chief executive officer of SpaceX and Tesla and owner of X, formerly known as Twitter, attends the Viva Technology conference dedicated to innovation and start-ups at the Porte de Versailles exhibition centre in Paris, France, in June. Photo: Reuters

The world’s two richest men – Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos – have added over US$150 billion worth of wealth alone, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index.