Forbes has released its latest list of the world’s wealthiest individuals as of 1 June 2025, with Elon Musk reclaiming the top spot.

Elon Musk (Tesla, SpaceX, xAI, X) leads with a net worth of $423 billion.

He is followed by Mark Zuckerberg (Meta) with $224 billion, and Jeff Bezos (Amazon) with $220 billion.

Larry Ellison (Oracle) holds $206 billion, Warren Buffett (Berkshire Hathaway) has $158 billion, and Bernard Arnault (LVMH) stands at $144 billion.

Larry Page and Sergey Brin (Google) have $142 billion and $136 billion respectively.

Steve Ballmer (Microsoft, LA Clippers, investments) is worth $133 billion, just ahead of Amancio Ortega (Inditex/Zara) with $124 billion.

The Tesla and SpaceX chief executive now holds an estimated net worth of $423 billion, following a substantial $36 billion increase in May alone.

According to Forbes, the surge in Musk’s wealth was driven by a 23% rise in Tesla shares, spurred by the announcement of its upcoming robotaxi launch and his departure from a high-profile government advisory role.

Forbes noted that this combination “further cemented Musk’s status as the world’s wealthiest person by far.”

Mark Zuckerberg climbed into second place with a net worth of $224 billion, overtaking Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who now ranks third with $220 billion.

Zuckerberg’s leap came on the back of an 18% rise in Meta’s share price, while Bezos saw a $19 billion gain amid an 11% increase in Amazon’s stock.

The top 10 list reflects a strong month for technology billionaires, as stock markets rebounded from April’s volatility.

The Nasdaq and S&P 500 rose 10% and 6% respectively in May, boosted by robust corporate earnings, easing trade tensions, and a slight recovery in U.S. consumer confidence.

Larry Ellison remains in fourth position with a net worth of $206 billion, followed by Warren Buffett at $158 billion.

However, Forbes stated Buffett was the biggest loser this month, dropping $9 billion after announcing plans to step down as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. Shares of the conglomerate fell 5% in response.

French luxury magnate Bernard Arnault, now in sixth place with $144 billion, also saw his net worth slip by $3 billion as shares in LVMH dipped 2%.

Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin took the seventh and eighth spots, with $142 billion and $136 billion respectively.

Steve Ballmer, former Microsoft CEO, moved up to ninth place with $133 billion, overtaking Spanish retail mogul Amancio Ortega, who rounds out the top ten at $124 billion.

Ballmer’s wealth increased by $15 billion due to a 16% jump in Microsoft’s stock price. In contrast, Ortega’s fortune saw only a modest $600 million rise, as Inditex shares remained largely flat.

Collectively, the top ten richest people in the world are now worth a combined $1.9 trillion, up $140 billion from the beginning of May.

Elder statesman Chief Adesunbo Onitiri has issued a stern caution to former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and former governors Nasir el-Rufai and Peter Obi.

Onitiri specifically warned these prominent political figures against engaging in actions or rhetoric that could destabilise Nigeria’s political climate as the nation approaches the 2027 general elections.

In a statement released on Saturday from Lagos, Onitiri urged the trio, whom he acknowledged as key national figures and statesmen, to exhibit greater restraint and patriotism in their political activities.

He emphasised that escalating political tensions pose a significant threat to the country’s democratic stability.

“As one of the original democrats who risked our lives during the 1993–1994 struggle against military rule, we cannot sit idly by while some politicians create openings for anti-democratic forces to exploit,” he said.

He particularly criticised Atiku’s reported move to seek intervention from an American court to disqualify President Bola Tinubu ahead of the 2027 elections, describing it as “unnecessary and unacceptable to most Nigerians.”

“We committed democrats will not fold our arms while our people suffer from hunger and insecurity. The opposition should allow the President to focus on governance and the delivery of democratic dividends,” Onitiri added.

The elder statesman stressed that the current economic and security challenges demand unity and collaboration across party lines.

He called on both the ruling All Progressives Congress and opposition leaders to set aside partisanship and work together for the benefit of the Nigerian people.

“The Federal Government is making efforts to address the inherited economic and security issues since taking office in 2023. What is needed now is cooperation, not division.”

In a significant political move ahead of the 2027 general elections, former Minister of Environment, Barrister Mohammed Hassan Abdullahi, has tendered his resignation from the All Progressives Congress (APC). 

Barrister Abdullahi, who served under President Muhammadu Buhari, submitted his resignation letter on June 1 to the APC chairman in his Uke ward of Karu Local Government Area in Nasarawa State. The letter, which was also copied to other party officials, cited personal reasons for his departure. 

Close to the former minister, Mr. Samuel Akala, confirmed the decision to reporters in Lafia and suggested that Abdullahi may announce a new party affiliation soon, with a view to contesting for the governorship of Nasarawa State in 2027.

In his letter, Abdullahi expressed gratitude for the opportunities and support received during his tenure with the APC. “I wish you and the party good luck,” the letter stated.

Abdullahi has a notable track record in the state, having previously served as Secretary to the State Government under former Governor Tanko Almakura, where he contributed significantly to state development.

His resignation has raised concerns within the state party, given his previous influence and substantial followership.

Former Jigawa State Governor, Alhaji Sule Lamido, has accused former President Muhammadu Buhari of inflicting deep damage on Nigeria’s democratic fabric through a divisive style of politics that promoted hatred, fear, and intolerance. 

Lamido made the claims in his newly launched autobiography, Being True to Myself, unveiled on May 13. In Chapter 15 (pages 380–381), he recounts how Buhari’s political re-emergence ahead of the 2011 general elections reshaped Nigerian politics for the worse. 

Reflecting on his own re-election campaign as governor in 2011, Lamido wrote: “My team and I considered the campaigning in 2011 for a second term as no more than a formality; we knew what was there before us and what we had done in the past four years. We were also aware that the people of Jigawa appreciated what we had done for them and that they would hardly abandon us in favor of an unknown contender.”

He said the turning point came with Buhari’s return to active politics, which, according to him, disrupted the relatively cordial and tolerant political climate that once existed in Nigeria.

“His decision to engage in politics had brought a very dangerous setback to the practice of politics in Nigeria by introducing the culture of hatred and intolerance into the scene, where there was mutual respect and love before,” Lamido wrote.

He accused Buhari of dividing Nigerians along ethnic, regional, and religious lines, noting that the former military leader failed to carry himself with the decorum befitting a former Head of State.

“Buhari’s coming had created divisions… perhaps due to his character and military background, he had failed to appreciate that he was a former Head of State and… a national symbol,” he said. “There were certain actions or public discussions that he must never involve himself in… Unfortunately, in his pursuit of wild politics, he seemed to have missed that.”

Lamido further alleged that Buhari relied on intimidation and fear to force people into submission.

“Buhari seemed to have relied on sheer force of fear and intimidation to make everyone submit to him… for fear of one’s personal standing in society, political interests, political future, or even the interests of one’s family.” 

He lamented that Buhari’s influence even extended into family units, where he reportedly sowed division and distrust.

“His political influence was able to alter the relationship in a family and cause divisions between a father and his son, cause hatred between two brothers within the same family. Outside family relations, Buhari’s influence was able to divide people living within the same community.”

Lamido concluded that Buhari’s brand of politics introduced a dangerous narrative — one that equated support for him with patriotism and dissent with treason.

“One was either in support of him or one did not love Nigeria. That was the new phenomenon in Nigerian politics,” he wrote.

The autobiography adds a critical voice to the ongoing debate over Buhari’s legacy and his impact on Nigeria’s political landscape.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has accused the current administration of deliberately using poverty as a political weapon, claiming that economic hardship is being manipulated to control and suppress the population.

Atiku spoke on Saturday in Abuja during the 60th birthday lecture of former Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, themed “Weaponising Poverty in Nigeria.”

“This particular government is weaponising poverty,” Atiku declared.

He emphasised this by recounting his early years.

He added, “When I was growing up in the north, the most prosperous city or state was Kano State.

“As soon as I finished secondary school, my first location was Kano State. I never saw people sleeping outside. Then there were no bridges or flyovers.”

He continued, painting an ugly picture of present-day Kano, “Recently, people were all over the state sleeping under the bridge, on the streets, who were driven out by poverty and insecurity. There is a state agency in Kano responsible for providing support to such people. And they started doing their work and enlightening people and removing people from under the bridges and outside on the streets. 

“They were called to Abuja and they were told to stop it.”

Atiku expressed determination to resist this trend.

“You may call me a conspirator, you may call me anything, and that is why we are in this alliance to make sure we don’t allow them to continue weaponising poverty. Of course, one of our star conspirators is Rotimi Amaechi.

“We will continue to conspire with you to make sure we minimise poverty and we don’t use state machinery to weaponise poverty,” he said.

Also speaking, Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, described the current situation as the biggest trouble Nigeria has ever been in.

“Nigeria is in its biggest trouble since 1914. We are together working, conspiring to build a coalition to take Nigeria back on track because it is off track,” he said.

However, El-Rufai offered a nuanced take on Atiku’s claim, saying, “Many people have spoken about weaponisation of poverty and whether politicians are deliberately using poverty as a weapon. I don’t think so. Poverty weaponises itself if allowed to exist and fester. That’s what has happened in Nigeria.

“I don’t think politicians are that smart to even sit and weaponise poverty.”

El-Rufai placed the blame on the country’s repeated selection of unfit leaders.

“We just get incompetent people and we hand over leadership to them.

“They don’t know what to do. Most of them don’t really know what to do. They just know how to grab power but don’t know what to do with it,” he said.

He called on Nigerians to change course in the next general elections, saying, “Wherever you see islands of progress in Nigeria, it is because a competent person has been given the opportunity to serve.

“What we have done in this country is to allow bandits, not the ones in the bushes, the urban bandits to take over the governance of our country.

“The key challenge for Nigerians in 2027 is really to look at those that are offering themselves for leadership and pick those that have the competence, capability, capacity, and commitment to make Nigeria move forward.”

However, Amaechi noted that Nigerian leaders are not the root of the problems.

“Nigerian leaders and elites are not the problems of Nigeria. The problem of Nigeria is the followership.

“No Nigerian leader cares for you. And the reason why no Nigerian leader cares for you is because you will do nothing,” he said.

He also recalled the aftermath of citizen protests.

“You protested. At the end of the protest, the president announced an increase in the price of fuel because you will do nothing,” he added.

Frustrated with the nation’s stagnation and seeming apathy, Amaechi said, “We don’t want to move the country forward. If you’re not ashamed, I’m ashamed.”

He concluded with a question: “I look at Nigeria and I ask myself, what are we actually doing here? Do we really want to be a country?”

Senate President Godswill Akpabio has advised second-term governors to be circumspect in selecting their successors.

According to the Senate president, governors who settle for successors simply because they kneel before them might be setting themselves up for betrayal when they finally leave office.

The ex-Akwa Ibom Governor stated this on Saturday at the commissioning of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway’s first 30 kilometres in the Lekki area.

Akpabio stressed the place of vision in leadership, urging second-term governors, especially those in the All Progressives Congress, to prioritise visionary leadership over patronising loyalty. 

The event was attended by President Bola Tinubu, Works Minister Dave Umahi, as well as second-term governors including Hope Uzodimma (Imo), Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), and Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos).

Akpabio said, “We have a president who has both sight and vision. And this, for me, is something I must advise our governors, particularly those of them who are in their second term. Do not give power to anybody who is not looking for power.

“Don’t give power to anybody who is not prepared. Don’t go hiding in your heart that this boy is very subservient; he is always kneeling when he is talking to me, and his wife is always rolling on the floor. I think I should make this one the governor.

“If you do that, you are giving power to somebody who is not prepared for governance, and they will disappoint you. This is where betrayals normally start. I am just trying to give some advice.

“For the progressive governors, I believe that all of you are doing well because you are being led by a man who has both sight and vision.”

In a country where the culture of godfatherism pockmarks the political space, outgoing governors often seek to influence who becomes their successors, a move that critics and commentators have lampooned as extended power control by former governors who try to rule their states by proxy through cronies and loyalists after serving their constitutionally allowed term limit of eight years.

Some former governors have succeeded in planting their loyalists in power, but such political romance doesn’t last long in some cases, as embarrassing fallouts have been recorded between serving governors planted by their predecessors, usually their party men.

Rotimi Amaechi, the former Minister of Transportation, has revealed that he once told President Bola Tinubu that he will never work with him.

Amaechi said he decided never to work or vote for Tinubu because the President lacked the capacity to govern Nigeria.

He disclosed this during an event to mark his 60th birthday in Abuja on Saturday.

Amaechi said: “I told Tinubu in Yola, I will not support you; I will not work for you. I did not work for him; I did not vote for him. It was the issue of capacity.

“Some of us who are here are also those who vote on an ethnic or religious basis. Innocent, uneducated people are manipulated to vote based on ethnicity and religion — that’s why we are here.

“When we leave here, we go to plot to go and grab power; no Nigerian leader cares for you.

“You that voted Muslim/Muslim ticket, let the Muslim market come out now. For us in opposition, if you want us to remove this man, we can remove this man from power.

“We want to submit to the opposition if the opposition will take us out of this problem.

“They are weaponising poverty by stealing the money they should have used to build hospitals and schools.

“The benefit of the fuel subsidy removal is in their pockets.”

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has leveled new charges against former Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele, accusing him of stealing and illegally acquiring 753 housing units at Plot 109, Cadastral Zone C09, Lokogoma District, Abuja.

The anti-graft agency, in the eight new counts filed at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, accused Emefiele of also holding possession of billions of naira in proxy accounts while serving as the Central Bank of Nigeria’s governor.

According to the EFCC, Emefiele allegedly conspired with Eric Ocheme, who is reportedly on the run, to acquire the properties in August 2021.

The EFCC, in the new charges, alleged that between January and December 2019, Emefiele had N167 million in a proxy account with Zenith Bank in Abuja.

According to the prosecutors, the sum is reasonably suspected to have been unlawfully obtained.

The EFCC further alleged that between January and December 2020, Emefiele and his co-conspirator, Ocheme, held N1.23 billion domiciled in Kelvito Integrated Services’ bank account.

In count five of the charges, EFCC said between January and December 2022, Mr Emefiele and his conspirator knowingly had under control the total sum of N1.98 billion domiciled in Kelvito Integrated Services’ account No: 1016232915 domiciled with Zenith Bank Plc, which sum is reasonably suspected to have been unlawfully obtained.

The Commission also stated that the former CBN Governor allegedly had ₦900 million in Ifedigo Integrated Services’ account No. 1210750237, domiciled with Zenith Bank Plc, which sum is reasonably suspected to have been unlawfully obtained.

The EFCC further alleged that Mr Emefiele kept N600 million in an account, No. 1210750237, domiciled with Zenith Bank Plc, at Ifedigo Integrated Services.

“The sum is reasonably suspected to have been unlawfully obtained,” the commission said.

The EFCC had earlier obtained a court order to seize the entire estate and handed it over to the federal government last week.

However, Emefiele approached the Court of Appeal in Abuja, praying that it set aside the judgment granting the government full control of the estate in Abuja, comprising 753 housing units.

Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Nentawe Yilwatda, has revealed that the federal government is leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to identify impoverished Nigerians living in urban slums.

Speaking on Arise TV Prime Time programme on Friday, the minister said AI has enabled the expansion of the national social register.

He added that the register, which initially targeted only the rural poor, has grown from 13 million to 19.7 million people.

“To help someone, you must first know them. You can’t support people you can’t identify. That’s why we started by validating the social register,” Yilwatda said.

“The president ordered that we include the urban poor as well. We used satellite imagery to locate urban slums, then base stations and telecoms data to identify phone numbers in those locations.

“AI helped us generate a list of urban poor individuals by verifying those numbers, their access to financial services, and other indicators.

“So now, the updated social register covers both rural and urban communities, making it more inclusive and reliable.”

The minister said the federal government is targeting 15 million households — about 75 million individuals — with its anti-poverty programmes.

“Nigeria has around 43 million households. We’re targeting 15 million with these interventions. Multiply that by an average household size of five, and we’re reaching about 75 million people,” Yilwatda said. 

The minister added that government is providing conditional cash transfers to food-poor households as part of its multidimensional poverty reduction efforts.

“We need to differentiate between food poverty and multidimensional poverty. Multidimensional poverty includes a lack of access to education, clean water, healthcare, and financial services. Food poverty, which focuses solely on access to sufficient food, affects roughly 42% of the population,” he said.

“If you take 42% of 200 million, that’s about 80 million people. Divide that by an average household size of five, and you have roughly 20 million households affected.

“The federal government is targeting 15 million of them. That means over 75% of the food-poor population is being covered through conditional cash transfers.”

He said each household receives N75,000, which may seem small in urban areas but has a significant impact in rural communities.

“I know 75,000 might seem insignificant to someone living in the city. But in rural areas, it makes a difference,” he added. 

“We conducted a joint research project with the World Bank and some civil society organisations. It showed that up to 18% of recipients were able to start nano or small-scale businesses with that money.

“About 82% used the funds to improve food security. And 52% were able to pay school fees for their children.

“So, while this is not their sole source of income, it is a meaningful supplement that helps cushion the impact of poverty.”

Yilwatda said the federal government has also introduced a range of structural measures to tackle poverty and food insecurity.

“The cost of food this year has stabilised, and food inflation has reduced. The government has introduced several measures to address this,” he said. 

“For example, student scholarships have been offered to ensure that those who have fallen below the poverty line can still access education.

“The government has also made N1.5 trillion available through the aggregate bank for farmers. This will allow them to access loan schemes, boost agricultural production, and enhance food security.”

The minister said past efforts focused mainly on humanitarian aid, but the current administration is pivoting towards long-term poverty eradication.

“Poverty alleviation reduces the pain; poverty reduction moves people out of poverty entirely,” he said.

“Until now, the focus was mainly on humanitarian interventions — relief materials, food distribution, and cash transfers. But that’s not enough. We’re shifting towards actually reducing poverty.”

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has announced a reduction in the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol.

A Daily Post reporter who went round NNPCL filling stations at Kubwa Expressway, Central Business District, and Wuse Zone 4, Abuja, on Saturday gathered that the state-owned oil firm has slashed its petrol price to N895 per litre from N910. This showed that NNPCL reduced its fuel pump by N15.

Reacting to the petrol price cut, a motorist, Muhammad Ibrahim, said the development is expected as it would avail Nigerians more competitive prices.

“It is long expected because other filling stations have reduced their petrol prices,” he told Daily Post.

The latest NNPCL retail price drop comes days after Dangote Refinery and its partners slashed their fuel price to N875 and N895 in Lagos and Abuja.

Other filling stations had reduced their petrol pump prices to between N900 and N910 per litre.

Earlier, the spokesperson of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Chinedu Ukadike, said marketers are now competing favourably with NNPCL following the liberalisation of the country’s downstream oil and gas sector.

He further noted that NNPCL is encouraging monopoly over controversies surrounding the rehabilitation of Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna refineries.