Central Asia’s Billionaires Make Forbes Rich List in 2025
Forbes has released its annual list of the world’s billionaires for 2025, featuring a record 3,028 individuals, 247 more than last year. Their combined wealth has surged to $16.1 trillion, nearly $2 trillion more than in 2024. The United States leads the list with 902 billionaires, followed by China with 516 (including Hong Kong), and India with 205. Rankings were based on stock prices and exchange rates as of March 7, 2025. Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, once again tops the list with an estimated net worth of $342 billion, nearly double his fortune from the previous year. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg ranks second with $216 billion, while Amazon founder Jeff Bezos remains in third with $215 billion. Billionaires with Central Asian Ties Among the global elite is Alisher Usmanov, a billionaire with Uzbek roots. Ranked 125th, his net worth is estimated at $16.7 billion. Usmanov holds stakes in the steel and mining conglomerate Metalloinvest, as well as investments in Xiaomi and various telecom, mining, and media companies. Though he currently resides in Tashkent, Usmanov holds Russian citizenship and remains under U.S., U.K., and EU sanctions imposed following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Kazakhstan’s Wealthiest on the List Kazakhstan is well represented on this year’s list. Vyacheslav Kim, chairman of Kaspi Bank, ranks 464th with a net worth of $7.1 billion. Timur Turlov, CEO of Freedom Holding, follows at 605th with $5.8 billion. Vladimir Kim, another prominent Kazakh businessman, is ranked 620th with $5.7 billion. Dinara Kulibayeva and Timur Kulibayev, ranked jointly at 673, hold an estimated fortune of $5.3 billion. Kulibayeva, daughter of former president Nursultan Nazarbayev, and her husband are majority shareholders in Halyk Bank and have extensive investments in the oil and gas sector. Kulibayev also founded Altyn Alma, an investment firm that later became Almex LLP. Another Kazakh billionaire, Bulat Utemuratov, is ranked 979th with an estimated fortune of $3.7 billion.
