California Boasts 85 Billionaires on Forbes' Annual Rich List
The Golden State leads the nation in ultra-wealthy residents, with tech titans dominating the rankings.
California is home to 85 of the wealthiest individuals in the United States, according to Forbes' 2026 ranking of the country's 400 richest people. This concentration of wealth highlights the state's significant role in the tech industry and among entrepreneurs.
The 2026 Forbes list reports a record combined wealth of $8 trillion, with 34 new individuals joining the ranks. The minimum net worth required to be included on the list has increased to $4.4 billion, up from $3.8 billion in the previous year.
Leading the California contingent is Alphabet co-founder Larry Page, who ranks third nationally with a net worth of $278 billion as of September 4, 2026. His fellow Alphabet co-founder, Sergey Brin, is the second wealthiest Californian and fifth richest American overall, with $265 billion.
Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg is the third wealthiest person in California, though his national ranking slipped to sixth place with a net worth of $212 billion. Nvidia co-founder Jensen Huang rounds out the top 10 richest in California, ranking eighth nationally with $199 billion.
Other notable Californians on the list include former Google CEO Eric Schmidt ($37.8 billion), Broadcom co-founder Henry Samueli ($33.8 billion), and Kingston Technology co-founders John Tu and David Sun (each with $32.2 billion). Robert Pera, founder of Ubiquiti, holds a $29.6 billion fortune, and Greg Brockman, co-founder of OpenAI, is the wealthiest newcomer on the list with $25.5 billion.
Tech companies, particularly in Silicon Valley, are a significant source of this immense wealth, with AI moguls representing a notable portion of the list's new entrants. However, the wealthiest American overall is Elon Musk, founder of Tesla and SpaceX. Musk, who relocated from California to Texas in 2020, has a net worth of $908 billion. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, residing in Florida, is the second wealthiest American with $378 billion.
This concentration of wealth in California comes as the state's voters are set to decide on Proposition 40, a ballot measure proposing a one-time 5% tax on the fortunes of billionaires who were California residents at the start of 2026. A September poll by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies indicated that 45% of likely voters supported the proposition, while 42% opposed it.