No Rhode Island Billionaires Among America's Richest People: See New List

Jonathan Nelson, who is worth an estimated $3.4 billion, according to Forbes, is the richest person in Rhode Island, according to Forbes, but he isn't rich enough to make the Forbes 400 ranking of the wealthiest Americans released Tuesday.

Rhode Island has zero billionaires on the elite Forbes list.

America’s super-rich have never been wealthier. The 400 richest people in the country are worth a record $6.6 trillion — $1.2 trillion richer than they were last year, due mainly to surging stock markets and “AI mania," Forbes said.

See also: These Are The Top 10 Employers In RI In Forbes Ranking

It took a net worth of $1.7 billion to make the Forbes 400 a decade ago, and those with fortunes of $3.8 billion were “comfortably within the top half of the ranking,” Forbes said, noting that now, “that lofty sum is the minimum required.”

Nelson is the executive chairman of Providence Equity Partners, the private equity firm he founded in 1989, according to Forbes.

See also: Rhode Island Jobs Grew By 500 In July: Department Of Labor

"Providence has invested in more than 170 companies, many in the media, communications, education and information industries," Forbes said.

Nelson made the Forbes 400 list in 2024. He needed another $200 million to crack it in 2025 even though Forbes said he's worth $400 million more than he was a year ago.

Related: Meet The Richest Person In RI, Worth $3.4 Billion

Elon Musk remained at the top of the list. He also became the first person on the list to surpass $400 billion. That was $152 billion richer than Larry Ellison, the second-richest American, and a difference that’s more than Warren Buffett’s entire net worth, Forbes said.

The 10 richest people in America are:

1. Elon Musk, 54, $428 billion, Tesla, SpaceX (Texas)
2. Larry Ellison, 81, $276 billion, Oracle (California)
3. Mark Zuckerberg, 41, $253 billion, Facebook (California)
4. Jeff Bezos, 61, $241 billion, Amazon (Florida)
5. Larry Page, 52, $179 billion, Google (California)
6. Sergey Brin, 52, $166 billion, Google (California)
7. Steve Ballmer, 69, $153 billion, Microsoft (Washington)
8. Jensen Huang, 62, $151 billion, semiconductors (California)
9. Warren Buffett, 95, $150 billion, Berkshire Hathaway (Nebraska)
10. Michel Dell, 60, $129 billion, Dell Technologies (Texas)

This year’s ranking includes 14 newcomers, including four who are worth $10 billion or more.

President Donald Trump ranks 201st on the list with a net worth of $7.3 billion. Within the real estate industry, Trump ranks eighth in the sector, led by Donald Bren of California, with a net worth of $19.2 billion, and Stephen Ross of Florida, who is worth about $17 billion.

See also: Rhode Island Minimum Wage To Increase $2 In 2 Years