Forbes new billionaire list has 28 in the DC area (though some are a technicality)

Forbes’ annual list of the world’s billionaires has 28 D.C.-area residents on it, about a half dozen more than a year ago. At least two of the names on the list continue to sneak by based on a residential technicality, and one is a new administration cabinet member.

Forbes again ranks Amazon founder Jeff Bezos as the wealthiest D.C. resident. Bezos owns the Washington Post and does own homes in D.C.’s Kalorama neighborhood, but it’s a part-time D.C. residence. His full-time residency is officially in Florida. Forbes lists Bezos’ estimated personal wealth at $215 billion.

Bezos ranks No. 3 on the global list.

President Donald Trump’s current address, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, is without question a D.C. address, though his full-time residence is also in Florida. Forbes lists Trump’s estimated wealth at $5.1 billion, ranking him No. 700 among the world’s wealthiest.

Trump’s new Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick, ranks No. 1,141 on the Forbes list with an estimated personal wealth of $3.2 billion. Lutnick is new to the D.C. billionaire list.

Lutnick, former CEO of New York investment firm Cantor Fitzgerald, is a solid D.C. resident now, and at a price. Lutnick purchased a Foxhall home, previously owned by Fox News anchor Bret Baier, for $25 million, the most expensive D.C. residential sale on record.

Also new to the list are Mike Sabel and Bob Pender, co-founders of Arlington-based Venture Global Inc. The company went public on the New York Stock Exchange in January, catapulting both to billionaire status.

Sabel and Pender are tied on the Forbes list at No. 323, each with an estimated personal net with of $9.3 billion. Sabel is listed as a D.C. resident. Pender lives in Falls Church.

Also new to the list: Washington Spirit owner Michele Kang, No. 2,623 at $1.2 billion, United Therapeutics CEO Martine Rothblatt, No. 2790 at $1.1 billion, and Shiela Johnson, founder of Salamander Collection, whose resorts include the Salamander in Middleburg, No. 2,933 at $1 billion.

Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Bezos once again lead the global Forbes list. Forbes 2025 list of a record 3,028 billionaires have a combined worth of $16 trillion, $2 trillion more than last year’s list.

Below is the D.C. region’s billionaires on Forbes World’s Billionaires list:

No. 3: Jeff Bezos — $215 billion
No. 33: Jacqueline Mars and John Mars — each $42.6 billion
No. 236: Marijke Mars, Pamela Mars, Valerie Mars and Victoria Mars — each $10.7 billion
No. 274: Josh Harris — $9.9 billion
No. 323: Mike Sabel and Bob Pender — $9.1 billion
No. 364: Steven Rales — $8.3 billion
No. 430: Michael Saylor — $7.4 billion
No. 620: Lender Family — $5.7 billion
No. 700: Donald Trump — $5.1 billion
No. 823: Daniel D’Aniello — $4.4 billion
No. 846: Mitchell Rales — $4.3 billion
No. 929: William Conway Jr. — $3.9 billion
No. 948: David Rubenstein — $3.8 billion
No. 1,172: Ted Leonsis — $3.1 billion
No. 1,362: Bernard Saul II — $2.7 billion
No. 1,141: Howard Lutnick — $3.1 billion
No. 1,462: Dwight Schar — $2.5 billion
No. 1,513: Steve Case — $2.4 billion
No. 1,626: Paul Saville — $2.2 billion
No. 2,479: Richard Fairbank — $1.3 billion
No. 2,623: Michele Kang — $1.2 billion
No. 2,790: Martine Rothblatt — $1.1 billion
No. 2,933: Sheila Johnson — $1 billion