2023 Forbes World's Billionaires List includes auto industry giants

Seventy-three of the world's 2,640 billionaires are in the automotive industry, according to this year's Forbes ranking of the richest people on Earth.

The wealthiest of those 73 remains Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk, though his $44 billion purchase of Twitter helped reduce his net worth to $180 billion. That dropped him to second place overall, behind French luxury goods magnate Bernard Arnault.

Meanwhile, BMW heirs Susanne Klatten (No. 51) and Stefan Quandt (No. 59) increased their fortunes to a combined $52 billion. Geely Automobile Chairman Li Shufu, whose net worth of $19 billion puts him 84th, is among 18 automotive billionaires in China, compared with 13 in the U.S. Shahid Khan, who owns supplier Flex-N-Gate, is the next highest in the U.S. after Musk at No. 144 with $12.1 billion.

The list includes six U.S. billionaires involved in auto retailing, along with four dealers in Asia and one in Switzerland. Gulf States Toyota owner Dan Friedkin tied with Enzo Ferrari's son, Piero, in 466th place with $5.5 billion.

Gail Miller, who sold Larry H. Miller Dealerships to Asbury Automotive two years ago, ranks 699th with $4 billion, while Roger Penske of Penske Automotive ranks 905th with $3.2 billion. Tied for 982nd with $3 billion were Norman Braman of Braman Motorcars and Carvana co-founder Ernie Garcia II. New England dealer Herb Chambers is No. 1,217 with $2.5 billion.

Friedkin, Miller, Penske, Braman and Chambers each had their highest net worth since at least 2018, while Garcia's valuation has plunged 81 percent in two years. Klatten and Miller are among seven automotive women on the list.