Romania has 6 billionaires in the global wealth ranking compiled by the American magazine Forbes for 2026, the same number as in the last four years.
Leading the ranking of Romanians are technology entrepreneurs Ion Stoica and Matei Zaharia, the founders of the American company Databricks, whose fortunes have grown spectacularly in the past year.
Databricks Founders, at the Top Among Romanians
Ion Stoica and Matei Zaharia hold the first position among Romanian billionaires, each with an estimated net worth of 5 billion dollars, as reported by Profit.ro. Their fortunes have doubled compared to last year, a development linked to the rapid growth of the Databricks company.
The software company, founded in the United States, reached an evaluation of approximately 134 billion dollars after the latest funding round conducted in December. In the global Forbes ranking, the two Romanian-born entrepreneurs have climbed to 838th place, up from the 1,462nd position held in 2025.
Ion Țiriac Remains Among the Richest Romanians
In third place in the Romanian ranking is businessman Ion Țiriac, with an estimated wealth of 2.3 billion dollars. This is an increase from last year when Forbes valued his fortune at 2.1 billion dollars.
In the global hierarchy, Țiriac ranks 1,817th, consolidating his position among the wealthiest business people in Central and Eastern Europe.
The Pavăl Brothers Strengthen Their Fortunes
Dragoș Pavăl, co-founder of Dedeman, ranks fourth in the Romanian ranking, with an estimated wealth of 2.1 billion dollars, up from 2 billion dollars in 2025. In the global Forbes ranking, he is at position 1,952.
His brother, Adrian Pavăl, is credited with a fortune of 1.4 billion dollars, 100 million more than last year. He ranks 2,696th in the global ranking.
The Pavăl brothers control the Dedeman DIY chain, the largest Romanian retailer in this sector, and are involved in numerous investments in energy, real estate, and retail.
Daniel Dines Drops in Global Ranking
UiPath co-founder, Daniel Dines, occupies the last position in the 2026 Romanian billionaires ranking, with an estimated wealth of 1.3 billion dollars. His fortune is slightly lower than last year when it was valued at 1.4 billion dollars.
In the global Forbes ranking, Dines has dropped 433 positions, reaching 2,789th place. In 2021 and 2022, he was the highest-ranked Romanian in the billionaires list, following UiPath's listing on the New York Stock Exchange.
Record Number of Billionaires Globally
Globally, Forbes has identified a record number of 3,428 billionaires in 2026, approximately 400 more than last year. In essence, an average of one new billionaire has emerged every day in the last 12 months.
The total wealth of billionaires worldwide has increased by 4 trillion dollars compared to the previous year, reaching a record level of 20.1 trillion dollars. The average wealth of those included in the ranking is 5.8 billion dollars, up from 5.3 billion dollars in 2025.
Elon Musk, the Richest Person on the Planet
The global ranking is led by Elon Musk, with Forbes estimating his wealth at 838.5 billion dollars. In second place is Larry Page, co-founder of Google, with an estimated wealth of 254.4 billion dollars.
According to the American magazine, Musk's wealth has increased by approximately 497 billion dollars in the last 12 months, driven by the rise in Tesla's shares and the increasingly high valuations of SpaceX.
During the same period, Musk became the first person in history to surpass the thresholds of 500, 600, and 700 billion dollars in wealth, and in February 2026, he also crossed the 800 billion dollars mark.