World's Richest Contractors: Who Tops the List in 2025?

If you think the world’s biggest money is all trading hands in Silicon Valley, think again. Construction contractors move mind-boggling sums every year, quietly stacking up fortunes that outsize more than a few tech titans. While most billionaires you hear about wear sneakers and design apps, the guys (and a few women) on top of the construction world are pouring concrete, raising skyscrapers, and shaping entire skylines—often in places you never visit or even think about.

The King of Contractors: Who Truly Sits on the Throne?

When you picture the richest contractor in the world, your mind might jump to someone like Bob the Builder, just grown up and endlessly lucky. But the reality is far more interesting—and the money is vastly larger. In 2025, the undisputed heavyweight champion of contractor fortunes is Hui Ka Yan, the founder and former chairman of China’s Evergrande Group. Yes, the same Evergrande that’s been splashed all over financial headlines for its dizzying highs and near-collapse lows. Before Evergrande’s troubles started making global headlines, Hui Ka Yan saw his net worth rocket to over $36 billion at its peak. Even after major losses, Hui remains one of the wealthiest to ever rise from the construction sector. That’s what makes his story so jaw-dropping: it’s not all straight up. Hui built his fortune spinning real estate deals, luxury developments, and giant construction projects across China’s massive cities. Sure, the ride got bumpy, but Hui still proves how much raw, eye-watering wealth can come from concrete and rebar. While Evergrande’s future is uncertain, nobody can ignore the fortune Hui pulled from the ground up—sometimes literally.

Now, if you’re wondering about Western names, it gets a little less dramatic, but no less impressive. Take the Bechtel family in the United States. For more than a century, Bechtel has been involved in some of the planet’s most massive projects: tunnels under mountains, sprawling airports, miles of superhighways, offshore oil platforms. The company is privately owned and famously secretive when it comes to its money, but estimates put the Bechtel family’s fortune at over $11 billion. That keeps them among the richest contractors worldwide, especially outside China’s high-stakes arena.

If we stick to what’s public and documented, here’s a quick peek at estimated net worths of other top construction moguls as of 2025:

Notice anything? Most of these names either operate in Asia, the Middle East, or are tied to family businesses that have been quietly accumulating wealth for decades. Some, like Hui Ka Yan, built vast empires in just 20 years—others are on their fourth generation. If you measure by personal net worth strictly from contracting and construction activity, Hui Ka Yan still wears the crown, but he’s far from the only player on this list.

How Did These Titans Get So Rich?

You’d think that in an industry famous for tight margins, labor headaches, and wild weather delays, making billions would be nearly impossible. Yet, there’s more to this industry than pouring foundations and hammering nails. For starters, the companies at the very top are vertically integrated: they don’t just build— they develop, invest, finance, and operate projects long after they’re finished. That’s the real secret sauce.

Take a look at China’s HNA Group or Country Garden, for example. They don’t only lay bricks and mortar. They hunt for land, develop residential towers, create commercial complexes, sometimes even manage property afterward for ongoing profit. When you can profit three, four times over on the same square plot, that’s when fortunes accelerate. Hui Ka Yan didn’t just contract to build; he built entire cities—for millions of new urban dwellers. His ability to read property booms (and at times, bet heavily on them) pushed his net worth into the stratosphere, even if some of those gambles later backfired. If you’re dreaming of big money, pure contracting isn’t it—you need to control the value chain.

The storied Bechtel company is a classic case from the U.S. They’ve tackled mega-projects like the Hoover Dam and Chunnel under the English Channel. Their trick? They got good at wrangling multinational deals, leveraging political connections, and taking risks others stepped away from. It’s not just about the buildings; it’s about managing government contracts, international partnerships, and multi-billion-dollar financial packages. That’s why the Bechtel family still holds so much power: they’re private, nimble, and don’t answer to shareholders. If you manage to keep payments coming for a hundred years across multiple continents, it’s amazing what can stack up in your family bank account.

As for newcomers, look to places like India and the Middle East. Companies like Larsen & Toubro (India), Salini Impregilo/Tommaso Salini (Italy), and the Saudi Binladin Group (Saudi Arabia) are proving that a mix of domestic and overseas projects is how you hit escape velocity. India’s Sajjan Jindal didn’t just expand into steel and energy—he bulked up infrastructure divisions, scoring everything from bridges to airports. And get this: often, the real profits lie in maintenance contracts long after a bridge or stadium opens. Being the go-to for repairs is a sneaky way to keep cash pulsing in for decades, especially as infrastructure in emerging economies matures and needs upkeep.

For you or anyone thinking about their own shot at this rich list, the playbook is clear. Get big, spread out, don’t just build—own and operate. Diversify into development and property management, and don’t overlook maintenance contracts. Think about every stage of a project’s life. Opportunities are shifting away from just building the next big thing to running and improving what already exists.

Biggest Projects, Biggest Paydays: How Mega-Deals Shape Fortunes

When you’re in the contracting game, size matters. Mega-projects with massive budgets are where the top dogs rack up extra zeros in their bank accounts. It’s a viciously competitive club—only a handful of contractors in the world can bid for and win the kind of jobs that change skylines and generate generational wealth.

Here’s a breakdown of some jaw-dropping projects companies on our rich list have pulled off:

• Bechtel oversaw most of the Hoover Dam construction, which, even by today’s standards, was mind-bogglingly huge. In modern dollars, it would cost over $800 million—and that was just one job. They got Panama Canal expansion contracts, built entire parts of Riyadh’s transit system, and were in on the Channel Tunnel.
• Evergrande’s grand scale is hard to put into words. At its peak, the group had more than 1,300 real estate projects in nearly 300 cities across China and was responsible for building enough floorspace to house millions.
• Larsen & Toubro, with $23 billion in annual revenue, has delivered power plants, nuclear facilities, and the world’s longest monorail. Their largest single project, the $2.9 billion Mumbai Trans Harbour Link, connects Mumbai’s business district to the mainland—creating endless real estate opportunities along the route.
• The Saudi Binladin Group helped build Mecca’s Grand Mosque expansion, not just earning hefty contracts but cementing their family name as a powerhouse in the region’s development world.

Think about it: every one of these projects isn’t just a payout—it’s an instant calling card to land even bigger, fatter contracts. That’s how the rich contractor club keeps getting richer. Winning big jobs brings experience, credibility, and lets them leverage their track records to secure lengthy, recurring government or private sector deals. If you can pull off a five-year, multi-billion-dollar job without flinching, companies and governments aren’t just willing to pay. They’re fighting to pay you.

This is where relationships matter too. In the West, family dynasties like Bechtel or Bouygues build trust over decades. In Asia and the Middle East, close ties with governments matter just as much. Sometimes a handshake with a minister is worth more than all the technical expertise in the world. And in these circles, information, speed, and strategic risk equal money.

Now, if you’re itching to know secrets from the inside—here are a few tips if you want to step into this world, or even make your small firm thrive in the shadow of giants:

• Networking is king. Most huge contracts come from referrals or long-standing relationships, not cold websites or tender forms.
• Specialize, but know when to diversify. Find your niche (tunnels, data centers, luxury condos) but don’t turn your back on opportunities to spin off into related fields like facilities management or development.
• Value speed and reliability. The fastest, most dependable firms get jobs, but they also avoid profit-draining costs like delays and overruns.
• Document everything—legal fights are common at this level, and a lost dispute can vaporize an entire year’s profits.
• Lean into tech—drones, AI, and modular building techniques now save millions per project, while slashing risks and timelines.

There’s something a bit wild about this corner of the business world. Fortunes go up and down fast, but those at the top? They’ll tell you it takes decades of hustle, laser focus, and a few giant calculated gambles. Max, my dog, probably doesn’t care about any of this—he’s just happy sprawled on the floor as I research—and Lara’s just glad I’m not quitting writing to pour concrete somewhere in Dubai. Still, you’ve got to tip your hat to the men and women who shape the world’s skylines, and bank enough to put most tech millionaires to shame.