The top 10 most followed people on X include politicians, athletes, musicians, and a businessman. By businessman, we mean Elon Musk, who tops the platform with 242 million followers. The world’s richest person acquired the platform for $44 billion.
Musk is an American businessman and entrepreneur, associated with several technology companies, including Tesla and SpaceX. The billionaire bought Twitter in April 2022, renaming the platform to X in July of the following year.
Within five months of closing the deal, Musk became the most followed person on the social media platform, surpassing former US President Barack Obama, according to Visual Capitalist.
List of the top 10 most followed people on X as of September 2026
| Rank | Account | Followers (Millions) | Profession |
| 1 | Elon Musk | 242 | Businessman |
| 2 | Barack Obama | 119 | Politician |
| 3 | Cristiano Ronaldo | 114 | Athlete |
| 4 | Donald Trump | 112 | Politician |
| 5 | Narendra Modi | 107 | Politician |
| 6 | Rihanna | 99 | Musician |
| 7 | Justin Bieber | 92 | Musician |
| 8 | Katy Perry | 90 | Musician |
| 9 | Taylor Swift | 84 | Musician |
| 10 | Lady Gaga | 75 | Musician |
After taking over X, Musk reduced content moderation on the platform and reinstated some previously banned accounts, including those of Donald Trump, the 45th and 47th presidents of the United States. He also tweaked the algorithm to make his own tweets reach more people. After his acquisition, he fired then-CEO Parag Agrawal and replaced him. The platform’s workforce was nearly wiped out in the first few months through mass layoffs and voluntary resignations, according to Visual Capitalist.
Politicians
In second place is former US President Barack Obama with 119 million followers. He was a popular and well-known figure who made history by becoming the first African-American president of the United States.
President Donald Trump has 112 million followers on X, although he is more active on his own platform, Truth Social. After Trump, in fifth place is Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has 107 million followers on the platform.
Ronaldo and Musicians Dominate at the Top
Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo, known as one of the best soccer players, is in third place on X with 114 million followers. However, his Instagram account has over 679 million followers, the highest in the world.
However, the most well-known celebrities in the world—Rihanna, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, and Lady Gaga—also dominate the top 10 most followed people on X. They have a large following on various platforms in addition to X.