The world’s 10 richest people have collectively increased their wealth by more than $500 billion in 2024. The top 20 won $700 billion, ending the year with a total value of more than $3 trillion. Elon Musk recorded a huge profit of $203 billion, but the heads of other technology companies also rose significantly.
The richest people on Earth expect to see their fortunes rise in 2024 as the artificial intelligence boom, Federal Reserve rate cuts, Donald Trump’s election victory, and solid economic outlook help the stock market soar. expected to increase rapidly.
The world’s 10 richest people became over $500 billion richer last year, increasing their combined net worth to just over $2 trillion. That’s a far cry from the $2.3 trillion market capitalization of Amazon and Google owner Alphabet.
If we widen our lens to the top 20 members of the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, their total net worth will soar by $700 billion to more than $3 trillion by the end of the year, comparable to Microsoft’s $3.1 trillion market capitalization.
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk led the way with annual profits of $203 billion, with his personal wealth reaching $432 billion as of market close on Dec. 31.
His net worth at one point reached $486 billion a few weeks ago, when Tesla stock soared to record highs and SpaceX’s valuation jumped to $350 billion. At this point, his year-to-date profits totaled $257 billion, more than the entire net worth of second-richest man Jeff Bezos.
However, Musk was not the only person to achieve great wealth in 2024. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Nvidia President Jensen Huang, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, and Bezos have all amassed wealth between $60 billion and $80 billion as the value of their respective companies soared. Increased. .
Other Big Tech luminaries also made big gains, like Michael Dell, founder of the eponymous computer maker, increasing his fortune by $45 billion. Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin have increased their fortunes by $42 billion and $38 billion, respectively.
Most of the increase in wealth went to leaders of high-tech companies, but Walmart founder Sam Walton’s three surviving heirs, Jim, Alice and Rob, each amassed more than $38 billion in wealth. entered the $100 billion club for the first time.
Warren Buffett, who heads the Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate, is also in debt with large stakes in numerous companies such as Geico and publicly traded companies such as Coca-Cola, earning $22 billion and ending the year with $142 billion. I finished it.
not everyone is a winner
However, a small number of the ultra-rich lost their assets. Bernard Arnault, founder and CEO of LVMH, ranked first to fifth as his wealth fell from a peak of more than $230 billion in March to $176 billion by the end of December. It appears that he has fallen.
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Indian businessman Mukesh Ambani, Mexican telecom tycoon Carlos Slim, Indian infrastructure magnate Gautam Adani and L’Oréal heiress Francoise Betancourt Meyers all lost money last year, according to Bloomberg estimates. issued.
Francoise Betancourt Meyers, photographed in 2010. Martin Bureau/AFP via Getty Images
The ultra-wealthy have gotten richer in large part because excited investors bet that Nvidia, Tesla, Microsoft and others would earn higher profits by playing a key role in the AI revolution.
The Fed also cut interest rates for the first time after raising rates in 2022 and 2023 to curb runaway inflation. This could benefit stocks by making them more attractive relative to fixed-income assets such as government bonds, and boost corporate profits by encouraging spending and investment. I’m renting it.
President Trump’s victory in November also boosted stock prices, as the former president had promised growth-promoting policies such as tax cuts and deregulation. Tesla in particular rose as investors bet that Mr. Musk’s close relationship with the future president would benefit the automaker.
