In 2024, the overall wealth of 500 of the richest people in the world showed growth.
Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jensen Huang led the mentioned group of billionaires, for many of whom last year was a period of achieving a new important milestone. In this case, it is assumed that the total wealth of the specified community of billionaires in monetary terms amounted to $10 trillion.
As for the personal financial results of Elon Musk, Jensen Huang, and Mark Zuckerberg last year, in this case, the most important growth factor was the upward dynamic of the shares of US technology companies, which during 2024 were rapidly moving along an increasing trajectory. The corresponding tendency also had a positive impact on the wealth of Larry Ellison, Jeff Bezos, Michael Dell, and Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin.
Last year, eight technology titans alone gained more than $600 billion. This figure is 43% of the $1.5 trillion increase among the 500 richest people in the world.
According to media reports, the title of the richest man in the world according to the results of last year belongs to Elon Musk. In the relevant context, special attention is paid to the billionaire’s friendly relationship with Donald Trump. Mr. Trump won the United States presidential election in November and will return to the White House this month. Elon Musk actively supported Donald Trump’s reelection campaign.
After the conclusion of the presidential election in the United States, the market capitalization of Mr. Musk’s companies began to grow. Stocks of brands such as Tesla Inc., SpaceX, and xAI have been on an upward trajectory. Against the background of the corresponding dynamic the fortune of Elon Musk reached an impressive $442.1 billion. It is worth noting that this indicator is $213 billion higher than the figure recorded in early 2024. To a large extent, the growth of the mentioned companies’ market capitalization is because Elon Musk is actually an associate of Donald Trump. In this case, there is an example of what can be called the significance of behind-the-scenes factors in a certain sense. The valuation of the mentioned companies’ shares grew not against the background of some gigantic financial results or the launch of new products but in the context of Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election and the fact that he was actively supported by Elon Musk.
As of December 17, a gap of $237 billion was recorded between the mentioned billionaire and Jeff Bezos. It is worth noting separately that this gap is the largest in history.
Last year, the world’s richest people benefited from a stock market growth that exceeded all expectations. The S&P 500 Index gained 24% through the start of the current week. This dynamic is powered by a small group of shares, which has the unspoken name The Magnificent Seven and includes Elon Musk’s Tesla, Meta Platforms Inc. headed by Mark Zuckerberg and Jensen Huang’s Nvidia Corp. These securities account for more than half of the stock benchmark’s performance.
The victory of Donald Trump in the United States presidential election has strengthened the stock gains. In November, the S&P 500 hit an all-time high in its best post-Election Day performance in history. The billionaires represented in the mentioned index gained a total of $505 billion in the five weeks following the United States presidential election. The specified amount is 34% of the yearly total.
Also, the victory of Donald Trump in the United States presidential election was the driving force behind the historic rise in prices for digital assets. Within the framework of the corresponding dynamic, Bitcoin exceeded $100,000. Against this background, there was enthusiasm among crypto billionaires. In this case, it is worth mentioning that Binance Holdings’ Changpeng Zhao, known as CZ, saw his wealth surge 60%, reaching the $55 billion mark. The net worth of Coinbase Global Inc. co-founder Brian Armstrong grew by more than 50% to $11.1 billion.
Data compiled by the World Bank shows that the wealth of the mentioned richest people in the world is similar in size to last year’s combined gross domestic product (GDP) of Japan, Germany, and Australia.
Last year, Donald Trump’s fortune reached record heights. This result was facilitated by the performance of his majority stake in Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. It is also worth noting that the mentioned record heights have become a fact of reality, even though DJT, as the mentioned social-media company is known, reported a loss of $19.2 million in the last quarter. At the same time, in 2024, the value of shares of the specified firm increased by 95%. Currently, the company’s market capitalization is more than $7 billion.
Nvidia chief executive officer Jensen Huang has become one of the main beneficiaries of the financial growth powered by the so-called artificial intelligence boom. His net worth increased by $76 billion last year. Nvidia’s market capitalization in 2024 crossed the historical mark of $3 trillion. Head by Jensen Huang company develops graphics processing units necessary for training and ensuring the process of subsequent operation of machine intelligence systems. Last year, the value of the firm’s shares showed an almost threefold increase. In June, Nvidia became the most valuable company in the world for the first time in its history.
Meta chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg added $81 billion to his net worth last year. It is worth noting that this result was recorded despite a huge antitrust fine of $841 million in the European Union and investors’ doubts about the constructiveness of the technology giant’s multibillion-dollar financial injections in activities related to the development and implementation of artificial intelligence. The value of Meta shares last year showed an increase of almost 70%.
Chinese billionaires, including Tencent Holdings Ltd. chief executive officer Pony Ma, Xiaomi Corp. chairman Lei Jun, and Cambricon Technologies Corp. co-founder Chen Tianshi, added 14% to their fortunes in 2024. Their gains have effectively reversed the losses seen over three years amid the ongoing crisis in China’s real estate sector and significant pressure from Beijing on powerful technology companies.
Young billionaires from the list of the richest people in the world increased their wealth more than twice last year compared to their older counterparts in 2024.
At the same time, it is worth noting that last year was not a period of growth for all billionaires. This applies, among other things, to French luxury billionaires. The fortunes of Bernard Arnault, Francoise Bettencourt Meyers, and Francois Pinault were on a downward trajectory. These billionaires, whose wealth comes from holdings in the luxury goods sector, have suffered heavy losses. After several years of growth related to the coronavirus pandemic, when luxury shopping supplanted spending on dining and entertainment, slowing sales, especially in the main Chinese market, cost three billionaires a total of $71 billion.
Colin Huang had the largest wealth decline among Chinese billionaires. The e-commerce mogul behind Temu briefly became China’s richest person in August. At the same time, he recorded a loss of $18 billion at the end of 2024. This negative result is, among other things, because in the background of a lackluster earnings report the value of his company’s shares fell by 29% in one day.
Ricardo Salinas, the chairman of Grupo Elektra SAB, a Mexican retail and banking conglomerate, lost more than half of his net worth in one day in 2024. In this case, the impact factor was the fall in the value of the shares of the company he heads. The mentioned dynamic was fixed after Ricardo Salinas claimed that he was deceived by a former financial adviser. In December, he announced his intention to take the company private.
Carlos Slim, who has a major stake in Latin American businesses operating in the telecommunications, banking, construction, and energy sectors, recorded a $26 billion decrease in his net worth last year. In this case, the dynamic of the exchange rate has become a negative impact factor. The peso has fallen by about 20% after several years of relative strength. The wealth of Carlos Slim was also hurt by the weakening of markets following the victory of leftist candidate Claudia Sheinbaum in the Mexican presidential election in June.
Vietnamese mogul Pham Nhat Vuong, who has holdings in areas of property development, retail, and healthcare, saw the value of shares in his Vinfast Auto Ltd. company, which manufactures electric vehicles, fall by about 70% at the beginning of last year. The mentioned downward dynamic was because the specified company recorded increased losses and failed, which consisted of the fact that its aggressive expansion plan was perceived by the market through the prism of disappointment. Since then, the electric vehicle manufacturer’s stock value has partially recovered, but initially decrease cost Pham Nhat Vuong decline by about half of his fortune.
