Ireland's richest add billions to their fortunes 

According to Forbes World’s Billionaires List, there are more billionaires globally than ever before

Patrick and John Collison saw their individual estimated wealth grow to $7.2bn (€6.7bn) this year. 

Ireland’s wealthiest person saw their net worth climb by nearly $3bn over the last year while Stripe founders John and Patrick Collison also made gains, Forbes World’s Billionaires List has revealed.

According to the list, there are more billionaires globally than ever before with 2,781 people having fortunes that exceed $1bn (€920m) — an increase of 141 on the same time last year.

Leading the pack is Bernard Arnault, the majority owner of the luxury goods conglomerate LVMH, whose fortune, according to Forbes, increased by 10% to $233bn (€216bn).

The honour of Ireland’s richest man, according to Forbes, goes to Shapoor Mistry who controls 157-year-old Indian engineering and construction giant Shapoorji Pallonji Group $7bn up to $9.9bn (€9.17bn).

Mr Mistry is one of the sons of Pallonji Mistry who was chair of the Shapoorji Pallonji Group as well as a major shareholder in the Tata Group — one of India’s largest conglomerates. Pallonji Mistry, who died in 2022, obtained Irish citizenship in 2003 after renouncing his Indian citizenship.

Pallonji Mistry’s other son Cyprus, who also died in 2022, served as chairman of the Tata Group. His two sons Firoz and Zahan are also on the Forbes Billionaire List with an estimated worth of $4.9bn (€4.54bn) each.

Limerick brothers and founders of payments platform Stripe, John and Patrick Collison, each saw their net worth grow to $7.2bn (€6.7bn) — up from $5.5bn.

Eugene Murtagh, the founder of insulation company Kingspan, saw his net worth increase from $2.1bn in 2023 to $2.8bn (€2.6bn) this year. Denis O’Brien, who owns mobile phone network provider Digicel, saw his estimated net worth increase to $2.8bn (€2.6bn), up approximately $100m from last year.

While not born in Ireland, John Durrance III, heir to the Campbell’s Soup fortune, has lived in Ireland for three decades with his Finnish wife. His fortune is worth an estimated $2.6bn (€2.4bn).

Taylor Swift's Eras Tour helped her break into the Forbes World’s Billionaires List this year after it recouped more than $700m in ticket sales in the US alone. Photo: AP/Toru Hanai

Irish businessman and financier Dermott Desmond’s estimated wealth remained unchanged at $2.2bn (€2bn).

In terms of the overall list, chief executive of Tesla Elon Musk came in second place with $195bn (€180.8bn) — an 8% increase on last year. Amazon’s Jeff Bezos was third on the list with an estimated net $194bn (€180bn).

Taylor Swift is one of 265 newcomers to feature on Forbes’ list this year. Swift, 34, reached the milestone with an estimated $1.1bn fortune following her record-breaking Eras tour and concert film.

The Eras tour, a 44-plus song mega-concert that stretched to nearly three-and-a-half hours, generated more than $700m in ticket sales in the US alone, according to Bloomberg; that’s before including the 89-date international leg.

The billionaires are also collectively worth more than ever, with combined assets estimated at $14.2tn (€13.2tn) — a $2tn increase on 2023 and more than the GDP of every country except the US and China.

Additional Reporting by the Guardian.