Musk regains world's richest title ahead of Louis Vuitton boss amid tech shares boom
No one did better than Elon Musk, who recaptured the title of world’s richest person. Photo: Reuters/Guglielmo Mangiapane
It was a comeback year for the world’s wealthiest when the combined net worth of the 500 richest people surged by $1.5 trillion (€1.35trn), according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Once again, their fortunes were closely correlated to the performance of tech stocks, which rose to fresh records this year despite recession fears, lingering inflation, lofty interest rates and geopolitical turmoil. Tech billionaires saw their wealth grow by 48% or $658bn, propelled by intense hype around artificial intelligence.
No one did better than Elon Musk, who recaptured the title of world’s richest person from French luxury tycoon Bernard Arnault. The Tesla chief executive netted an additional $95.4bn, bolstered by the success of Tesla and SpaceX, after losing $138bn in 2022. His net worth is now more than $50bn above Mr Arnault’s after a global slowdown in demand for luxury goods dented shares of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos added more than $70bn to his wallet this year and is now neck-and-neck with Mr Arnault for second place, while Meta Platforms chief Mark Zuckerberg’s fortune jumped by more than $80bn.
The rising tide left some boats behind. Indian billionaire Gautam Adani lost $21bn on January 27 alone — and $37.3bn across the whole year — after short-seller Hindenburg Research tanked the value of the Adani Group. Nevertheless, he still possesses an 11-figure fortune.
What does the world hold in store for the wealthiest people in 2024? While it’s impossible to know for sure — few would have foreseen such a large rebound this year — here are some of the names to watch:
Miriam Adelson, 78, became the majority shareholder of casino operator Las Vegas Sands after her husband Sheldon’s death in 2021. After lying low for a time, Ms Adelson this year reached a deal to buy a $3.5bn majority stake in the Dallas Mavericks and courted Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley. Her net worth climbed to $34.3bn.
As the heir to the L’Oréal fortune, Bettencourt Meyers, 70, is the richest woman on the planet and the first to possess a 12-figure net worth. Bettencourt Meyers’ success comes as a result of France’s thriving beauty and fashion industries, which have also thrust LVMH’s Arnault, Chanel’s Wertheimer brothers and the Hermès family into the realm of the ultra-wealthy. Her fortune surged 40% this year as L’Oréal’s shares climbed to a record high.
The founder of Point72 Asset Management is all in on New York dynasties — old and new. Steve Cohen, 67, owns the New York Mets and is attempting to revitalise the baseball franchise after years of lacklustre performance. His wealth rose to $13.9bn in 2023.
Mark Cuban, 65, has a knack for getting out at the right time, selling his radio-streaming website Broadcast.com shortly before the dot-com bubble burst. He purchased the Dallas Mavericks in 2000 for $285m, winning three division titles, two conference championships and an NBA championship before flipping them to Mr Adelson for $3.5bn. His fortune climbed to $6.8bn this year.
It was a rough year for Carl Icahn, the activist investor after short-seller Hindenburg Research initiated a meltdown that wiped $18.1bn from his fortune. Still, 87-year-old Mr Icahn has a lot of fight left in him. He intends to launch a new proxy battle to take control of Illumina's board, after the DNA-sequencing company terminated a costly acquisition that Mr Icahn had criticised.
The 92-year-old News Corp founder, Rupert Murdoch, has officially retired, ceding control to his son, Lachlan. Fox Corp. already settled with Dominion Voting Systems for $787.5m after the company accused the network of airing false claims that it rigged the vote against Donald Trump. The controversy hasn’t dented Mr Murdoch’s net worth, which rose to $8.9bn in 2023.
The former US president and current candidate Donald Trump may have lost the 2020 election, but his wallet has only gained. His wealth has grown by $500m since 2021, giving him a total net worth of $3.1bn, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
In many ways it was a rough year for the 46-year-old founder of Binance, the world’s biggest crypto exchange. In November, CZ and Binance pleaded guilty to money-laundering and US sanctions violations. He agreed to step down as CEO and personally pay a $50m fine in addition to the $4.3bn Binance will have to fork over. Still, the rebound in crypto boosted CZ’s wealth by nearly $25bn this year, even as he may be headed to jail in 2024.
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