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Source: Forbes
This year, billionaires have gained a lot.Especially these lucky people, their wealth has increased by more than $700 billion in total.Tesla and SpaceX co-founder and former Twitter owner Elon Musk became the world’s richest man in mid-2024 and reached a new wealth milestone by the end of the year.
This year has been an amazing year for billionaires.As the market booms, more than half of the world’s more than 2,800 billionaires become richer in 2024, some of whom have increased their wealth by billions or even tens of billions of dollars.
According to Forbes, as of December 13, the wealth of the top billionaires in the top billionaires increased by $730 billion this year.Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, has seen the biggest increase: after his rocket company SpaceX reached $350 billion, he became the first rich man to have a net worth of $400 billion.Musk was the billionaire with the worst decline in wealth in 2022, but he made a strong comeback in 2023 and 2024, with his wealth growth far exceeding others.
Seven out of the ten winners with the largest wealth growth this year come from the technology world.The helms behind tech giants such as Meta, Alphabet, Oracle, Amazon, Nvidia and Dell have become the biggest winners of the year.All of these ten big winners are American citizens.
Here are the 10 billionaires with the largest wealth growth in 2024 (data as of December 13, 2024):
01 Elon Musk
Source of wealth: Tesla, SpaceX
Net worth: US$439 billion
(Advanced at US$188.1 billion in 2024)
Image source: Getty Images
Earlier this month, Musk’s net worth broke through the $400 billion mark in one fell swoop, setting history and breaking Forbes’ record of tracking global billionaires in nearly 40 years.By the end of 2024, his wealth increased by $188 billion from the beginning of the year (this amazing increase alone can be among the top five richest people in the world).Shares of electric car maker Tesla rose more than 68% in 2024; AI startup xAI allegedly raised funding at a valuation of $50 billion in November; Rockets SpaceX bought back earlier this monthThe company’s valuation was $350 billion, an increase of more than 60% compared to the previous tender offer (the company’s valuation was $210 billion at the time).SpaceX is now the most valuable unlisted company in the world.
At the same time, Musk’s political influence is also growing.After donating at least $200 million to Donald Trump’s re-run presidential campaign, he has become an important member of Trump’s inner circle and has been appointed co-chair of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the advisory committee that Trump plans to form.
02 Mark Zuckerberg
Source of wealth: Facebook
Net worth: US$214.4 billion
(Advanced at US$91.8 billion)
Image source: Getty Images
Zuckerberg made history and made a beautiful comeback this year because the share price of Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, rose 67% and became the fourth billionaire to a net worth of over $200 billion.In 2022, Meta’s stock price plummeted by about 64%, and Zach became one of the richest wealth shrinking.
03 Larry Ellison
Source of wealth: Software
Net worth: US$218.3 billion
(Advanced at US$84.5 billion)
Image source: JAMEL TOPPIN FOR FORBES
As shares of Oracle and Jeff Bezos’ Amazon company fluctuated, the Oracle chairman, chief technology officer and co-founder temporarily ranked second-largest in the world in September.Although he is currently about $30 billion behind Bezos, he is still one of the richest wealth growth this year, with wealth rising by nearly $86 billion in 2024.Driven by investors’ enthusiasm for artificial intelligence, Oracle’s stock price rose by more than 68%; Ellison holds about 1.1 billion Oracle shares.
04 Huang Renxun
Source of wealth: Nvidia
Net worth: US$117.2 billion
(Advanced at US$74.3 billion)
Image source: PHOTO BY MANDEL NGAN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Huang Renxun founded the graphics processing chip design company Nvidia in 1993 and has since served as CEO and president, and has also tattooed the Nvidia logo on his arm.He currently holds about 3% of Nvidia’s shares.This year, the AI darling’s stock price soared 185%, helping him to be among the top ten richest people in the world for the first time.
05 Jeff Bezos
Source of wealth: Amazon
Net worth: US$241.2 billion
(Advanced by US$68.9 billion)
Image source: MICHAEL PRINCE FOR FORBES
In 1994, Bezos founded the e-commerce giant Amazon in a Seattle garage.He is currently the second richest man in the world, with his wealth growing by nearly $70 billion this year as Amazon shares rises 53%.He sold stocks when Amazon’s stock price was at a high level and had sold $13.6 billion in stock by 2024, more than any other American billionaire.Additionally, because of moving to Florida, he may have saved about $1 billion in taxes for selling stocks.
06 Michael Dell
Source of wealth: Dell Technology, Broadcom
Net worth: US$115.3 billion
(Advanced at US$46.6 billion)
Image source: PHOTO BY MICHAEL PRINCE FOR FORBES
Dell briefly ranked among the top ten richest people in the world this month due to the rising share price of Broadcom.In 2023, VMWare (a company spin-off from Dell Technology) merged with artificial intelligence chip maker Broadcom, which therefore holds about 210 million shares of Broadcom.Dell Technology’s stock also rose by more than 50%.
07 Robert Walton
Source of wealth: Walmart
Net worth: US$112.5 billion
(Advanced at US$46.5 billion)
Image source: PHOTO BY COURTESY OF WALMART
08 Jim Walton
Source of wealth: Walmart
Net worth: US$111.3 billion
(Advanced at US$44.5 billion)
Image source: PHOTO BY RICK T. WILKING/GETTY IMAGES
09 Alice Walton
Source of wealth: Walmart
Net worth: $103.5 billion (growth of $41.7 billion)
Image source: PHOTO BY RICK T. WILKING/GETTY IMAGES
Three children and other heirs, one of Walmart founders, own about 45% of the retail giant’s stock.With e-commerce sales growing and consumer goods prices falling, Walmart’s stock price has risen nearly 80%, which has brought the three to a bumper year.The eldest son, Robert, stepped down as chairman in 2015; Jim runs the family’s Arvest Bank and serves on the Walmart board until 2016.
Sam’s only daughter Alice surpassed L’Oreal heir Francoise Bettencourt Meyers in September this year to become the richest woman in the world.
10 Larry Page
Source of wealth: Google
Net worth: US$156.6 billion (growth of US$40.5 billion)
Page co-founded Google in 1998 with Sergey Brin, who also studied for a PhD at Stanford University, and currently serves as a board member and controlling shareholder of Google’s parent company Alphabet.
Although Google’s alleged monopoly attracted the U.S. Department of Justice’s recommendation to split it, Alphabet’s stock price has climbed more than 30% this year, adding $40 billion in wealth to Page.
