Beyond Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos: The tycoons who top the list of world’s biggest billionaires

It was a year of improvement for the world’s richest people

Net worth of 500 richest people to increase by $1.5 trillion in 2023Fully recovering from last year’s loss of $1.4 trillion, according to the Billionaires Index Bloomberg.

Once again, their fortunes were closely tied to the performance of technology stocks, which set new records this year despite recession fears, persistent inflation, high interest rates and geopolitical turmoil. Wealth of billionaires in technology sector increased by 48%That is, US$658,000 million, driven by the intense buzz around artificial intelligence.

No one did this better than Elon Musk, who took the title of the world’s richest person from French luxury magnate Bernard Arnault. By the end of Thursday, Tesla Inc. The CEO’s net worth was an additional $95.4 billion, boosted by the success of Tesla and SpaceX after losing $138 billion in 2022. His net worth is now more than $50,000 million globally, more than that of Arnault. A slowdown in demand for luxury goods hit shares of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE.

Founder of Amazon Inc., jeff bezosadded more than $70 billion to its wallet this year and is now tied for second place with Arnault, while CEO of Meta Platform Inc. Mark ZuckerbergHis wealth increased by more than US$80,000 million.

The rising tide left some boats behind. Indian billionaire Gautam Adani lost $21 billion (and $37.3 billion for the full year) on January 27 alone after short seller Hindenburg Research sank the value of Adani Group. However, they still have 11 points worth of assets.

What’s in store for the world’s richest people in 2024? While it’s impossible to know for sure (few would have predicted such a big rally this year), here are some names worth watching:

Adelson, 78, became the majority shareholder in casino operator Las Vegas Sands Corp. following the death of her husband Sheldon in 2021. After flying under the radar for a while, Adelson reached a deal to buy the stake this year. Majority stake of USD 3.5 billion in Dallas Mavericks. His net worth was US$34.3 billion.

Bettencourt Meyers, 70, as heir to the L’Oréal estate She is the richest woman on the planet and the first woman to have a net worth of 12 figures. Bettencourt Meyers’s success is due to France’s thriving beauty and fashion industries, which have also propelled LVMH’s Arnault, Chanel’s Wertheimer brothers and the Hermès family into the realm of the super-rich. His wealth has risen 40% this year as L’Oréal shares hit an all-time high.

The founder of Point72 Asset Management is betting on New York dynasties both old and new. Cohen, 67, is the owner of the New York Mets and is trying to revive the baseball franchise after years of underperformance. It also partnered with Hard Rock International in an effort to secure one of the state’s limited casino licenses. His wealth is expected to increase to US$13.9 billion in 2023.

The 65-year-old Cuban has a knack for exiting at the right time: he sold his radio website broadcast Shortly before the dotcom bubble burst. He purchased the Dallas Mavericks in 2000 for $285 million, winning three division titles, two conference championships and an NBA championship, and turned them over to Adelson for $3.5 billion, although he would retain a minority stake. It remains to be seen whether this translates into another sale of Cuba at the right time. This year his wealth increased to US $ 6.8 billion.

It was a tough year for the activist investor, as short seller Hindenburg Research caused a crisis that saw them lose $18.1 billion of their assets, including more than $10 billion in just one day. But Icahn, 87, still has a lot to achieve. Icahn intends to launch a new fight to gain control of Illumina Inc.’s board of directors after concluding a costly acquisition by a DNA sequencing company that Icahn has criticized, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The 92-year-old founder of News Corp has officially retired and handed control over to his son Lachlan. It will be a tough year for succession as candidates like Joe Biden and Donald Trump compete for the presidency again. Fox Corp has already settled with Dominion Voting Systems for $787.5 million after the company accused the network of broadcasting false claims that the election was rigged to harm Trump. Fox still faces another lawsuit from Smartmatic Corp. over a similar matter. The controversy has had no impact on Rupert Murdoch’s net worth, which is expected to rise to $8.9 billion in 2023.

The Japanese investor made a big bet on WeWork, which officially collapsed in 2023, and people are questioning his judgment as he continued to pour money into Adam Newman’s remote work business, even though it clearly appeared to be struggling. Giving. The collapse of the deal could leave the 66-year-old founder of SoftBank Group Corp facing more problems. But it has climbed out of deep holes before, such as when it managed to rebound after losing tens of billions of dollars in the dot-com crash. This year the son’s wealth fell to $11.4 billion.

The former president and current candidate may have lost the 2020 election, but his purse has grown bigger. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, his wealth has increased by $500 million since 2021, bringing his net worth to $3.1 billion. Still, 2024 will be a battle for Trump, 77, as he defends himself in lawsuits by author E. Jean Carroll related to defamation, alleged fraud and his efforts to overturn the 2020 election while running for president. Are.

In many ways, it was a difficult year for them Founder of Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, In November, CZ, 46, and Binance pleaded guilty to money laundering and violating US sanctions. He agreed to resign as CEO and pay a fine of $50 million personally in addition to the $4.3 billion owed to Binance. Still, the cryptocurrency rally increased CZ’s wealth by nearly $25 billion this year, but he could still go to jail in 2024.

(Bloomberg)