Elon Musk Leads Global Billionaires to $1.5 Trillion Wealth Increase in 2023
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the combined net worth of the 500 richest individuals experienced a significant rebound in 2023, increasing by $1.5 trillion. This recovery fully offset the $1.4 trillion loss suffered in the previous year. Once again, the fortunes of these wealthy individuals were closely tied to the performance of the technology sector, which reached new highs despite concerns about a recession, inflation, high interest rates, and geopolitical instability. Tech billionaires, driven by the immense excitement surrounding artificial intelligence, witnessed a 48% growth in their wealth, equivalent to $658 billion. Among them, Elon Musk emerged as the top performer, reclaiming the title of the world’s richest person from French luxury magnate Bernard Arnault. Musk’s net worth surged by an additional $95.4 billion, thanks to the success of Tesla and SpaceX, after experiencing a loss of $138 billion in 2022. As a result, his net worth now exceeds Arnault’s by over $50 billion, as the global decrease in demand for luxury goods negatively impacted LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE’s stock value.
Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos added more than $70 billion to his wallet this year and is now tied with Arnault for second place, while Meta Platforms Inc. CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s fortune jumped by more than $80 billion.
The rising tide left boats behind. Indian billionaire Gautam Adani lost $21 billion on January 27 alone — and $37.3 billion for the full year — after short-seller Hindenburg Research downgraded Adani Group. Nevertheless, he still has an 11-figure fortune.
Look forward
What will the world offer the wealthiest people in 2024? While it’s impossible to know for sure – few would have expected such a big rise this year – here are some names to watch:
Miriam Adelson
Adelson, 78, became the majority owner of casino operator Las Vegas Sands Corp. after her husband, Sheldon, died in 2021. While Adelson was down for a while, Adelson this year reached a deal to buy a $3.5 billion majority stake in the Dallas Mavericks and dated. Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley. His net worth rose to $34.3 billion.
Francoise Bettencourt Meyers
As the heir to the L’Oréal fortune, Bettencourt Meyers, 70, is the richest woman on the planet and the first with a 12-figure net worth. Bettencourt Meyers’ success is a result of France’s booming beauty and fashion industry, which has also pushed LVMH’s Arnault, Chanel’s Wertheimer brothers and the Hermès family into the realm of the ultra-wealthy. His fortune grew by 40 percent this year as L’Oréal shares hit record highs.
Steve Cohen
The founder of Point72 Asset Management is involved in New York’s dynasties – both old and new. Cohen, 67, owns the New York Mets and is trying to revive the baseball franchise after years of underperformance. He’s also teaming up with Hard Rock International to try to secure one of the state’s limited new casino licenses, giving harried Mets fans a chance to play out their sorrows. His wealth rose to $13.9 billion in 2023.
Mark Cuban
Cuban, 65, has a knack for getting out at the right time and sold his radio streaming site Broadcast.com shortly before the dot-com bubble burst. He bought the Dallas Mavericks in 2000 for $285 million and won three division titles, two conference championships and an NBA championship before selling them to Adelson for $3.5 billion. (He holds a minority stake.) Whether this will be another well-timed Cuban sale remains to be seen. His fortune rose to $6.8 billion this year.
Carl Icahn
It was a rough year for the activist investor after short-seller Hindenburg Research set off a rout that wiped $18.1 billion off his fortune, including more than $10 billion in just one day. Still, 87-year-old Icahn has a lot of fight left. He plans to launch a new proxy fight to take control of Illumina Inc.’s board, according to people familiar with the matter, after the DNA-sequencing company pulled off an expensive acquisition that Icahn had criticized.
Rupert Murdoch
The 92-year-old founder of News Corp. has officially retired, handing over the reins to his son Lachlan. It’s shaping up to be a rocky year for the heir, as candidates like Joe Biden and Donald Trump are once again vying for the presidency. Fox Corp. already settled with Dominion Voting Systems for $787.5 million after the company accused the network of making false claims that it rigged the vote against Trump. Fox is still facing another lawsuit from Smartmatic Corp. in a similar case. The controversy hasn’t dented Rupert Murdoch’s net worth, which is set to reach $8.9 billion in 2023.
Son of Masayoshi
A Japanese investor made a big bet on WeWork, which will officially fold in 2023, and people are questioning his judgment after he continued to pour money into Adam Neumann’s telecommuting business even though it was clearly in trouble. The SoftBank Group Corp. founder, 66, is likely to continue to struggle as deals dry up. But he has pulled himself out of deeper holes before, climbing back after losing tens of billions of dollars in the dot-com crash. The boy’s wealth fell to 11.4 billion dollars this year.
Read more: WeWork Saga cost Masayoshi’s son $11.5 billion and his credibility
Donald Trump
The former president and current candidate may have lost the 2020 election, but his wallet has only gotten stronger. His wealth has grown by $500 million since 2021, giving him a net worth of $3.1 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Still, 2024 will be a battle for Trump, 77, as he defends himself in lawsuits related to his defamation of author E. Jean Carroll, alleged fraud, and his attempts to subvert the 2020 election — all while running for president.
Changpeng “CZ” Zhao
In many ways, it was a tough year for the 46-year-old founder of Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange. In November, CZ and Binance pleaded guilty to money laundering and violating US sanctions. He agreed to step down as CEO and personally pay a $50 million fine, in addition to paying Binance $4.3 billion. Still, the crypto resurgence boosted CZ’s fortune by nearly $25 billion this year, even though he could be in jail in 2024.
