Beyond Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos: the tycoons who are hot on the heels of the list of the world’s largest billionaires

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

The combined net worth of the 500 richest people increased by $1.5 trillion in 2023.having fully recovered from the $1.4 trillion lost last year, according to the Billionaires Index. Bloomberg.

Once again, their fortunes were closely correlated with the performance of technology stocks, which have hit new records this year despite recession fears, persistent inflation, high interest rates and geopolitical turmoil. Tech billionaires’ wealth rises 48%that is 658 billion US dollars, which is caused by the strong hype around artificial intelligence.

No one did it better than Elon Musk, who took the title of the world’s richest man from French luxury tycoon Bernard Arnault. As of late Thursday, the CEO of Tesla Inc. there was an additional net worth of $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 higher than Arnault’s after the global 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 his wallet this year and is now tied with Arnault in second place, while Meta Platforms Inc. CEO. Mark Zuckerbergincreased his wealth by more than 80 billion US dollars.

The rising tide left several boats behind. Indian billionaire Gautam Adani lost $21 billion on January 27 alone (and $37.3 billion for the entire year) after Hindenburg Research cut the value of Adani Group. However, he still owns an 11-figure fortune.

What does the world have in store for the 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 to watch:

Adelson, 78, became the controlling shareholder of casino operator Las Vegas Sands Corp. following the death of her husband Sheldon in 2021. 3.5 billion to the Dallas Mavericks. His net worth was US$34.3 billion.

As heiress to the L’Oréal fortune, Bettencourt Meyers, 70, She is the richest woman on the planet and the first to reach 12 figures. Bettencourt Meyers’ success stems from a thriving beauty and fashion industry in France, which has also catapulted LVMH’s Arnault, Chanel’s Wertheimer brothers and the Hermès family into the realm of the super-rich. His fortune has risen 40% this year as L’Oréal shares hit a record high.

The founder of Point72 Asset Management is betting on New York dynasties, both old and new. Cohen, 67, owns the New York Mets and is trying to revitalize the baseball franchise after years of sluggish play. He also entered into a partnership with Hard Rock International in an attempt to obtain one of the state’s limited casino licenses. In 2023, his net worth increased to US$13.9 billion.

65-year-old Cuban knows how to leave at the right time: he sold his radio website Broadcast just before the dot-com bubble burst. He bought the Dallas Mavericks in 2000 for $285 million, winning three division titles, two conference championships and an NBA championship, before turning them over to Adelson for $3.5 billion, although he will retain a minority stake. It remains to be seen whether this will turn into another Cuban sale at the right time. This year his fortune has risen to $6.8 billion.

It’s been a tough year for the activist investor after short selling Hindenburg Research sparked a crisis that saw him lose $18.1 billion of his wealth, including more than $10 billion in just one day. But Icahn, 87, still has a long way to go. He intends to launch a new battle for control of Illumina Inc.’s board of directors, according to people familiar with the situation. after the DNA sequencing company completed a costly acquisition that Icahn criticized.

The 92-year-old founder of News Corp. officially retired and handed control over to his son Lachlan. It will be a difficult year for the heir apparent as candidates such as Joe Biden and Donald Trump again compete for the presidency. Fox Corp. has already reached a $787.5 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems after the company accused the network of spreading false claims that it rigged the election to harm Trump. Fox still faces another lawsuit from Smartmatic Corp. in a similar case. The controversy has not affected Rupert Murdoch’s fortune, which increased to $8.9 billion in 2023.

A Japanese investor made a big bet on WeWork, which officially collapsed in 2023, and people are questioning his judgment after he continued to pour money into Adam Neumann’s remote work business even after it was clearly struggling. The 66-year-old founder of SoftBank Group Corp. is likely to face more challenges as deals dry up. But the company has emerged from deeper holes before, such as when it managed to recover from losing tens of billions of dollars in the dot-com crash. This year, Son’s fortune fell to $11.4 billion.

The former president and current candidate may have lost the 2020 election, but his wallet only grew. His wealth has increased by $500 million since 2021, bringing his total net worth to $3.1 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. However, 2024 will be a battle for Trump, 77, as he defends himself in lawsuits related to defamation of writer E. Jean Carroll, alleged fraud and his attempts to overturn the 2020 election, all while he is running for office president.

In many ways it has been a difficult year for 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 step down as CEO and personally pay a $50 million fine on top of the $4.3 billion Binance would have to shell out. However, the rise of cryptocurrencies has boosted the Czech Republic’s wealth by nearly $25 billion this year, but he could still end up in jail in 2024.

(Bloomberg)