Beyond Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos: the tycoons who are close behind in the list of the biggest billionaires in the world

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

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According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the combined net worth of the 500 richest people increased by $1.5 trillion in 2023, fully recovering the loss of $1.4 trillion the previous year.

Once again, their fortunes have been closely linked to the performance of technology stocks, which have hit new records this year despite recession fears, persistent inflation, high interest rates and geopolitical turmoil. The wealth of tech billionaires grew by 48%, or $658 billion, driven by the intense hype around artificial intelligence.

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No one did it better than Elon Musk, who took the title of the world’s richest person from French luxury tycoon Bernard Arnault. As of Thursday’s close, the Tesla Inc. CEO had 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 higher by more than 50,000 million dollars compared to that of Arnault after a global crisis. The slowdown in demand for luxury goods has hit shares of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE.

Race to the Top: Elon Musk Regained His Position as the World’s Richest Person in 2023 (Bloomberg)

Amazon Inc. founder Jeff Bezos has added more than $70 billion to his portfolio this year and is now neck-and-neck with Arnault for second place, while Meta Platforms Inc CEO Mark Zuckerberg has increased his fortune to over 80,000 million dollars.

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The high tide left some 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 sank the value of Adani Group. However, he still has 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 of the names to keep an eye on:

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

As heir to the L’Oréal fortune, Bettencourt Meyers, 70, is the richest woman on the planet and the first to have a 12-figure net worth. Bettencourt Meyers’ success is due to France’s thriving beauty and fashion industries, which also pushed LVMH’s Arnault, Chanel’s Wertheimer brothers and the Hermès family into the realm of the ultra-rich. Her fortune soared 40% this year as L’Oréal shares hit an all-time high.

Françoise Bettencourt Meyers (Reuters)

The founder of Point72 Asset Management bets on New York dynasties, old and new. Cohen, 67, owns the New York Mets and is trying to revitalize the baseball franchise after years of lackluster performance. He also partnered with Hard Rock International in an effort to secure one of the state’s limited casino licenses. His wealth increased to $13.9 billion in 2023.

Cuban, 65, has a knack for exiting at the right time: He sold his Broadcast Radio website shortly 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 selling them to Adelson for $3.5 billion, although he will retain a minority stake. Whether this will turn into another Cuban sale when the time is right remains to be seen. This year his assets rose to $6.8 billion.

It’s been a tough year for the activist investor after short-seller Hindenburg Research sparked a crisis that saw him lose $18.1 billion of his fortune, including more than $10 billion in a single day. But Icahn, 87, still has much to accomplish. He plans to launch a new fight to take control of Illumina Inc.’s board of directors, according to people familiar with the matter, after the DNA sequencing company completed a costly acquisition that Icahn had criticized.

The 92-year-old founder of News Corp. has officially retired and handed over control to his son Lachlan. It will be a difficult year for the heir as candidates such as Joe Biden and Donald Trump will compete for the presidency again. Fox Corp. has already reached a settlement with Dominion Voting Systems for $787.5 million after the company accused the network of spreading false claims that it rigged the election against Trump. Fox still faces another lawsuit from Smartmatic Corp. in a similar case. The controversy did not affect Rupert Murdoch’s net worth, which increased 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 after he continued to pour money into Adam Neumann’s remote work business even after it appeared clearly in trouble. . The 66-year-old founder of SoftBank Group Corp. will likely face more trouble as negotiations wind down. But he has managed to climb out of deeper holes before, such as when he managed to recover after losing tens of billions of dollars in the dot-com crash. Son’s wealth has fallen to $11.4 billion this year.

The former president and current candidate may have lost the 2020 election, but his portfolio has only grown. His wealth has increased by $500 million since 2021, for a total net worth of $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 the defamation of writer E. Jean Carroll, alleged fraud and his attempts to overturn the 2020 election, all while running for The Presidency.

In many ways, it’s been a difficult year for the 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 personally pay a fine of $50 million in addition to the $4.3 billion that Binance will have to pay. However, the cryptocurrency rally has increased CZ’s wealth by nearly $25 billion this year, but the country could still end up in prison in 2024.

Changpeng Zhao (Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg)

2023-12-29 21:50:00
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